mB'i 


{!.■■  1,'i'i'. 


mum- 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 


THE  COLLECTION  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINIANA 


C971.0^ 

A78w 

C.3 


UNIVERSITY  OF  NC   AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


^^H         00032761066 

^^^^^       FOR  USE  ONLY  IN 
[the  north  CAROLINA  COLLECTION 


John  P.  Arthur. 


Western 
North  Carolina 


A  HISTORY 

(FROM  1730  TO   1913) 


BY 

JOHN  PRESTON  ARTHUR 


PUBLISHED  BY 

I  he  Edward  Buncombe  Chapter  of  the  Daughters  of  the 

American  Revolution,  of  Ashevlile,  N.  C. 


KALEIGH,  N.  C. 

BowABDs  dc  Brouqhton  Pbintinq  COMPAJjr 

1»14 


Copyright,  1914 
By  E.  H.  D.  Morrison 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The  references  are  to  the  names  of  authors  or  works  as  follows: 

Allen:  means  "A  History  of  Haj^n-^ood  County,"  by  W.  C.  Allen,  Waynes- 
ville,  1908. 

Asheville's  Centenary:  means  an  article  by  that  name  which  was  pub- 
lished in  the  Asheville  Citizen  in  February,  1898,  by  Foster  A. 
Sondley,  Esq.,  of  the  Asheville  Bar. 

Balsam  Groves:  means  "The  Balsam  Groves  of  the  Grandfather  Moun- 
tain," by  Shep.  M.  Dugger  of  Banner  Elk,  Watauga  county. 

BjTd:  means  the  "Writings  of  Col.  Wm.  Byrd  of  Westover,"   1901. 

Carolina  Mountains,  by  Margaret  W.  Morley,  1913 

Col.  Rec:  means  Colonial  and  State  Records  of  North  CaroUna. 

Draper:  means  "Kings  Mountain  and  Its  Heroes,"  by  Dr.  L.  C.  Draper. 

Dropped  Stitches:  means  "Dropped  Stitches  in  Tennessee  History,"  by 
Hon.  John  Allison,  Nashville,  1896. 

Dugger:  means  "The  Balsam  Groves"  named  above. 

Fifth  Eth.  Rep.:  means  the  Fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology,  1883-'84. 

Foote's  Sketches:  means  "Foote's  Sketches  of  North  Carolina." 

Hart:  means  "Formation  of  the  Union,"  by  A.  B.  Hart,  1901. 

Heart  of  the  AUeghanies:  means  a  work  of  that  name  by  Zeigler  &  Gross- 
cup,  1879. 

Herndon:  means  "Abraham  Lincoln,"  by  W.  H.  Herndon  and  J.  W. 
Weik,  1892.     Vol.  I. 

Kerr:  means  W.  C.  Kerr's  Report  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  North 
Carolina,  1875. 

McClure:  means  "The  Early  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  by  Ida  M. 
TarbeU,  1896. 

McGee:  means  "A  History  of  Tennessee,"  by  R.  G.  McGee,  American 
Book  Company,  1900. 

Nineteenth  Eth.  Rep.:  means  the  Nineteenth  Annual  Report  of  the 
Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1897. 

Polk:  means  "North  CaroUna  Hand-Book,"  by  L.  L.  Polk,  1879, 
Raleigh. 

Ramsey:  means  "Annals  of  Tennessee,"  by  Dr.  J:  G.  Ramsey. 

Roosevelt:  means  "The  Winning  of  the  West,"  by  Theodore  Roose- 
velt, 1905,  Current  Literature  Publishing  Company. 

Tarbell:  means  "Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  by  Ida  M.  Tarbell,  Vol.  I, 
1900. 

Thwaites:  means  "Daniel  Boone,"  by  Reuben  Gold  Thwaites. 

Wd^ddell:  means  the  "Annals  of  Augusta  County,  Va.,  "  by  Joseph  A. 
Waddell,  1886,  or  the  second  volume,  1902. 

Wheeler:  means  "Historical  Sketches  of  North  Carolina,"  by  John  H. 
Wheeler,  1851. 

Woman's  Edition:  means  the  "Woman's  Edition  of  the  Asheville  Citi- 
zen," published  by  the  women  of  Asheville,  November  1895. 

Zeigler  &  Grosscup:  means  "The  Heart  of  the  AUeghanies,"  by  them,  1879. 

(5) 


CONTENTS 

Page 

Chapter  I — Introductory    7 

Chapter  II — Boundaries   18 

Chapter  III — Colonial  Days 60 

Chapter  IV — Daniel  Boone   79 

Chapter  V — Revolutionary  Days   96 

Chapter  VI— The  State  of  Franklin 113 

ChjVPTer  VII — Grants  and  Litigation 131 

Chapter  VIII — County  History    143 

Chapter  IX — Pioneer  Preachers    215 

Chapter  X — Roads,  Stage  Coaches  and  Taverns 229 

Chapter  XI — Manners  and  Customs 248 

Chapter  XII — Extraordinary  Events   292 

Chapter  XIII — Humorous  and  Romantic  327 

Chapter  XIV— Duels   356 

Chapter  XV — Bench  and  Bar  373 

Chapter  XVI — Notable  Cases  and  Decisions  407 

Chapter  XVII — Schools  and  Colleges  420 

Chapter  XVIII — Newspapers    449 

Chapter  XIX — Swepson  and  Littlefield  457 

Chapter  XX — Railroads   469 

Chapter  XXI — Notable  Resorts  and  Improvements 491 

Chapter  XXII — Flora  and  Fauna  512 

Chapter  XXIII — Physical  Peculiarities  528 

Chapter  XXIV — Mineralogy  and  Geology 542 

Chapter  XXV — Mines  and  Mining 552 

Chapter  XXVI— The  Cherokees   566 

Chapter  XXVII— The  Civil  War  Period 600 

Chapter  XXVIII— Political   628 

Appendix    652 

Index   659 


WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

A  HISTORY 


CHAPTER  I 
INTRODUCTORY 

Our  Lordly  Domain.  Lying  between  the  Blue  Ridge  on 
the  East  and  the  Iron,  Great  Smoky  and  Unaka  mountains 
on  the  West,  is,  in  North  Carohna,  a  lordly  domain.  It 
varies  in  width  from  about  forty  miles  at  the  Virginia  line  to 
about  seventy-five  when  it  reaches  Georgia  on  the  Southerly 
side.  Running  Northeast  and  Southwest  it  borders  the  State 
of  Tennessee  on  the  West  for  about  two  hundred  and  thirty 
miles,  following  the  meanderings  of  the  mountain  tops,  and 
embraces  approximately  eight  thousand  square  miles.  No- 
where within  that  entire  area  is  there  a  tract  of  level  land 
one  thousand  acres  in  extent;  for  the  mountains  are  every- 
where, except  in  places  where  a  limpid  stream  has,  after  ages 
of  erosion,  eaten  out  of  the  hills  a  narrow  valley.  Between 
the  Grandfather  on  the  east  and  the  Roan  on  the  west,  the 
distance  in  a  straight  line  is  less  than  twenty  miles,  while 
from  Melrose  mountain,  just  west  of  Try  on,  to  the  corner  of 
North  Carolina,  Georgia  and  Tennessee,  is  over  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles. 

The  Appalachians.  According  to  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution, the  name  Alleghany  is  from  the  language  of  the  Dela- 
ware Indians,  and  signifies  a  fine  or  navigable  river.  ^  It  is 
sometimes  applied  to  the  mountain  ranges  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  United  States,  but  the  Appalachians,  first  applied  by 
De  Soto  to  the  whole  system,  is  preferred  by  geographers.  ^ 

The  Grandfather  Mountain.  The  Blue  Ridge  reaches 
its  culmination  in  this  hoary  pile,  with  its  five-peaked  crown 
of  archsean  rocks,  and  nearly  six  thousand  feet  of  elevation. 

(7) 


8  HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Of  this  mountain  the  follownng  lines  were  written  in  1898: 

TO  THE  GRANDFATHER  MOUNTAIN.  3 

Oldest  of  all  terrestrial  things — still  holding 

Thy  wrinkled  forehead  high; 
Whose  every  seam,  earth's  history  enfolding, 

Grim  Science  doth  defy — 
Teach  me  the  lesson  of  the  world-old  story, 

Deep  in  thy  bosom  hid; 
Read  me  thy  riddles  that  were  old  and  hoary 

Ere  Sphinx  and  Pyramid! 
Thou  saw'st  the  birth  of  that  abstraction 

Which  men  have  christened  Time; 
Thou  saw'st  the  dead  world  wake  to  life  and  action 

Far  in  thy  early  prime; 
Thou  caught'st  the  far  faint  ray  from  Sirius  rising. 

When  through  space  first  was  hurled, 
The  primal  gloom  of  ancient  voids  surprising, 

This  atom,  called  the  World! 
Gray  was  thy  head  ere  Steam  or  Sail  or  Traffic 

Had  waked  the  soul  of  Gain, 
Or  reed  or  string  had  made  the  air  seraphic 

With  Music's  magic  strain! 
Thy  cheek  had  kindled  with  the  crimsoned  blushes 

Of  mjrriad  sunset  dyes 
Ere  Adam's  race  began,  or,  from  the  rushes, 

Came  Moses,  great  and  wise! 
Thou  saw'st  the  Flood,  Mount  Arrarat  o'er-riding. 

That  bore  of  old  the  Ark; 
Thou  saw'st  the  Star,  the  Eastern  Magi  guiding 

To  manger,  drear  and  dark. 
Seething  with  heat,  or  glacial  ices  rending 

Thy  gaunt  and  crumbling  form; 
Riven  by  frosts   and   lightning-bolts — contending 

In  tempest  and  in  storm — 
Thou  still  protesteth  'gainst  the  day  impending. 

When,  striving  not  in  vain. 
Science,   at  last,   from  thee  thy  riddles  rending. 

Shall  make  all  secrets  plain! 

The  Peculiarities  of  the  Mountains.  Until  1835  the 
mountains  of  New  Hampshire  had  been  regarded  as  the 
loftiest  of  the  AUeghanies;  but  at  that  time  the  attention  of 
John  C.  Calhoun  had  been  drawn  to  the  numerous  rivers 
which  come  from  all  sides  of  the  North  Carolina  mountains 
and  he  shrewdly  reasoned  that  between  the  parallels  of  35°  and 
36°  and  30',  north  latitude,  would  be  found  the  highest  pla- 


INTRODUCTORY 


teau  and  mountains  of  the  Atlantic  coast.  The  Blue  Ridge 
is  a  true  divide,  all  streams  flowing  east  and  all  flowing  west 
having  their  sources  east  or  west  of  that  divide.  The  Linville 
river  seems  to  be  an  exception  to  this  rule,  but  its  source  is 
in  Linville  gap,  which  is  the  true  divide,  the  Boone  fork  of 
the  Watauga  rising  only  a  few  hundred  feet  away  flowing  west 
to  the  Mississippi.  There  are  two  springs  at  Blowing  Rock 
only  a  few  feet  apart,  one  of  which  flows  into  the  Yadkin,  and 
thence  into  the  Atlantic,  while  the  other  goes  into  the  New, 
and  thence  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico;  while  the  Saddle  Moun- 
tain Baptist  church  in  Alleghany  county  is  built  so  exactly  on 
the  line  that  a  drop  of  rain  falling  on  one  side  of  the  roof  goes 
into  the  Atlantic,  while  another  drop,  falling  on  the  opposite 
side  ultimately  gets  into  the  Gulf. 

When  the  Alleghanies  AVere  Higher  Than  the  Alps. 
What  is  by  some  called  The  Portal  is  the  depression  between 
the  Grandfather  on  the  East  and  the  Roan  mountain  on  the 
West.  When  it  is  remembered  that  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  once 
extended  further  north  than  Cairo,  Illinois,  and  that  both  the 
Ohio  and  the  Mississippi  once  emptied  into  that  inland  sea 
without  having  joined  their  waters,  it  will  be  easy  to  under- 
stand why  these  mountains  must  have  been  much  higher  than 
at  present,  as  most  of  their  surface  soil  has  for  untold  ages 
been  slowly  carried  westward  to  form  the  eastern  half  of  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi  from  Cairo  to  New  Orleans.  Thus, 
the  Watauga  first  finds  its  way  westward,  followed  in  the  or- 
der named  by  the  Doe,  the  Toe,  the  Cane,  the  French  Broad, 
the  Pigeon,  the  Little  Tennessee  and  last  by  the  Hiwassee. 
The  most  northerly  section  of  this  western  rampart  is  called 
the  Stone  mountains,  and  then  follow  the  Iron,  the  Bald,  the 
Great  Smoky,  the  Unaka,  and  last,  the  Frog  mountains  of 
Georgia.  The  Blue  Ridge,  the  transverse  ranges  and  the 
western  mountains  contain  over  a  score  of  peaks  higher  than 
Mount  Washington,  while  the  general  level  of  the  plateau 
between  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  mountains  which  divide 
North  Carolina  from  Tennessee  is  over  two  thousand  feet 
above  sea  level.  Where  most  of  these  streams  break  through 
the  western  barrier  are  veritable  canons,  sometimes  so  nar- 
row as  to  dispute  the  passage  of  wagon  road,  railroad  and 
river.  For  a  quarter  of  a  mile  along  the  Toe,  at  Lost  Cove, 
the  railroad  is  built  on  a  concrete  viaduct  in  the  very  bed  of 


10         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

the  river  itself.  The  mountains  are  wooded  to  their  crests, 
except  where  those  crests  are  covered  by  grass,  frequently 
forming  velvety  mountain  meadows.  The  scenery  is  often 
grand  and  inspiring.  It  is  always  beautiful;  and  Cowper 
sings : 

"Scenes  must  be  beautiful  that,  daily  seen, 
Please  daily,  and  whose  novelty  survives 
Long  knowledge  and  the  scrutiny  of  years." 

The  Aborigines.  This  region  was,  of  course,  inhabited 
from  time  immemorial  by  the  Indians.  The  Catawbas  held 
the  country  to  the  crest  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  To  the  west  of 
that  line,  the  Cherokees,  a  numerous  and  warlike  tribe,  held 
sway  to  the  Mississippi,  though  a  renegade  portion  of  that 
tribe,  known  as  the  Chicamaugas,  occupied  the  country  around 
what  is  now  Chattanooga.  ^  Old  pottery,  pipes,  arrow-  and 
spear-heads  are  found  at  numerous  places  throughout  these 
mountains;  and  only  a  few  years  ago  Mr.  T.  A.  Low,  a 
lawyer  of  Banner  Elk,  Avery  county,  "picked  up  quite  a  num- 
ber of  arrow-heads  in  his  garden,  some  of  which  were  splen- 
did specimens  of  Mocha  stone,  or  moss  agate,  evidently  brought 
from  Lake  Superior  regions,  as  no  stones  of  the  kind  are  found 
in  this  part  of  the  country."^  None  of  the  towns  of  these 
Indians  appear  "  to  have  been  in  the  valleys  of  the  Swan- 
nanoa  and  the  North  CaroUna  part  of  the  French  Broad. "  * 
Parties  roamed  over  the  country.  Since  many  of  the  arrow- 
heads are  defective  or  unfinished,  it  would  seem  that  they 
were  made  where  found,  as  it  is  unlikely  that  such  unfinished 
stones  would  be  carried  about  the  country.  The  inference  is 
that  many  and  large  parties  roamed  through  these  unsettled 
regions.  "^  Numbers  of  Indian  mounds,  stone  hatchets,  etc., 
are  found  in  several  locaHties,  but  nothing  has  been  found  in 
these  mounds  except  Indian  relics  of  the  common  type.  * 

AsHEViLLE  ON  AN  Old  Indian  Battle-Ground?  "There 
is  an  old  tradition  that  Asheville  stands  upon  the  site  where, 
years  before  the  white  man  came,  was  fought  a  great  battle, 
between  two  tribes  of  aborigines,  probably  the  Cherokees  and 
the  Catawbas,  who  were  inveterate  enemies  and  always  at 
war.  There  is  also  a  tradition  that  these  lands  were  for  a 
long  while  neutral  hunting  grounds  of  these  two  tribes."^ 

Indian  Names  for  French  Broad.  According  to  Dr.  Ram- 
sey this  stream  was  called  Agiqua  throughout  its  entire  length; 


INTRODUCTORY  H 


but  Zeigler  &  Grosscup  tell  us  that  it  was  known  as  the  Agiqua 
to  the  Over  Mountain  Cherokees  [erati]  only  as  far  as  the 
lower  valley;  and  to  the  Ottari  or  Valley  To\vns  Indians,  as 
Tahkeeosteh  from  Asheville  down;  while  above  Asheville  "it 
took  the  name  of  ZiUicoah. "  But  they  give  no  authority  for 
these  statements. 

Origin  of  the  Name  "French  Broad."  Mr.  Sondley^" 
states  that  "as  the  settlement  from  the  east  advanced  towards 
the  mountains,  the  Broad  river  was  found  and  named;  and 
when  the  river,  whose  sources  were  on  the  opposite  or  western 
side  of  the  same  mountains — which  gave  rise  to  the  Broad 
river  [on  the  east] — became  known,  that  ...  its  course  tra- 
versed the  lands  then  claimed  by  the  French,  and  this  new- 
found western  stream  was  called  the  French  Broad." 

Origin  of  the  Name  "Swannanoa."  The  same  writer 
(Mr.  Sondley),  after  considering  the  claims  of  those  who  think 
Swannanoa  means  "beautiful",  and  of  those  who  think  it  is 
intended  to  imitate  the  wings  of  ravens  when  flying  rapidly,  is 
of  opinion  that  the  name  is  but  a  corruption  of  Shawno,  or 
Shawnees,  most  of  whom  lived  in  Ohio  territory,  and  he  seems 
to  think  that  Savannah  may  also  be  a  corruption  of  Shawno, 
which  tribe  may  have  dwelt  for  a  time  on  the  Savannah  river 
in  remote  times.  He  then  quotes  Mr.  James  Mooney,  "that 
the  correct  name  of  the  Swannanoa  gap  through  the  Blue 
Ridge,  east  of  Asheville,  is  Suwah  Nunnahi,  or  Suwali  trail," 
that  being  the  pass  through  which  ran  the  trail  from  the  Cher- 
okee to  the  Suwali,  or  Ani-Suwali,  living  east  of  the  moun- 
tains. He  next  quotes  Lederer  (p.  57)  to  the  effect  that  the 
Suwali  were  also  called  Sara,  Sualty  or  Sasa,  the  interchange 
of  the  I  and  r  being  common  in  Indian  dialects. 

The  First  White  Men.  It  is  difficult  to  say  who  were 
the  first  white  men  who  passed  across  the  Blue  Ridge.  There 
is  no  doubt,  however,  that  there  are  excavations  at  several 
places  in  these  mountains  which  indicate  that  white  men  car- 
ried on  mining  operations  in  years  long  since  passed.  This 
is  suggested  by  excavations  and  immense  trees  now  growing 
from  them,  which  when  cut  down  show  rings  to  the  number 
of  several  hundred.  It  is  true  that  these  excavations  may 
have  been  made  by  the  Indians  themselves,  but  it  is  also 
possible  that  they  may  have  been  made  by  white  men  who 
were  wandering  through  the  mountains  in  search  of  gold,  sil- 


12  HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ver  or  precious  stones.  Roosevelt  (Vol.  i,  173-4)  says  that 
unnamed  and  unknown  hunters  and  Indian  traders  had  from 
time  to  time  pushed  their  way  into  the  wilderness  and  had 
been  followed  by  others  of  whom  we  know  little  more  than 
their  names.  Dr.  Thomas  Walker  of  Virginia  had  found  and 
named  Cumberland  river,  mountains  and  gap  after  the  Duke 
of  Cumberland  in  1750,  though  he  had  been  to  the  Cumber- 
land in  1748  (p.  175).  John  SaiUng  had  been  taken  as  a 
captive  by  the  Indians  through  Tennessee  in  1730,  and  in 
that  year  Adair  traded  with  the  Indians  in  what  is  now  Ten- 
nessee. In  175G  and  1758  Forts  Loudon  and  Chissel  were 
built  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Tennessee  river,  and  in  1761 
Wallen,  a  hunter,  hunted  near  by  .  .  .  In  1766  James  Smith 
and  others  explored  Tennessee,  and  a  party  from  South  Caro- 
lina were  near  the  present  site  of  Nashville  in  1767. 

De  Soto.  It  is  considered  by  some  as  most  probable  that 
De  Soto,  on  the  great  expedition  in  which  he  discovered  the 
Mississippi  river,  passed  through  Western  North  Carolina  in 
1540.  ^  ^  In  the  course  of  their  journey  they  are  said  to  have 
arrived  at  the  head  of  the  Broad  or  Pacolet  river  and  from 
there  to  have  passed  "through  a  country  covered  with  fields 
of  maize  of  luxuriant  growth, "  and  during  the  next  five  days 
to  have  "traversed  a  chain  of  easy  mountains,  covered  with 
oak  or  mulberry  trees,  with  intervening  valleys,  rich  in  pas- 
turage and  irrigated  by  clear  and  rapid  streams.  These 
mountains  were  twenty  leagues  across."  They  came  at  last 
to  "a  grand  and  powerful  river"  and  "a  village  at  the  end 
of  a  long  island,  where  pearl  oysters  were  found."  "Now,  it 
would  be  impossible  for  an  army  on  the  Broad  or  Pacolet 
river,  within  one  day's  march  of  the  mountains,  to  march 
westward  for  six  days,  five  of  which  were  through  mountains, 
and  reach  the  sources  of  the  Tennessee  or  any  other  river, 
without  passing  through  Western  North  Carolina."^-  But 
the  Librarian  of  Congress  says:  "There  appears  to  be  no  au- 
thority for  the  statement  that  this  expedition  [Hernando  De 
Soto's]  entered  the  present  limits  of  North  Carolina. "^^  In 
the  same  letter  he  says  that  Don  Luis  de  Velasco,  "as  vice- 
roy of  New  Spain,  sent  out  an  expedition  in  1559  under  com- 
mand of  Luna  y  Arellano  to  establish  a  colony  in  Florida. 
One  of  the  latter's  lieutenant's  appears  to  have  led  an  expe- 
dition into  northeastern  Alabama  in  1560."     Also,  that  the 


INTRODUCTORY  13 


statement  of  Charles  C.  Jones,  in  liis  "Hernando  De  Soto" 
(1880),  that  Luna's  expedition  penetrated  into  the  Valley  river 
in  Georgia  and  there  mined  for  gold  is  questioned  by  Wood- 
bury Lowery  in  his  "Spanish  Settlements  within  the  pres- 
ent limits  of  the  United  States"  (New  York,  1901,  p.  367).'* 
There  are  unmistakable  evidences  of  gold-mining  in  Macon 
and  Cherokee  counties  which,  apparently,  was  done  300  years 
ago;  but  by  whom  cannot  now  be  definitely  determined.  How- 
ever, there  is  no  Valley  river  in  Georgia,  and  the  probability 
is  that  the  Valley  river  of  Cherokee  county,  N.  C,  which  is 
very  near  the  Georgia  line,  was  at  that  time  supposed  to  be 
in  the  latter  State. 

The  Roundheads  of  the  South.  Towards  this  primeval 
wilderness  three  streams  of  white  people  began  to  converge  as 
early  as  1730.  ^  *  They  were  Irish  Presbyterians,  Scotch  Sax- 
ons, Scotch  Celts,  French  Huguenots,  Milesian  Irish,  Ger- 
mans, Hollanders  and  even  Swedes.  "The  western  border  of 
our  country  was  then  formed  by  the  great  barrier-chains  of 
the  AUeghanies,  which  ran  north  and  south  from  Pennsyl- 
vania through  Maryland,  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas."  Geor- 
gia was  then  too  weak  and  small  to  contribute  much  to  the 
backwoods  stock;  the  frontier  was  still  in  the  low  country. 
It  was  difficult  to  cross  the  mountains  from  east  to  west,  but 
easy  to  follow  the  valleys  between  the  ranges.  By  1730  emi- 
grants were  fairly  swarming  across  the  Atlantic,  most  of  them 
landing  at  Philadelphia,  while  a  less  number  went  to  Charles- 
ton. Those  who  went  to  Philadelphia  passed  west  to  Fort 
Pitt  or  started  southwestward,  towards  the  mountains  of 
North  Carolina  and  Virginia.  Their  brethren  pushed  into  the 
interior  from  Charleston.  These  streams  met  in  the  foothills 
on  the  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  settled  around  Pittsburg 
and  the  headwaters  of  the  Great  Kanawha,  the  Holston  and 
the  Cumberland.  Predominent  among  them  were  the  Presby- 
terian Irish,  whose  preachers  taught  the  creed  of  Knox  and 
Calvin.  They  were  in  the  West  what  the  Puritans  were  in 
the  Northeast,  and  more  than  the  Cavaliers  were  in  the  South. 
They  formed  the  kernel  of  the  American  stock  who  were  the 
pioneers  in  the  march  westward.  They  were  the  Protestants 
of  the  Protestants;  they  detested  and  despised  the  Catholics, 
and  regarded  the  Episcopalians  with  a  more  sullen,  but  scarce- 
ly less  intense,  hatred.     They  had  as  little  kinship  with  the 


14         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Cavalier  as  with  the  Quaker;  they  were  separated  by  a  wide 
gulf  from  the  aristocratic  planter  communities  that  flourished 
in  the  tidewater  regions  of  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas.  They 
deemed  it  a  religious  duty  to  interpret  their  own  Bible,  and 
held  for  a  divine  right  the  election  of  their  own  clergy.  For 
generations  their  whole  ecclesiastic  and  scholastic  systems  had 
been  fundamentally  democratic.  The  creed  of  the  back- 
woodsman who  had  a  creed  at  all  was  Presbyterianism ;  for 
the  Episcopacy  of  the  tidewater  lands  obtained  no  foothold 
in  the  mountains,  and  the  Methodists  and  Baptists  had  but 
just  begun  to  appear  in  the  West  when  the  Revolution  broke 
out.  Thus  they  became  the  outposts  of  civilization;  the  van- 
guard of  the  army  of  fighting  settlers,  who  with  axe  and  rifle 
won  their  way  from  the  Alleghanies  to  the  Rio  Grande  and  the 
Pacific.  "They  have  been  rightly  called  the  Roundheads  of 
the  South,  the  same  men  who,  before  any  others,  declared  for 
American  independence,  as  witness  the  Mecklenburg  Declara- 
tion. "^*  "They  felt  that  they  were  thus  dispossessing  the 
Canaanites,  and  were  thus  working  the  Lord's  will  in  prepar- 
ing the  land  for  a  people  which  they  believed  was  more  truly 
His  chosen  people  than  was  that  nation  which  Joshua  led 
across  the  Jordan. "  ^  ^ 

A  New  Englander's  Estimate.  In  her  "CaroHna  Moun- 
tains," (Houghton,  Mifflin  Co.,  1913)  Miss  Margaret  W. 
Morley,  of  New  England,  but  who  has  resided  about  a  dozen 
years  in  these  mountains  (Ch.  14)  says  that  although  North 
Carolina  was  originally  settled  "from  almost  all  the  nations 
of  Europe,"  our  mountain  population,  in  "the  course  of  time, 
became  homogenious" ;  that  many  had  come  to  "found  a  fam- 
ily," and  "formed  the  'quality'  of  the  mountains";  while 
others,  "at  different  times  drifted  in  from  the  eastern  lowlands 
as  well  as  down  from  the  North."  Indeed,  the  early  records 
of  Ashe  county,  show  many  a  name  which  has  since  become 
famous  in  New  York,  Ohio  and  New  England — such  as  Day, 
Choate,  Dana,  Cornell,  Storie  and  Vanderpool.  Continuing, 
Miss  Morley  says  (p.  140)  :  "Most  of  the  writers  tell  us 
rather  loosely  that  the  Southern  mountains  were  originally 
peopled  with  refuges  of  one  sort  and  another,  among  whom 
were  criminals  exported  to  the  New  World  from  England, 
which,  they  might  as  well  add,  was  the  case  with  the  whole 
of  the  newly  discovered  continent,  America  being  then  the 


INTRODUCTORY  15 


open  door  of  refuge  for  the  world's  oppressed     .      .      .      but 
we   can  find  no   evidence  that  these   malefactors,   many  of 
them  'indentured  servants',  sent  over  for  the  use  of  the  colo- 
nists, made  a  practice  of  coming  to  the  mountains  when  their 
term  of  servitude  expired.     .      .      .      The  truth  is,  the  same 
people  who  occupied  Virginia  and  the  eastern  part   of   the 
Carolinas,  peopled  the  western  mountains,  English  predomi- 
nating, and  in  course  of  time  there  drifted  down  from  Vir- 
ginia large  numbers  of  Scotch-Irish,  who,  after  the  events  of 
1730,   fled  in  such  numbers  to  the  New  World,   and  good 
Scotch  Highlanders,  who  came  after  1745.     In  fact,  so  many 
of  these   staunch   Northerners   came   to  the  North  Carolina 
mountains  that  they  have  given  the  dominant  note  to  the 
character  of  the  mountaineers,  remembering  which  may  help 
the  puzzled  stranger  to  understand  the  peculiarities  of  the 
people  he  finds  here  today.     .      .      .      The  rapid  growth  of 
slavery,  no  doubt,   discouraged  many,  who,   unable  to  suc- 
ceed in  the  Slave-States,  were  crowded  to  the  mountains,  or 
else  became  the  "Poor  White"  of  the  South,  who  must  not 
be  for  a  moment  confounded  wdth  the  "Mountain  White," 
the  latter  having  brought  some  of  the  best  blood  of  his  na- 
tion to  these  blue  heights.     He  brought  into  the  mountains 
and  there  nourished,  the  stern  virtues  of  his  race,  including 
the  strictest  honesty,   an  old-fashioned  self-respect,   and  an 
old-fashioned  speech,  all  of  which  he  yet  retains,  as  well  as 
a  certain  pride,  which  causes  him  to  flare  up  instantly  at  any 
suspicion  of  being  treated  wnth  condescension.     .      .      .  "   She 
gives   the   names   of   Hampton,    Rogers,    McClure,    Morgan, 
Rhodes,   Foster   and   Bradley   as  indicative   of  the   English, 
Scotch   and   Irish   descent   of  our  people — names  that   "are 
crowned  with  honor  out  in  the  big  world."     It  is  also  a  well- 
known  fact  that  Andrew  Jackson,  Abraham  Lincoln,  Admiral 
Farragut   and   Cyrus   T.    McCormick   came   from   the   same 
stock  of  people.     She  adds,  very  justly  :     "Bad  blood  there 
was  among  them,  as  well  as  good,  and  brave  men  as  well  as 
weak  ones.     The  brave  as  well  as  the  bad  blood  sometimes 
worked  out  its  destiny  in  Vendetta  and  "  moonshining, "  al- 
though there  never  existed  in  the  North  Carolina  mountains 
the  extensive  and  bloody  feuds  that  distinguish  the  annals  of 
Virginia  and  Kentucky."     (P.  144). 


16  HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

The  Moonshiner,  she  declares,  (p.  201)  is  "a  product  of 
conditions  resulting  from  the  Civil  War,  before  which  time 
the  moutnaineer  converted  his  grain  into  whiskey,  just  as 
the  New  Englander  converted  his  apples  into  cider.  The  act 
of  distilling  was  not  a  crime,  and  became  so  only  because  it 
was  an  evasion  of  the  revenue  laws.  ...  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Civil  War  for  the  sake  of  revenue  a  very  heavy 
tax  was  placed  on  all  distilled  alcoholic  liquors.  After  the 
war  was  over  the  tax  was  not  removed,  and  this  is  the  griev- 
ance of  the  mountaineer,  who  says  that  the  tax  should  have 
been  removed;  that  it  is  unjust  and  oppressive,  and  that  he 
has  a  right  to  do  as  he  pleases  with  his  own  corn,  and  to 
evade  the  law  which  interferes  with  his  personal  freedom." 
But,  she  adds  :  "Within  the  past  few  years  the  moonshiner, 
along  with  many  time-honored  customs,  has  been  rapidly  van- 
ishing. 

An  Appreciation.  Such  just,  truthful,  generous  and  sym- 
pathetic words  as  the  above,  especially  when  found  eminat- 
ing  from  a  New  Englander,  will  be  highly  appreciated  by 
every  resident  of  the  Carolina  mountains,  as  we  are  accus- 
tomed to  little  else  than  misrepresentations  and  abuse  by 
many  of  the  writers  from  Miss  Morley's  former  home.  Her 
descriptions  of  our  flowers,  our  gems,  our  manners  and  cus- 
toms, our  scenery,  our  climate  and  the  character  of  our  peo- 
ple will  win  for  her  a  warm  place  in  the  affections  of  all  our 
people.  "The  Carolina  Mountains"  is  by  far  the  best  book 
that  has  ever  been  written  about  our  section  and  our  people. 
The  few  lapses  into  which  she  has  been  betrayed  by  incorrect 
information  will  be  gladly  overlooked  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
she  has  been  so  just,  so  kind  and  so  truthful  in  the  estimate 
she  has  placed  upon  our  virtues  and  our  section. 

Poor  Comfort.  Very  little  comfort  is  to  be  derived  from 
the  fact  that  some  writers  claim  ("The  Child  That  Toileth 
Not,"  p.  13)  that  a  spirit  of  fun  or  a  "great  sense  of  humor" 
among  the  mountain  people  induces  them  to  mislead  strang- 
ers who  profess  to  believe  that  in  some  sections  of  the  moun- 
tains our  people  have  never  even  heard  of  Santa  Claus  or  Jesus 
Christ;  by  pretending  that  they  do  not  themselves  know  any- 
thing of  either.  Indeed,  a  story  comes  from.  Aquone  to  the 
effect  that  a  stranger  from  New  England  who  was  there  to 
fish  in  the  Nantahala  river  once  told  his  guide,  a  noted  wag. 


INTRODUCTORY  17 


that  he  had  lieard  that  some  of  the  mountain  people  had  not 
heard  of  God  or  Jesus  Christ.  Pretending  to  think  that  the 
visitor  was  referring  to  a  man,  the  guide  asked  if  his  ques- 
tioner did  not  mean  Mike  Crise,  a  timber-jack  who  had 
worked  on  that  river  a  dozen  years  before,  and  when  the 
stranger  rephed  that  he  meant  Jesus  of  Bethlehem,  the  wag, 
with  a  perfectly  straight  face,  answered  :  "That's  the  very 
p'int  Mike  came  from" — meaning  Bethlehem,  Pa.  There- 
fore, when  we  read  in  "The  Carolina  Mountains  (p.  117) 
that  "The  mountaineer,  it  may  be  said  in  passing,  sells  his 
molasses  by  the  bushel,"  and  (p.  220)  that  "Under  the  Smoky 
mountain  we  heard  of  a  sect  of  'Barkers,'  who,  the  people 
said,  in  their  religious  frenzy,  run  and  bark  up  a  tree  in  the 
belief  that  Christ  is  there,"  we  are  driven  to  the  conclusion 
that  IMiss  Morley,  the  author,  was  a  victim  of  this  same  irre- 
sistible "sense  of  humor." 

NOTES. 

^Letter  of  R.  D.  W.  Connor,  Secretary  N.  C.  Hist.  Com.,  January  31,  1912.  " 

-Zeigler  &  Grosscup,  p.  9. 

'This  mountain  is  said  to  be  among  the  oldest  geological  formations  on  earth,  the 
Laurentian  only  being  senior  to  it. 

^Roosevelt,  Vol.  Ill,  111-112. 

'T.  A.  Low,  Esq. 

'.\shevilie  Centenary. 

'Ibid. 

sibid. 

•Ibid. 

'"Ibid. 

"Zeigler  &  Grosscup,  p.  222. 

I'Asheville  Centenary. 

I'His  letter  to  J.  P.  A.,  1912. 

nibid. 

isRoosevelt,  Vol.  I.  p.  137.  This  entire  chapter  (cb.  5,  Vol.  I),  from  which  the  follow- 
ing excerpts  have  been  taken  at  random,  contains  the  finest  tribute  in  the  language  to 
the  pioneers  of  the  South. 

"Ibid.,  214. 

I'Ibid. 


W.  .\   C. 1 


CHAPTER  II 

BOUNDARIES 

A  Digression.  The  purpose  of  this  history  is  to  relate 
facts  concerning  that  part  of  North  Carohna  which  lies  be- 
tween the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Tennessee  line;  but  as  there 
has  never  been  any  connected  account  of  the  boundary  lines 
between  North  Carolina  and  its  adjoining  sisters,  a  digression 
from  the  main  purpose  in  order  to  tell  that  story  should  be 
pardoned. 

Unfounded  Traditions.  It  is  said  that  the  reason  the 
Ducktown  copper  mines  of  Tennessee  were  lost  to  North  Car- 
olina was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  commissioners  of  North 
Carolina  and  Tennessee  ran  out  of  spirituous  liquors  when 
they  reached  the  high  peak  just  north  of  the  Hiwassee  river, 
and  instead  of  continuing  the  line  in  a  general  southwest- 
wardly  course,  crossing  the  tops  of  the  Big  and  Little  Frog 
mountains,  they  struck  due  south  to  the  Georgia  line  and  a 
still-house.  The  same  story  is  told  as  to  the  location  of  Ashe- 
ville,  the  old  Steam  Saw  Mill  place  on  the  Buncombe  Turn- 
pike about  three  miles  south  of  Asheville,  at  Dr.  Hardy's 
former  residence,  being  its  chief  rival;  but  when  it  is  recalled 
that  two  Indian  trails  crossed  at  Asheville,  and  the  legislature 
had  selected  a  man  from  Burke  as  an  umpire  of  the  dispute,  it 
will  be  found  that  grave  doubts  may  arise  as  to  the  truth  of 
the  whiskey  tradition.  ^  It  was  the  jagged  boundary  between 
North  and  South  Carolina  and  the  stories  attributing  the 
same  to  the  influence  of  whiskey  that  called  forth  the  fol- 
lowing just  and  sober  reflections : 

Abstemious  or  Capable  in  Strong  Drink?  Hon.  W.  L. 
Saimders,  who  edited  the  Colonial  Records,  remarks  in  Vol. 
V,  p.  xxxviii,  that  "there  is  usually  a  substantial,  sensible, 
sober  reason  for  any  marked  variation  from  the  general  direc- 
tion of  an  important  boundary  line,  plain  enough  when  the 
facts  are  known;  but  the  habit  of  the  country  is  to  attribute 
such  variations  to  a  supposed  superior  capacity  of  the  com- 
missioners and  surveyors  on  the  other  side  for  resisting  the 
power  of  strong  drink.     Upon  this  theory,  judging  from  prac- 

(18) 


BOUNDARIES  19 


tical  results,  North  Carolina  in  her  boundary  surveys,  and 
they  have  been  many,  seems  to  have  been  unusually  fortunate 
in  having  men  who  were  either  abstemious  or  very  capable  in 
the  matter  of  strong  drink;  for,  so  far  as  now  appears,  in  no 
instance  have  we  been  overreached."  - 

A  Sanctuary  for  Criminals.  Prior  to  the  settlement  of 
these  boundary  disputes  grants  had  been  issued  by  each  col- 
ony to  lands  in  the  territory  in  controversy;  which,  according 
to  Governor  Dobbs,  "was  the  creation  of  a  kind  of  sanctuary 
allowed  to  criminals  and  vagabonds  by  their  pretending,  as  it 
served  their  purpose,  that  they  belonged  to  either  province." ' 
"But,"  adds  Mr.  W.  L.  Saunders,  "who  can  help  a  feeling  of 
sympathy  for  those  reckless  free-lances  to  whom  constraint 
from  either  province  was  irksome?  After  men  breathe  North 
Carolina  air  for  a  time,  a  very  little  government  will  go  a 
long  way  with  them.  Certainly  the  men  who  publicly  'damned 
the  King  and  his  peace'  in  1762  were  fast  ripening  for  the 
20th  of  May,  1775. " " 

The  First  Grant  of  Carolina.  Charles  the  Second's 
grant  of  Carolina  in  1584  embraced  only  the  land  between 
the  mouth  of  the  St.  Johns  river  in  Florida  to  a  line  just  north 
of  Albemarle  Sound;  but  he  had  intended  to  give  all  land 
south  of  the  settlements  in  Virginia.  This  left  a  strip  of  land 
between  the  Province  of  Carolina  and  the  Virginia  settle- 
ments. 5  In  1665  the  King  added  a  narrow  strip  of  land  to 
those  already  granted.  This  strip  lay  just  north  of  Albe- 
marle Sound,  and  its  northern  boundary  would  of  course  be 
the  boundary  line  between  Carolina  and  Virginia.  It  was 
about  fifteen  miles  wide,  and  had  on  it  "hundreds  of  fam- 
iUes, "  which  neither  colony  wished  to  lose.  ® 

The  First  Survey.  In  1709,  both  colonies  appointed 
commissioners  to  settle  this  boundary.  North  Carolina 
appointed  Moseley  and  John  Lawson;  but  Lawson  left  his 
deputy,  Colonel  Wm.  Maule,  to  act  for  him.  ^  In  1710  these 
commissioners  met  Philip  Ludwell  and  Nathaniel  Harrison, 
commissioners  from  Virginia,  but  our  commissioners  insisted 
that  the  surveying  instruments  used  by  the  Virginians  were 
not  to  be  trusted,  and  the  meeting  broke  up  without  having 
accomplished  anything  except  the  charge  from  the  Virginians 
that  Moseley  did  not  want  the  line  run  because  he  was  trad- 
ing in  disputed  lands.  ^    When  the  commissioners  from  these 


20         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

two  colonies  did  meet  in  March  1728,  it  was  found  that  our 
commissioners  had  been  right  in  1710  as  to  the  inaccuracy  of 
the  Virginia  instruments,  and  the  Virginians  frankly  admit- 
ted it. » 

North  Carolina  and  Virginia  Boundary.  ^  °  On  the 
27th  of  February,  1728,  WilUam  Byrd,  Will  Dandridge,  and 
Richard  Fitzwilliam,  as  commissioners  from  Virginia,  met 
Edward  Moseley,  C.  Gale,  Will  Little  and  J.  Lovick,  as  com- 
missioners from  North  Carolina,  at  Corotuck  Inlet,  and  began 
the  survey  on  the  27th  day  of  March,  and  continued  it  till  the 
weather  got  "warm  enough  to  give  life  and  vigor  to  the  rat- 
tlesnakes" in  the  beginning  of  April,  when  they  stopped  till 
September  20,  when  the  survey  was  renewed;  and  after  going 
a  certain  distance  beyond  their  own  inhabitants  the  North 
Carolina  commissioners  refused  to  proceed  further,  and  pro- 
tested against  the  Virginia  commissioners  proceeding  further 
with  it.  ^  ^  In  this  they  were  joined  by  Fitzwilham  of  Vir- 
ginia. This  protest  was  in  writing  and  was  delivered  October 
6,  when  they  had  proceeded  170  miles  to  the  southern  branch 
of  the  Roanoke  river  "and  near  50  miles  without  inhabitants," 
which  they  thought  would  be  far  enough  for  a  long  time.  To 
this  the  two  remaining  Virginia  commissioners,  Byrd  and  Dan- 
dridge, sent  a  wTitten  answer,  to  the  effect  that  their  order  was 
to  run  the  line  "as  far  towards  the  mountains  as  they  could; 
they  thought  they  should  go  as  far  as  possible  so  that  "His 
Majesty's  subjects  may  as  soon  as  possible  extend  themselves 
to  that  natural  barrier,  as  they  are  certain  to  do  in  a  few 
years;"  and  thought  it  strange  that  the  North  Carohna  com- 
missioners should  stop  "mthin  two  or  three  days  after  Mr. 
Mayo  had  entered  with  them  near  2,000  acres  wathin  five 
miles  of  the  place  where  they  left  off." 

Byrd  and  Dandridge  Continue  Alone.  The  North 
Carolina  commissioners,  accompanied  by  Fitzwilliam  of  Vir- 
ginia, left  on  October  8th;  but  Byrd  and  Dandridge  continued 
alone,  crossing  Matrimony  creek,  "so  called  from  being  a  lit- 
tle noisy,"  and  saw  a  little  mountain  five  miles  to  the  north- 
west "which  we  named  the  Wart."  ^ ^ 

On  the  25th  of  October  they  came  in  plain  sight  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  on  the  26th,  they  reached  a  rivulet  which  "the 
traders  say  is  a  branch  of  the  Cape  Fear."  Here  they  stop- 
ped.    This  was  Peters  creek  in  what  is  now  Stokes  county.  ^  ^ 


BOUNDARIES  21 


It  was  on  this  trip  that  Mr.  Byrd  discovered  extraordinary 
virtues  in  bear  meat.  This  point  ^  "*  was  on  the  northern  bound- 
ary of  that  part  of  old  Surry  which  is  now  Stokes  county. 

The  "Break"  in  the  Line  Accounted  for.  A  glance 
at  the  map  will  show  a  break  in  the  line  between  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina  where  it  crosses  the  Chowan  river.  This  is 
thus  accounted  for:^*  Governors  Eden  of  North  Carolina  and 
Spottswood  of  Mrginia  met  at  Nansemond  and  agreed  to  set 
the  compass  on  the  north  shore  of  Currituck  river  or  inlet  and 
run  due  west;  and  if  it  "cutt  [sic]  Chowan  river  between  the 
mouths  of  Nottoway  and  Wiccons  creeks,  it  shall  Continue  on 
the  same  course  towards  the  mountains;  but  it  it  "cutts 
Chowan  river  to  the  southward  of  Wiccons  creek,  it  shall  con- 
tinue up  the  middle  of  Chowan  river  to  the  mouth  of  Wiccons 
creek,  and  from  thence  run  due  west."  It  did  this;  and  the 
survej'  of  1728  was  not  an  attempt  to  ascertain  and  mark  the 
parallel  of  36°  30',  but  "an  attempt  to  run  a  line  between  cer- 
tain natural  objects  .  .  .  regardless  of  that  line  and  agreed 
upon  as  a  compromise  by  the  governors  of  the  two  States."  ^^ 

The  Real  ]\Iilk  in  the  Cocoanut.  Thus,  so  far  as  the 
Colonial  Records  show,  ended  the  JSrst  survey  of  the  dividing 
line  between  this  State  and  Virginia,  which  one  of  the  Virginia 
commissioners  has  immortalized  by  his  matchless  account,  which, 
however,  was  not  given  to  the  world  until  1901,  when  it  was  most 
attractively  published  by  Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.,  after  careful 
editing  by  John  Spencer  Bassett.  But  Col.  Byrd  does  not 
content  himself  in  his  "Writings"  with  the  insinuation  that 
the  North  Carolina  commissioners  and  Mr.  Mayo  had  lost 
interest  immediately  after  having  entered  2,000  acres  of  land 
within  five  miles  of  the  end  of  their  survey.  He  goes  further 
and  charges  (p.  126)  that,  including  Mr.  Fitzwilliam,  one 
of  the  Virginia  commissioners,  "they  had  stuck  by  us  as  long 
as  our  good  liquor  lasted,  and  were  so  kind  to  us  as  to  drink 
our  good  Journey  to  the  Mountains  in  the  last  Bottle  we  had 
left!"  He  also  insinuates  that  Fitz^viUiam  left  because  he 
was  also  a  judge  of  the  Williamsburg,  Virginia,  court,  and 
hoped  to  draw  double  pay  while  Byrd  and  Dandridge  con- 
tinued to  run  the  line  after  his  return.  But  in  this  he  exult- 
antly records  the  fact  that  FitzwiUiam  utterly  failed. 

The  Ninety-Mile  Extension  in  1749.  In  October,  1749, 
the  line  between  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  was  extended 


22         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

from  Peters  creek,  where  it  had  ended  in  1728 — which  point 
is  now  in  Stokes  county — ninety  miles  to  the  westward  to 
Steep  Rock  creek,  crossing  "a  large  branch  of  the  Mississippi 
[New  River],  which  runs  between  the  ledges  of  the  moun- 
tains"— as  Governor  Johnston  remarked — "and  nobody  ever 
drempt  of  before."  William  Churton  and  Daniel  Weldon 
were  the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  North  Carolina,  and 
Joshua  Fry  and  Peter  Jefferson  on  the  part  of  Virginia.  "It 
so  happens,  however,  that  no  record  of  this  survey  has  been 
preserved,  and  we  are  today  without  evidence,  save  from 
tradition,  to  ascertain  the  location  of  our  boundary  for  ninety 
miles."  1' 

This  extension  carried  the  line  to  within  about  two  miles 
east  of  the  Holston  river;  and  we  know  from  the  statute  of 
1779  providing  for  its  further  extension  from  that  point  upon 
the  latitude  of  36°  30'  that  it  had  been  run  considerably  south 
of  that  latitude  from  Peters  creek  to  Pond  mountain,  from 
which  point  it  had,  apparently  without  rhyme  or  reason,  been 
run  in  a  northeastwardly  direction  to  the  top  of  White  Top 
mountain,  ^  ^  about  three  miles  north  of  its  former  course, 
and  from  there  carried  to  Steep  Rock  creek,  near  the  Holston 
river,  in  a  due  west  course.  The  proverbial  still-house,  said 
to  have  been  on  White  Top,  is  also  said  to  have  caused  this 
aberration;  but  the  probability  is  that  the  commissioners  had 
a  more  substantial  reason  than  that. 

The  Last  Extension  of  This  Line.  In  1779  North  Caro- 
lina passed  an  act^^  reciting  that  as  "the  inhabitants  of  this 
State  and  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia  have  settled  them- 
selves further  westwardly  than  the  boundary  between  the  two 
States  hath  hitherto  been  extended,  it  becomes  expedient  in 
order  to  prevent  disputes  among  such  settlers  that  the  same 
should  be  now  further  extended  and  marked."  To  that  end 
Orandates — improperly  spelled  in  the  Revised  Statutes  of  1837, 
Vol.  ii,  p.  82,  "Oroondates" — Davie,  John  Williams  Caswell, 
James  Kerr,  William  Bailey  Smith  and  Richard  Henderson  should 
be  the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  North  Carohna  to  meet 
similar  commissioners  from  Virginia  to  still  further  extend  it. 
But  it  was  expressly  provided  that  they  should  begin  where 
the  commissioners  of  1749  had  left  off,  and  first  ascertain  if 
it  be  in  latitude  36°  30',  "and  if  it  be  found  to  be  truly  in" 
that  latitude,  then  they  were  "to  run  from  thence  due  west 


BOUNDARIES  23 


to  the  Tennessee  or  the  Ohio  river;  or  if  it  be  found  not  truly 
in  that  latitude,  then  to  run  from  said  place,  due  north  or  due 
south,  into  the  said  latitude,  and  thence  due  west  to  the  said 
Tennessee  or  Ohio  river,  correcting  the  said  course  at  due 
intervals  by  astronomical  observations. "  ^ »  Colonial  Records. 
Vol.  iv,  p.  13.) 

The  Line  Run  in  1780.  Richard  Henderson  was  appoint- 
ed on  the  part  of  North  Carolina,  and  Dr.  Thomas  Walker 
on  that  of  Virginia,  to  run  this  line,  and  they  began  their  task 
in  the  spring  of  1780;  and  on  the  last  day  of  March  of  that 
year  Col.  Richard  Henderson  met  the  Donelson  party  on  its 
way  from  the  Watauga  settlements  to  settle  at  the  French 
Lick,  in  the  bend  of  the  Cumberland.  (Roosevelt,  Vol.  iii, 
p.  242.)  But  nine  years  before,  in  1771,  Anthony  Bledsoe, 
one  of  the  new-comers  to  the  Watauga  settlement,  being  a 
practical  surveyor,  and  not  being  certain  that  that  settlement 
was  wholly  within  the  borders  of  Virginia,  extended  the  line 
of  1749  from  its  end  near  the  Holston  river  far  enough  to  the 
west  to  satisfy  himself  that  the  new  settlement  on  the  Watauga 
was  in  North  Carohna.  ^  i 

Disputed  Carolina  Boundary  Lines.  From  the  Prefa- 
tory Notes  to  Volume  V,  Colonial  Records,  p.  35,  etc.,  it 
appears  that  the  dispute  between  the  two  Carolinas  as  to 
boundary  lines  began  in  1720  "when  the  purpose  to  erect  a 
third  Province  in  Carolina,  ^  2  with  Savannah  for  its  northern 
boundary,"  began  to  assume  definite  shape,  but  nothing  was 
done  till  January  8,  1829-30,  when  a  line  was  agreed  on  "to 
begin  30  miles  southwest  of  the  Cape  Fear  river,  and  to  be 
run  at  that  parallel  distance  the  whole  course  of  said  river;" 
and  in  the  following  June  Governor  Johnson  of  South  Caro- 
lina recommended  that  it  run  from  a  point  30  miles  south- 
west of  the  source  of  the  Cape  Fear,  shall  be  continued  "due 
west  as  far  as  the  South  Sea,"  unless  the  "Waccamaw  river 
lyes  [sic]  within  30  miles  of  the  Cape  Fear  river,"  in  which 
case  that  river  should  be  the  boundary.  This  was  accepted 
by  North  Carolina  until  it  was  discovered  that  the  "Cape 
Fear  rose  very  close  to  the  Virginia  border,"  23  and  would 
not  have  "permitted  any  extension  on  the  part  of  North  Caro- 
lina to  the  westward."  Meanwhile,  both  provinces  claimed 
land  on  the  north  side  of  the  Waccamaw  river."  24  in  1732 
Gov.  Burrington  [of  North  Carolina]  published  a  proclama- 


24         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

tion  in  Timothy's  Southern  Gazette,  declaring  the  lands  lying 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Waccamaw  river  to  be  within  the 
Province  of  North  Carolina,  to  which  Gov.  Johnson  [of  South 
Carolina]  replied  by  a  similar  proclamation  claiming  the  same 
land  to  belong  to  South  Carolina;  and  also  claiming  that  when 
they  [the  two  governors]  had  met  before  the  Board  of  Trade 
in  London  to  settle  this  matter  in  1829-'30,  Barrington  had 
"insisted  that  the  Waccamaw  should  be  the  boundary  from 
its  mouth  to  its  head,"  while  South  Carolina  had  contended 
that  "the  line  should  run  30  miles  distant  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Cape  Fear  river  on  the  southwest  side  thereof,  as  set  forth 
in  the  instructions,  and  that  the  Board  had  agreed  thereto, 
unless  the  mouth  of  the  Waccamaw  river  was  within  30  miles 
of  the  Cape  Fear  river;  in  which  case  both  Governor  Barring- 
ton  and  himself  had  agreed  that  the  Waccamaw  river  should 
be  the  boundary."  The  omission  of  the  word  "mouth"  in 
the  last  part  of  the  instructions  Governor  Johnson  thought 
"only  a  mistake  in  wording  it. "  ^  ^ 

The  Line  Partially  Run  in  1735.  In  consequence  of 
this  dispute  commissioners  were  appointed  by  both  colonies, 
who  were  to  meet  on  the  23d  of  April,  1735,  and  run  a  due 
west  line  from  the  Cape  Fear  along  the  sea  coast  for  thirty 
miles,  and  from  thence  proceed  northwest  to  the  35th  degree 
north  latitude,  and  if  the  Hne  touched  the  Pee  Dee  river  be- 
fore reaching  the  35th  degree,  then  they  were  to  make  an 
offset  at  five  miles  distant  from  the  Pee  Dee  and  proceed  up 
that  river  till  they  reached  that  latitude;  and  from  thence 
they  were  to  proceed  due  west  until  they  came  to  Catawba 
town;  but  if  the  town  should  be  to  the  northward  of  the  line, 
"they  were  to  make  an  offset  around  the  town  so  as  to  leave 
it  in  the  South  government."  They  began  to  run  the  hne 
in  "May,  1735,  and  proceeded  thirty  miles  west  from  Cape 
Pear  .  .  .  and  then  went  northwest  to  the  country  road  and 
set  up  stakes  there  for  the  mearing^^  or  boundary  of  the 
two  provinces,  when  they  separated,  agreeing  to  return  on  the 
18th  of  the  following  September. "  In  September  the  line  was 
run  northwest  about  70  miles,  the  South  Carolina  commis- 
sioners not  arriving  till  October.  These  followed  the  hne  run 
by  the  North  Carolina  commissioners  about  40  miles,  and 
finding  it  correct,  refused  to  run  it  further  because  they  had 
not  been  paid  for  their  services.     A  deputy  survej^or,  how- 


BOUNDARIES  25 


ever,  took  the  latitude  of  the  Pee  Dee  at  the  35th  parallel 
and  set  up  a  mark,  which  was  from  that  date  deemed  to  be 
the  moarins  or  boundary  at  that  place. 

Line  Extended  in  1737  and  in  17G4.  In  1737  the  line 
was  extended  in  the  same  direction  22  miles  to  a  stake  in  a 
meadow  supposed  to  be  at  the  point  of  intersection  with  the 
35th  parallel  of  north  latitude.-^  In  1764  the  line  was  ex- 
tended from  the  stake  due  west  62  miles,  intersecting  the 
Charleston  road  from  Salisbury,  near  Waxhaw  creek -^  at  a 
distance  of  61  miles. 

The  "Line  of  1772."  In  1772,  after  making  the  required 
offsets  so  as  to  leave  the  Catawba  Indians  in  South  Carolina 
in  pursuance  of  the  agreement  of  1735,  the  line  was  "ex- 
tended in  a  due  west  course  from  the  confluence  of  the  north 
and  south  forks  of  the  Catawba  river  to  Tryon  mountain." 
But  North  Carolina  refused  to  agree  to  this  line,  insisting 
that  "the  parallel  of  35°  of  north  latitude  having  been  made 
the  boundary  by  the  agreement  of  1735,  it  could  not  be  changed 
without  their  consent.  .  .  .  The  reasons  that  controlled  the 
commissioners  in  recommending  this  course  .  .  .  were  that 
the  observations  of  their  own  astronomer,  President  Cald- 
well of  the  University,  showed  there  was  a  palpable  error  in 
running  the  line  from  the  Pee  Dee  to  the  Salisbury  road, 
that  line  not  being  upon  the  35th  parallel,  but  some  12  miles 
to  the  South  of  it,  and  that  "the  line  of  1772"  was  just  about 
far  enough  north  of  the  35th  parallel  to  rectify  the  error,  by 
allowing  South  Carolina  to  gain  on  the  west  of  the  Catawba 
river  substantially  what  she  had  lost  through  misapprehen- 
sion on  the  east  of  it."  North  Carolina  in  1813  "agreed  that 
the  hne  of  1772"  should  be  recognized  as  a  part  of  the  bound- 
ary. ^^  "The  zig-zag  shape  of  the  line  as  it  runs  from  the 
southwest  corner  of  Union  county  to  the  Catawba  river  is 
due  to  the  offsets  already  referred  to,  and  which  were  neces- 
sary to  throw  the  reservation  of  Catawba  Indians  into  the 
Province  of  South  Carolina." 

Northern  and  Southern  Boundaries.  The  peace  of 
1783  \\'ith  Great  Britain  did  nothing  more  to  secure  our  west- 
ern limits  than  to  confirm  us  in  the  control  of  the  territory 
already  in  our  possession;  for  while  the  Great  Lakes  were  rec- 
ognized as  our  northern  boundary,  Great  Britain  failed  to 
formally  admit  that  boundary  till  the  ratification  of  the  Jay 


26         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

treaty,  on  the  ground  that  we  had  failed  to  fulfill  certain 
promises;  and  while  she  had  likewise  consented  to  recognize 
the  31st  parallel  as  our  southern  boundary,  it  had  been  secretly 
agreed  between  America  and  Great  Britain  that,  if  she  recov- 
ered West  Florida  from  Spain,  the  boundary  should  run  a 
hundred  miles  further  north  than  the  31st  parallel.  For  this 
land,  drained  by  the  Gulf  rivers,  had  not  been  England's  to 
grant,  as  it  had  been  conquered  and  was  then  held  by  Spain. 
Nor  was  it  actually  given  up  to  us  until  it  was  acquired  by 
Pinckney's  masterly  diplomacy.  (Roosevelt,  Vol.  iii,  p. 
283  et  seq.) 

France's  Duplicity.  The  reasons  for  these  reservations 
were  that  while  France  had  been  our  ally  in  the  Revolution- 
ary war,  Spain  was  also  the  ally  of  France  both  before  and 
after  the  close  of  that  conflict;  and  our  commissioners  had 
been  instructed  by  Congress  to  "take  no  steps  without  the 
knowledge  and  advice  of  France."  It  was  now  the  interest 
of  France  to  act  in  the  interest  of  Spain  more  than  in  that  of 
America  for  two  reasons,  the  first  of  which  was  that  she  wished 
to  keep  Gibralter,  and  the  second,  that  she  wished  to  keep  us 
dependent  on  her  as  long  as  she  could.  Spain,  however,  was 
quite  as  hostile  to  us  as  England  had  been,  and  predicted  the 
future  expansion  of  the  United  States  at  the  expense  of  Flor- 
ida, Louisiana  and  Mexico.  Therefore,  she  tried  to  hem  in  our 
growiih  by  giving  us  the  Alleghanies  as  our  western  boundary. 
The  French  court,  therefore,  proposed  that  we  should  content 
ourselves  with  so  much  of  the  trans-Alleghany  territory  as 
lay  around  the  head  waters  of  the  Tennessee  and  between  the 
Cumberland  and  Ohio,  all  of  which  was  already  settled;  "and 
the  proposal  showed  how  important  the  French  court  deemed 
the  fact  of  actual  settlement. "  But  John  Jay,  supported  by 
Adams,  disregarded  the  instructions  of  Congress  and  negotiated 
a  separate  treaty  as  to  boundaries,  and  gave  us  the  Missis- 
sippi as  our  western  boundary,  but  leaving  to  England  the  free 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi.  ^     (Roosevelt,  Vol.  iii,  p.  284.) 

Inchoate  Rights  Only  Under  Colonl^l  Charters. 
"In  settling  the  claims  to  the  western  territory,  much  stress 
was  laid  on  the  old  colonial  charters;  but  underneath  all  the 
verbiage  it  was  practically  admitted  that  these  charters  con- 
ferred merely  inchoate  rights,  which  became  complete  only 
after  conquest  and  settlement.     The  States  themselves  had 


BOUNDARIES  27 


already  by  their  actions  shown  that  they  admitted  this  to  be 
the  case.  Thus,  North  Carolina,  when  by  the  creation  of 
Washington  county — now  the  State  of  Tennessee, — she  rounded 
out  her  boundaries,  specified  them  as  running  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi. As  a  matter  of  fact  the  royal  grant,  under  which 
alone  she  could  claim  the  land  in  question,  extended  to  the 
Pacific;  and  the  only  difference  between  her  rights  to  the 
regions  east  and  west  of  the  river  was  that  her  people  were 
settling  in  one,  and  could  not  settle  in  the  other. "  (Roosevelt, 
Vol.  iii,  p.  285.) 

Western  Lands  an  Obstacle.  One  of  the  chief  objec- 
tions to  the  adoption  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  which 
Congress  formulated  and  submitted  to  the  States  November 
15,  1777,  by  some  of  the  States  was  that  each  State  had  con- 
sidered that  upon  the  Declaration  of  Independence  it  was  pos- 
sessed of  all  the  British  lands  which  at  any  time  had  been  in- 
cluded within  its  boundary;  and  Virginia,  having  in  1778,  cap- 
tured a  few  British  forts  northwest  of  the  Ohio,  created  out  of 
that  territory  the  "County  of  lUinois,"  and  treated  it  as  her 
property.  Other  States,  having  small  claims  to  western  ter- 
ritory, insisted  that,  as  the  western  territory  had  been  secured 
by  a  war  in  which  all  the  States  had  joined,  all  those  lands 
should  be  reserved  to  reward  the  soldiers  of  the  Continental 
army  and  to  secure  the  debt  of  the  United  States.  Maryland, 
whose  boundaries  could  not  be  construed  to  include  much  of 
the  western  land,  refused  to  ratify  the  articles  unless  the  claim 
of  Virginia  should  be  disallowed.  It  was  proposed  by  Vir- 
ginia and  Connecticut  to  close  the  union  or  confederacy  with- 
out Maryland,  and  Virginia  even  opened  a  land  office  for  the 
sale  of  her  western  lands;  but  without  effect  on  Maryland.  At 
this  juncture.  New  York,  which  had  less  to  gain  from  western 
territory  than  the  other  claimants,  ceded  her  claims  to  the 
United  States;  and  Virginia  on  January  2,  1781,  agreed  to 
do  likewise.  Thereupon  Maryland  ratified  the  articles,  and 
on  March  1,  1781,  the  Articles  of  Confederation  were  duly  put 
into  force.  From  that  date  Congress  was  acting  under  a 
written  charter  or  constitution.     (Hart,  Sec.  45.) 

Cession  of  Western  Territory.  When,  at  the  close  of 
the  Revolution,  it  became  necessary  that  Congress  take  steps 
to  carry  out  the  pledge  it  had  given  (October  10,  1780)  to  see 
that  such  western  lands  should  be  disposed  of  for  the  common 


28         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

benefit,  and  formed  into  distinct  repul^lican  States  under  the 
Union,  it  urged  the  States  to  cede  their  western  territory  to  it 
to  be  devoted  to  the  payment  of  the  soldiers  and  the  payment 
of  the  national  debt.  The  northern  tier  of  States  soon  after- 
wards ceded  their  territory,  with  certain  reservations;  but 
the  process  of  cession  went  on  more  slowly  and  less  satisfac- 
torily in  the  southern  States.  Virginia  retained  both  juris- 
diction and  land  in  Kentucky,  while  North  Carolina,  in  1790, 
granted  "jurisdiction  over  what  is  now  Tennessee,"  but  every 
acre  of  land  had  already  been  granted  by  the  State.  (Hart, 
Sec.  52).  This,  however,  is  not  strictly  true,  much  Tennessee 
land  not  having  been  granted  then. 

The  Carolinas  Agree  to  Extend  "The  Line  of  1772." 
In  1803  the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina  passed  an  act  (Rev. 
Stat.  1837,  Vol.  II,  p.  82)  for  the  appointment  of  three  com- 
missioners to  meet  other  commissioners  from  South  Carolina, 
to  fix  and  establish  permanently  the  boundary  line  between 
these  two  States  "as  far  as  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  terri- 
tory ceded  by  the  State  of  North  Carolina  to  the  United 
States.  This  act  was  amended  in  1804,  giving  "the  governor 
for  the  time  being  and  his  successor  full  power  and  authoriy 
to  enter  into  any  compact  or  agreement  that  he  may  deem 
most  advisable"  with  the  South  Carolina  and  Georgia  authori- 
ties for  the  settlement  of  the  "boundary  lines  between  these 
States  and  North  Carolina."  But  this  act  seems  only  to  have 
caused  confusion  and  necessitated  the  passage  of  another  act 
in  1806  declaring  that  the  act  of  1804  should  "not  be  con- 
strued to  extend  or  have  any  relation  to  the  State  of  Georgia. " 
(Rev.  Stat.  1837,  p.  84.) 

Commissioners  Meet  in  Columbia  in  1808.  ^  **  Commis- 
sioners of  the  States  of  North  and  South  Carolina,  however, 
met  in  Columbia,  S.  C,  on  the  11th  of  July,  1808,  and  among 
other  things  agreed  to  extend  the  line  between  the  two  States 
from  the  end  of  the  line  which  had  been  run  in  1772  "a  direct 
course  to  that  point  in  the  ridge  of  mountains  which  divides 
the  eastern  from  the  western  waters  where  the  35°  of  North 
latitude  shall  be  found  to  strike  it  nearest  the  termination  of 
said  line  of  1772,  thence  along  the  top  of  said  ridge  to  the 
western  extremity  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina.  It  being 
understood  that  the  said  State  of  South  Carolina  does  not 
mean  by  this  arrangement  to  interfere  with  claims  which  the 


BOUNDARIES  29 


United  States,  or  those  holding  under  the  act  of  cession  to  the 
United  States,  may  have  to  lands  which  may  lie,  if  any  there 
be,  between  the  top  of  the  said  ridge  and  the  said  35°  of  north 
latitude." 

Agreement  of  September,  1813.  ^  ^  But,  although  the 
commissioners  from  the  two  States  met  at  the  dc'signated 
point  on  the  20th  of  July,  1813,  they  found  that  they  could 
not  agree  as  to  the  ''practicability  of  fixing  a  boundary  line 
according  to  the  agreement  of  1808,"  and  entered  into  an- 
other agreement  "at  McKinney's,  on  Toxaway  river,  on  the 
fourth  day  of  September,  1813,"  by  which  they  recommended 
that  their  respective  States  agree  that  the  commissioners 
should  start  at  the  termination  of  the  line  of  1772  "and  rim  a 
line  due  west  to  the  ridge  dividing  the  waters  of  the  north 
fork  of  the  Pacolet  river  from  the  waters  of  the  north  fork  of 
Saluda  river;  thence  along  the  said  ridge  to  the  ridge  that 
divides  the  Saluda  waters  from  those  of  Green  river;  thence 
along  the  said  ridge  to  where  the  same  joins  the  main  ridge 
which  divides  the  eastern  from  the  western  waters,  and  thence 
along  the  said  ridge  to  that  part  of  it  which  is  intersected  by 
the  Cherokee  boundary  line  run  in  the  year  1797;  from  the 
center  of  the  said  ridge  at  the  point  of  intersection  the  line 
shall  extend  in  a  direct  course  to  the  eastern  bank  of  Chatooga 
river,  where  the  35°  of  north  latitude  has  been  found  to  strike 
it,  and  where  a  rock  has  been  marked  by  the  aforesaid  com- 
missioners with  the  followdng  inscription,  viz.:  lat.  35°,  1813. 
It  being  understood  and  agreed  that  the  said  lines  shall  be  so 
run  as  to  leave  all  the  waters  of  Saluda  river  within  the  State 
of  South  Carolina;  but  shall  in  no  part  run  north  of  a  course 
due  west  from  the  termination  of  the  line  of  1772."  The 
commissioners  who  made  the  foregoing  agreement  were,  on 
the  part  of  North  Carohna,  John  Steele,  Montfort  Stokes,  and 
Robert  Burton,  and  on  the  part  of  South  Carolina  Joseph 
Blythe,  Henry  Middleton,  and  John  Blasingame.  Rev.  Stat. 
1837,  Vol.  ii,  p.  86). 

Commissioners  Appointed  in  1814.  Pursuant  to  the  above 
provisional  articles  of  agreement  North  Carohna  in  1814  ap- 
pointed General  Thomas  Love,  General  Montfort  Stokes  and 
Col.  John  Patton  commissioners  to  meet  other  commission- 
ers from  South  Carolina  to  run  and  mark  the  boundary  line 
between  the  two  States  in  accordance  with  the  recommenda- 


30         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

tion  of  the  commissioners  who  had  met  and  agreed,  "at  Mc- 
Kinney's,  on  Toxaway  river,  on  the  4th  of  September,  1813." 
(Rev.  Stat.  1837,  Vol.  ii,  p.  87). 

Around  Head  Springs  of  Saluda  River.  ^  -  But  these 
commissioners  met  and  found,  "by  observations  and  actual 
experiments  that  a  course  due  west  from  the  termination  of 
the  line  of  1772  would  not  strike  the  point  of  the  ridge  divid- 
ing the  waters  of  the  north  fork  of  Pacolet  river  from  the 
waters  of  the  north  fork  of  Saluda  river  in  the  manner  con- 
templated, .  .  .  and  finding  also  that  running  a  line  on  top  of 
the  said  ridge  so  as  to  leave  all  the  waters  of  Saluda  river 
within  the  State  of  South  Carolina  would  (in  one  place)  run 
a  little  north  of  a  course  due  west  from  the  termination  of  the 
said  line  of  1772,"  agreed  to  run  and  mark  a  line  "on  the  ridge 
around  the  head  springs  of  the  north  fork  of  Saluda  river," 
and  recommended  that  such  line  be  accepted  by  the  two 
States. 

Termination  of  1772  Line  Starting  Point  of  1815  Line. 
Therefore  the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina  passed  an  act 
(Rev.  Stat.  1837,  Vol.  ii,  p.  89)  fixing  this  Hne  as  "beginning 
on  a  stone  set  up  at  the  termination  of  the  line  of  1772"  and 
marked  "N.  C.  and  S.  C.  September  fifteenth,  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  fifteen,"  running  thence  west  four  miles  and  ninety 
poles  to  a  stone  marked  N.  C.  and  S.  C,  thence  south  25° 
west  118  poles  to  the  top  of  the  ridge  dividing  the  waters  of  the 
north  fork  of  the  Pacolet  river  from  the  north  fork  of  the 
Saluda  river  .  .  .  thence  to  the  ridge  that  divides  the  Saluda 
waters  from  those  of  Green  river  and  thence  along  that  ridge 
to  its  junction  with  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  thence  along  the 
Blue  Ridge  to  the  line  surveyed  in  1797,  where  a  stone  is  set 
up  marked  N.  C.  and  S.  C.  1813;  and  from  this  stone  "a  direct 
line  south  6834°  west  20  miles  and  11  poles  to  the  35°  of  north 
latitude  at  the  rock  in  the  east  bank  of  the  Chatooga  river, 
marked  latitude  35  AD:  1813,  in  all  a  distance  of  74  miles 
and  189  poles." 

Confirmation  of  Boundary  Lines.  In  1807  the  North 
Carolina  Legislature  passed  an  act  (Rev.  Stat.  1837,  Vol.  ii,  p.  90) 
which  "fully  ratified  and  confirmed"  these  two  agreements, 
and  another  act  (Rev.  Stat.  Vol.  ii,  p.  92)  reciting  that  these 
two  sets  of  commissioners  "in  conformity  with  these  articles 
of  agreement"  had  "run  and  marked  in  part  the  boundary 


BOUNDARIES  31 


line  between  the  said  States."  This  act  further  recites  that 
the  North  CaroHna  commissioners  "have  reported  the  run- 
ning and  marking  of  said  boundary  Hne  as  follows: 

"To  commence  at  Ellicott's  rock, '»  and  run  due  west  on  the  35°  of 
north  hxtitude,  and  marked  as  follows :  The  trees  on  each  side  of  the  line 
with  three  chops,  the  fore  and  aft  trees  with  a  blaze  on  the  east  and  west 
side,  the  mile  trees  with  the  number  of  miles  from  Ellicott's  rock,  on  tlie 
east  side  of  the  tree,  and  a  cross  on  the  east  and  west  side;  whereupon  the 
line  was  commenced  under  the  superintendance  of  the  undersigned  com- 
missioners jointly:  Timothy  Tyrrell,  Esquire,  surveyor  on  the  part  of 
the  commissioners  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  and  Robert  Love,  surveyor 
on  the  part  of  the  commissioners  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina — upon 
which  latitude  the  undersigned  caused  the  line  to  be  extended  just  thirty 
miles  due  west,  marking  and  measuring  as  above  described,  in  a  conspic- 
uous manner  throughout;  in  addition  thereto  they  caused  at  the  end  of 
the  first  eleven  miles  after  first  crossing  the  Blue  Ridge,  a  rock  to  be  set 
up,  descriptive  of  the  line,  engraved  thereon  upon  the  north  side,  Sep- 
tember 25,  1819,  N.  C,  and  upon  the  south  side  35  degree  N.  L.  G.;  then 
after  crossing  the  river  Cowee  or  Tennessee,  at  the  end  of  sixteen  miles, 
near  the  road,  running  up  and  down  the  said  river,  a  locust  post  marked 
thus,  on  the  South  side  Ga.  October  14,  1819;  and  on  the  north  side,  35 
degree  N.  L.  N.  C,  and  then  at  the  end  of  twenty-one  miles  and  three 
quarters,  the  second  crossing  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  a  rock  engraved  on  the 
North  side  35  degree  N.  L.  N.  C,  and  on  the  south  side  Ga.  12th  Oct., 
1819;  then  on  the  rock  at  the  end  of  the  thirty  miles,  engraved  thereon, 
upon  the  north  side  N.  C.  N.  L.  35  degrees,  which  stands  on  the  north  side 
of  a  mountain,  the  waters  of  which  fall  into  Shooting  Creek,  a  branch  of  the 
Hiwassee,  due  north  of  the  eastern  point  of  the  boundary  line,  between 
the  States  of  Georgia  and  Tennessee,  commonly  called  Montgomery's 
line,  just  sLx  hundred  and  sLxty-one  yards." 

The  Legislature  then  enacted  "That  the  said  boundary 
line,  as  described  in  the  said  report,  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby 
fully  established,  ratified  and  confirmed  forever,  as  the  bound- 
ary line  between  the  States  of  North  Carolina  and  Georgia. " 

The  last  section  of  the  act  confirming  the  survey  of  the  line 
from  the  Big  Pigeon  to  the  Georgia  line,  as  run  and  marked 
by  the  commissioners  of  North  Carolina  and  Teimessee  in 
1821,  (Rev.  Stat.  1837,  Vol.  ii,  p.  97)  provides  "that  a  line  run 
and  known  by  the  name  of  Montgomery's  line,  beginning 
six  hundred  and  sixty-one  yards  due  south  of  the  termination 
of  the  line  run  by  the  commissioners  on  the  part  of  this  State 
and  the  State  of  Georgia,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hun- 
dred and  nineteen,  ending  on  a  creek  near  the  waters  of  Shoot- 
ing   Creek,   waters    of    Hiwassee,   then   along   Montgomery's 


32         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

line  till  it  strikes  the  line  run  by  commissioners  on  the  part 
of  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee  in  1821,  to  a  square  post 
marked  on  the  east  side  N.  C.  1821,  and  on  the  west  side 
Tenn,  1821,  and  on  the  south  side  G.  should  to  be  the  divid- 
ing line  between  North  Carolina  and  Georgia,  so  soon  as  the 
above  line  shall  be  ratified  on  the  part  of  the  State  of 
Georgia. " 

ORIGIN    OF   THE   WALTON    WAR. 

"North  Carolina  claimed  for  her  southern  boundary  the  35th  degree 
of  north  latitude.  The  line  of  this  parallel,  however,  was  at  that  time 
supposed  to  run  about  twelve  miles  north  of  what  was  subsequently 
ascertained  to  be  its  true  location.  Between  this  supposed  line  of  35° 
north  latitude  and  the  northernmost  boundary  of  Georgia,  as  settled 
upon  by  a  convention  between  that  State  and  South  Carolina  in  1787, 
there  interv^ened  a  tract  of  country  of  about  twelve  miles  in  width,  from 
north  to  south,  and  extending  from  east  to  west,  from  the  top  of  the 
main  ridge  of  mountains  which  divides  the  eastern  from  the  western 
waters  to  the  Mississippi  river.  This  tract  remained,  as  was  supposed, 
within  the  chartered  limits  of  South  Carolina,  and  in  the  year  1787  was 
ceded  by  that  State  to  the  United  States,  subject  to  the  Indian  right  of 
occupancy.  When  the  Indian  title  to  the  country  therein  described 
was  ceded  to  the  United  States  by  the  treaty  of  1798  with  the  Cherokees, 
the  eastern  portion  of  this  12-mile  tract  fell  within  the  limits  of  such 
cession.  On  its  eastern  extremity  near  the  head-waters  of  the  French 
Broad  river,  immediately  at  the  foot  of  the  main  Blue  Ridge  Mountains, 
had  been  located,  for  a  number  of  years  prior  to  the  treaty,  a  settlement 
of  about  fifty  families  of  whites,  who,  by  its  ratification  became  occupants 
of  the  public  domain  of  the  United  States,  but  who  were  outside  of  the 
territorial  jurisdiction  of  any  State.  These  settlers  petitioned  Congress 
to  retrocede  the  tract  of  country  upon  which  they  resided  to  South  Caro- 
lina, in  order  that  they  might  be  brought  within  the  protection  of  the 
laws  of  that  State.  A  resolution  was  reported  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives from  the  committee  to  whom  the  subject  had  been  referred, 
favoring  such  a  course,  but  Congress  took  no  efTective  action  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  when  the  State  boundaries  came  finally  to  be  adjusted  in  that 
region  the  tract  in  question  was  found  to  be  within  the  limits  of  North 
CaroUna.''^" 

The  Walton  War.  That  there  should  have  been  great 
confusion  and  uncertainty  as  to  the  exact  boundary  lines 
between  the  States  in  their  earher  history  is  but  natural, 
especially  in  the  case  where  the  corners  of  three  States  come 
together,  and  still  more  especially  when  they  come  together 
in  an  inaccessible  mountainous  region,  such  as  characterized 
the  cornerstone  between  Georgia,  South    and    North    Caro- 


BOUNDARIES  33 


Una.  And  that  renegades  and  other  lawless  adventurers 
should  take  advantage  of  such  a  condition  is  still  more  natural. 
It  is,  therefore,  not  surprising  to  read  in  "The  Heart  of  the 
AUeghanies, "  (p.  224-5)  that:  "In  early  times,  criminals  and 
refugees  from  justice  made  the  fastnesses  of  the  wilderness 
hiding  places.  Their  stay,  in  most  cases,  was  short,  seclusion 
furnishing  their  profession  a  barren  field  for  operation.  A  few, 
however,  remained,  either  adopting  the  wild,  free  life  of  the 
chase,  or  preying  upon  the  property  of  the  community." 

Walton  County.  Such  a  community  existed  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  last  century  on  the  head  waters  of  the 
French  Broad  river  in  what  are  now  Jackson  and  Transyl- 
vania counties.  Some  even  claimed  that  this  territory  be- 
longed to  South  Carolina.  But  Georgia,  about  December, 
1803,  created  a  county  within  this  territory  and  called  it 
Walton  county.  Georgia  naturally  attempted  to  exercise 
jurisdiction  over  what  it  really  believed  was  its  owti  territory, 
and  North  Carolina  as  naturally  resisted  such  attempts. 
Consequently,  there  were  "great  dissentions,  .  .  .  the  said 
dissentions  having  produced  many  riots,  affrays,  assaults, 
batteries,  woundings  and  imprisonments." 

The  North  Carolina  and  Georgia  Line.  On  January 
13,  1806,  Georgia  presented  a  memorial  to  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives of  Congress,  complaining  that  North  Carolina 
was  claiming  lands  Ijdng  within  the  State  of  Georgia,  and 
asking  that  Congress  interpose  and  cause  the  35th  degree  of 
north  latitude  to  be  ascertained  and  the  line  between  the  two 
States  plainly  marked. 

The  Twelve  Miles  "Orphan"  Strip.  This  was  referred 
to  a  committee  which,  on  February  12th,  reported  that  "be- 
tween the  latitude  of  35°  north,  which  is  the  southern  boundary 
claimed  by  North  Carolina,  and  the  northern  boundary  of 
Georgia,  as  settled  by  a  convention  between  that  State  and 
South  Carolina,  intervenes  a  tract  of  country  supposed  to  be 
about  twelve  miles  wide,  from  north  to  south,  and  extending 
in  length  from  the  western  boundary  of  Georgia,  at  Nicajack, 
on  the  Tennessee,  to  his  northeastern  hmits  at  Tugalo,  and 
was  consequently  within  the  limits  of  South  Carolina,  and  in 
the  year  1887  it  was  ceded  to  the  United  States,  who  [sic] 
accepted  the  cession."  This  territory  remained  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  United  States  until  1802,  when  it  was  ceded  to  the 

w.  N.  c. 3 


34         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

State  of  Georgia,  when  the  estimated  numl^er  of  settlers  on  it 
was  800.  It  was  not  known  where  these  settlers  came  from; 
but  the  land  had  belonged  to  the  Cherokees  until  1798  when 
a  part  of  it  was  purchased  by  the  whites  by  treaty  held  at 
Tellico.  3  5 

Walton  County,  Georgia.  At  the  earnest  entreaty  of 
these  inhabitants  Georgia  in  1803  formed  the  inhabited  part 
of  this  territory  into  Walton  county  and  appointed  commis- 
sioners to  meet  corresponding  commissioners  to  be  appointed 
by  North  Carolina  to  ascertain  and  mark  the  line.  But 
Congress  took  no  definite  action  on  this  report. 

A  Survey  Agreed  Upon.  The  two  States,  in  1807,  came 
to  an  agreement  as  to  the  basis  of  a  survey.  In  a  letter  dated 
at  Louisville,  Ga.,  December  10,  1806,  Gov.  Jared  Irwin  to 
Gov.  Nathaniel  Alexander  of  North  Carolina,  enclosed  sun- 
dry resolutions  adopted  by  the  legislature  of  Georgia,  and 
announced  that  that  body  had  appointed  Thomas  P.  Carnes, 
Thomas  Flournoy  and  William  Barnett  as  commissioners  to 
ascertain  the  35th°  of  north  latitude  *'and  plainly  mark  the 
dividing  line  between  the  States  of  North  Carolina  and  Geor- 
gia."  On  January  1,  1807,  Gov.  Alexander  enclosed  to  Gov. 
Irwin  a  copy  of  an  act  of  the  legislature  passed  at  the  preced- 
ing session  assenting  to  the  proposition  of  Georgia  and  ap- 
pointing John  Steele,  John  Moore  and  James  Welbourne 
•commissioners  on  the  part  of  North  Carolina.  It  was  sub- 
sequently agreed  that  the  commissioners  from  both  States 
should  meet  at  Asheville  June  15,  1807;  Rev.  Joseph  Caldwell, 
president  of  the  North  Carolina  University,  was  the  scientist 
for  North  Carolina,  while  Mr.  J.  Meigs  represented  Georgia 
-in  that  capacity. 

The  Record.  In  the  minute  docket  of  the  county  court 
of  Buncombe,  pp.  104  and  363,  the  proceedings  of  these  com- 
missioners are  set  forth  in  full,  sho-vving  that  Thomas  Flour- 
noy, one  of  the  Georgia  commissioners,  did  not  attend  but 
that  on  the  18th  of  June,  1807,  the  others  met  at  Bun- 
combe court  house  and  agreed  on  a  basis  of  procedure,  the 
most  important  point  being  that  the  35th  parallel  was  to  be 
first  ascertained,  after  which  it  was  to  be  marked  and  agreed 
on  as  the  line.  This  they  proceeded  to  do,  with  the  result  that 
on  the  27th  of  June,  at  Douthard's  gap  on  the  summit  of  the 


BOUNDARIES  35 


Blue  Kidge,  they  signed  a  supplemental  agreement  to  the 
effect  that  they  had  discovered  by  repeated  astronomical  ob- 
servations that  the  35th  degree  of  north  latitude  is  not  to  be 
found  on  any  part  of  said  ridge  east  of  the  line  established  by 
the  general  government  as  the  temporary  boundary  between 
the  white  people  and  the  Indians,  and  having  no  authority  to 
proceed  over  that  boundary  "in  order  to  ascertain  and  mark 
that  degree,"  they  agreed  that  Georgia  had  no  right  to  claim 
any  part  of  the  territory  north  or  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and 
east  or  south  of  the  present  temporary  line  between  the  whites 
and  Indians;  and  would  recommend  to  the  Georgia  Legislature 
that  it  repeal  the  act  which  had  established  the  county  of 
Walton  on  North  Carolina  soil.  Both  sets  of  commissioners 
then  agreed  to  recommend  amnesty  for  all  who  had  been  guilty 
of  violating  the  laws  of  either  State  under  the  assumption  that 
it  had  no  jurisdiction  over  that  territory. 

Following  is  the  story  as  to  how  they  had  reached  this  agree- 
ment: 

The  "Astonishment"  of  the  Georgians.  ^^  These  scien- 
tists made  their  first  observations  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Amos 
Justice,  which  they  supposed  to  be  on  or  near  the  dividing  line 
of  35°  north  latitude,  but  discovered  that  it  was  "22  miles  with- 
in old  Buncombe,"  which  astonished  them;  for  Mr.  Sturges, 
the  Surveyor  General  of  Georgia,  had  previously  ascertained 
this  meridian  to  be  at  the  junction  of  Davidson's  and  Little 
rivers.  But,  said  the  Georgia  commissioners  in  their  report 
to  their  governor,  they  were  "accompanied  by  an  artist  [sic] 
appointed  by  the  government  [of  the  United  States]  whose 
talents  and  integrity  we  have  no  reason  to  doubt,"  whose 
observations  accorded  very  nearly  with  their  own;  they  "were 
under  the  necessity  of  suspending  our  astonishment  and  pro- 
ceeding on  the  duty  assigned  us." 

Supplementary  Agreement  at  Cesar's  Head.  When 
they  got  to  the  junction  of  Davidson  and  Little  rivers  and 
found  that  they  were  still  17  minutes  north  of  the  35th  meridian, 
they  "proceeded  to  Csesar's  Head,  a  place  on  the  Blue  Ridge 
about  12  horizontal  miles  directly  south  and  in  the  vicinity 
of  Douthet's  Gap,  which  was  from  2'  57"  to  4'  54"  north  of 
the  35th  parallel.  They  then  signed  the  supplementary 
agreement  of  June  27. 


36         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Georgia's  Sporting  Blood.  On  December  28,  1808,  Gov. 
Irwin  of  Georgia  wrote  to  Governor  Stone  of  North  Carolina, 
asking  for  the  appointment  of  a  new  commission  on  the  part 
of  North  Carolina  to  meet  one  already  appointed  by  the  leg- 
islature of  Georgia;  but  Gov.  Stone  declined  in  a  communi- 
cation of  March  21,  1809,  in  which  he  states  that  it  "does  not 
readily  occur  to  us  on  what  basis  the  adjustment  is  to  rest,  if 
not  upon  that  where  it  now  stands — the  plighted  faith  of  two 
States  to  abide  by  the  determination  of  commissioners  mutu- 
ally chosen  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  adjustment  those 
commissioners  actually  made".  On  December  7,  1807,  North 
Carolina  had  adopted  and  ratified  the  joint  report  of  the  com- 
missioners of  the  two  States  and  on  December  18  "passed  an 
act  of  amnesty  for  offenders  within  the  disputed  territory. "  ^  ^ 

Georgia  is  Snubbed.  ^  ^  But  Georgia  sent  still  another 
petition  to  Congress  by  way  of  appeal,  and  its  legislature  on 
December  5,  1807,  "put  forth  an  earnest  protest  against  the 
decision  arrived  at  by  their  own  commissioners."  But  al- 
though on  April  26,  1810,  Mr.  Bibb  of  Georgia,  asked  the 
United  States  to  appoint  some  person  to  run  the  dividing 
line,  and  it  was  referred  to  a  select  committee  on  the  27th  of 
the  following  December,  that  committee  never  reported. 
Georgia  must  have  become  reconciled,  however,  for  in  1819 
its  legislature  refused  relief  to  certain  citizens  who  had  claimed 
land  in  this  disputed  territory. 

Contour  Map  and  35th  Parallel.  The  late  Captain 
W.  A.  Curtis,  for  a  long  time  editor  of  the  Franklin  Press,  said, 
in  "A  Brief  History  of  Macon  County,"  (1905)  p.  23,^8  that 
"it  has  long  been  accepted  as  a  fact  that  the  southern  bound- 
ary of  Macon  and  Clay  counties,  constituting  the  State  line 
between  North  Carolina  and  Georgia,  is  located  on  the  35th 
parallel  of  north  latitude.  This  is  either  a  mistake  or  else  the 
latest  topographical  charts  are  incorrect.  According  to  the 
charts  a  straight  line  starts  from  the  top  of  Indian  Camp 
mountain  on  the  southern  boundary  of  Translyvania  county, 
6^  miles  north  of  the  35th  parallel,  and  dips  somewhat  south 
of  west  until  it  reaches  the  Endicott  (Ellicut)  Rock  at  the 
corner  of  South  Carolina  exactly  on  the  35th  parallel,  and, 
instead  of  turning  due  west  at  this  place,  it  continues  on  a 
straight  line  for  about  twenty  miles,  or  to  83 3^^  degrees  west 
longitude,  which  is  near  the  top  of  the  Ridge  Pole,  close  by 


BOUNDARIES  37 


the  southwest  corner  of  Macon  county;  then  it  turns  due  west, 
running  parallel  with  the  35th,  and  about  one  mile  south  of  it, 
on  towards  Alabama.  One  peculiarity  of  this  survey  is  that 
Estatoa,  or  Mud  Creek  Falls,  which  has  long  been  considered 
as  being  in  Georgia,  are,  according  to  the  map,  in  North 
Carolina.  ]\Iud  creek  crosses  the  State  line  a  few  yards 
above  the  falls  into  North  Carolina,  and  at  about  half  way 
between  the  falls  and  the  Tennessee  river  passes  back  into 
Georgia.  But,  by  examining  some  old  records  belonging  to 
the  State  Library  at  Raleigh  in  1881,  I  am  convinced  that  the 
line  between  the  States  of  Georgia  and  North  Carolina  has 
never  been  correctly  surveyed." 

The  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee  Boundary.  By 
the  Cessions  Act,  Revised  Statutes,  1837,  Vol.  ii,  p.  171,  North 
Carolina  authorized  one  or  both  United  States  Senators  or 
any  two  members  of  Congress  to  execute  a  deed  or  deeds  to 
the  United  States  of  America  of  the  lands  west  of  a  line  begin- 
ning on  the  extreme  height  of  the  Stone  mountain,  at  the 
place  where  the  Virginia  line  intersects  it,  running  thence 
along  the  extreme  height  of  the  said  mountain  to  the  place 
where  Watauga  river  breaks  through  it,  thence  a  direct  course 
to  the  top  of  the  Yellow  Mountain,  where  Bright's  road  crosses 
the  same,  thence  along  the  ridge  of  said  mountains  between 
the  waters  of  Doe  river  and  the  waters  of  Rock  creek  to  the 
place  where  the  road  crosses  the  Iron  mountain,  from  thence 
along  the  extreme  height  of  said  mountain,  to  where  Nole- 
chucky  river  runs  through  the  same,  thence  to  the  top  of  the 
Bald  mountain,  thence  along  the  extreme  height  of  the  said 
mountain  to  the  Painted  Rock,  on  French  Broad  river,  thence 
along  the  highest  ridge  of  the  said  mountain  to  the  place 
where  it  is  called  the  Great  Iron  or  Smoky  mountam,  thence 
along  the  extreme  height  of  said  mountain  to  the  place  where 
it  is  called  Unicoy  or  Unaka  mountain,  between  the  Indian 
towns  of  Cowee  and  Old  Chota,  thence  along  the  main  ridge 
of  the  said  mountain  to  the  southern  boundary  of  this  State." 

The  10th  section  provided  that  "this  act  shall  not  prevent 
the  people  now  residing  south  of  French  Broad,  between  the 
rivers  Tennessee  and  Pigeon,  from  entering  their  pre-emp- 
tions on  that  tract,  should  an  office  be  opened  for  that  purpose 
under  an  act  of  the  present  general  assembly." 


38         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

To  Pay  Debts  and  Establish  Harmony.  The  reasons 
for  making  this  cession  are  set  out  in  the  act  itself  and  are  to 
the  effect  that  Congress  has  "repeatedly  and  earnestly  recom- 
mended to  the  respective  States  .  .  .  claiming  or  owning 
vacant  western  territory,"  to  make  cession  to  part  of  the 
same,  as  a  further  means  "of  paying  the  debts  and  establish- 
ing the  harmony  of  the  United  States;"  "and  the  inhabitants 
of  the  said  western  territory  being  also  desirious  that  such 
cession  should  be  made,  in  order  to  obtain  a  more  ample  pro- 
tection than  they  have  heretofore  received."  The  act  also 
provides  that  neither  the  land  nor  the  inhabitants  of  the  ceded 
territory  shall  be  estimated  in  ascertaining  North  Carolina's 
proportion  of  the  common  expense  occasioned  by  the  war  for 
independence.  Also  that  in  case  the  lands  laid  off  by  North 
Carolina  for  the  "officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Continental  line" 
shall  not  "contain  a  sufficient  quantity  of  lands  fit  for  cultiva- 
tion to  make  good  the  quota  intended  by  law  for  each,  such 
officer  or  soldier  who  shall  fall  short  of  his  proportion  may 
make  up  the  deficiency  out  of  lands  of  the  ceded  territory." 
Having  been  admonished  by  the  claim  of  the  citizens  of  Watauga 
that  until  Congress  should  accept  the  ceded  territory  they 
would  be  in  a  state  "of  political  orphanage,"  the  legislature, 
later  in  the  session  of  1784,  had  been  careful  to  pass  another 
act  by  which  North  Carolina  retained  jurisdiction  and  sover- 
eignty over  the  land  west  of  the  mountains,  and  continued 
in  force  all  existing  North  Carolina  laws,  "until  the  same  shall 
be  repealed  or  otherwise  altered  by  the  legislative  authority 
of  said  territory."  The  act  ordering  the  survey  is  ch.  461, 
Potter's  Revisal,  p.  816,  Laws  1796. 

The  First  Tennessee  Boundary  Survey.  From  the 
narratives  of  David  Vance  and  Robert  Henr^^  of  the  battles 
of  Kings  Mountain  ^  ^  and  Cowan's  Ford,  as  well  as  from  the 
dairy  of  John  Strother,  can  be  gathered  a  fine  account  of  the 
survey  from  Virginia  to  the  Painted  Rock  on  the  French 
Broad  and  the  Stone  on  the  Cataloochee  Turnpike.  The  sur- 
vey began  on  the  20th  of  May  and  ended  Friday  the  28th  of 
June,  1799.  The  original  of  Strother's  diary  is  filed  in  the 
suit  of  the  Virginia,  Tennessee  &  Carolina  Steel  and  Iron  Com- 
pany vs.  Newman,  in  the  United  States  court  at  Asheville,  N.  C. 
The  actual  survey  began  May  22d,  "at  a  sugar-tree  and  beech 
on  Pond  mountain,  so  called  from  two  small  ponds  on  it." 


BOUNDARIES  39 


Both  trees  are  now  gone,  and  a  stone  four  feet  by  two  feet  by 
sixteen  inches  in  thickness,  is  buried  in  the  ground  where  they 
stood,  with  a  simple  cross,  east  and  west,  chiseled  upon  it.  Its 
upjier  surface  is  level  with  the  ground,  and  it  was  placed  there 
in  1899  or  1900  by  a  Mr.  Buchanan  of  the  United  States 
coast  survey.  Marion  Miller  and  John  and  Alfred  Bivins 
assisted  him.  Mr.  Miller  still  lives  within  a  mile  and  a  half  of 
the  corner  rock.  Strother's  party  set  out  from  Asheville  May 
12,  and  reached  Capt.  Robert  Walls  on  New  River,  where 
Strother  arrived  on  the  17th,  and  met  with  Major  Mussendine 
Mathews,  of  whom  Judge  David  Schenck  says'"'  that  he  "rep- 
resented Iredell  county  in  the  House  of  Commons  from  1789 
to  1802  continuously.  He  was  either  a  Tory  or  a  Cynic,  it 
seems."  They  were  awaiting  the  arrival  of  Col.  David  Vance 
and  Gen.  Joseph  McDowell,  but  as  they  did  not  come, 
Strother  went  to  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Elsburg  on  the  18th. 

The  Party  Gathers.  Col.  Vance  and  Major  B.  Collins 
arrived  on  the  19th,  and  they  all  went  to  Captain  Isaac 
Weaver's.  They  were  General  Joseph  McDowell,  Col.  David 
Vance,  Major  Mussendine  Mathews,  commissioners;  John 
Strother  and  Robert  Henry,  surveyors;  Messers.  B.  ColHns, 
James  Hawkins,  George  Penland,  Robert  Logan,  Geo.  David- 
son, and  J.  jMatthews,  chain-bearers  and  markers;  Major  James 
Neely,  commissary;  two  pack-horse  men  and  a  pilot.  They 
camped  that  night  on  Stag  creek.  On  the  night  of  the  23d  of 
May  they  camped  "at  a  very  bad  place"  in  a  low  gap  at  the 
head  of  Laurel  Fork  of  New  river  and  Laurel  Fork  of  Holston 
at  the  head  of  a  branch,  "after  having  passed  through  extreme 
rough  ground  and  some  bad  laurel  thickets."  A  road  now  runs 
through  that  laurel  thicket,  built  since  the  Civil  War,  and 
runs  from  Hemlock  postoffice,  where  there  is  now  a  narrow 
gauge  lumber  railroad  and  an  extract  plant,  to  Laurel  Bloom- 
ery,  in  Tennessee.  A  small  hotel  now  stands  half  on  the  North 
Carolina  and  half  on  the  Tennessee  side  of  the  line  those  men 
then  ran,  and  the  gap  is  called  "Cut  Laurel"  gap  because  it  is 
Uterally  cut  through  the  laurel  for  a  mile  or  more.  *  ^  Thou- 
sands of  gallons  of  blockade  whiskey  used  to  be  carried  through 
that  gap  when  there  was  nothing  but  a  trail  there.  It  is  called 
by  Mr.  Strother  a  low  gap,  but  it  is  one  of  the  highest  in  the 
mountains.  On  the  28th  they  went  to  a  Mr.  Miller's  and  got 
a  young  man  to  act  as  a  pilot.     Strother  went  from  Miller's 


40         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

"to  Cove  creek,  where  I  got  a  Mr.  Curtis  and  met  the  company 
in  a  low  gap  between  the  waters  of  Cove  creek  and  Roan's  creek 
where  the  road  crosses  the  same,"  on  Wednesday  night,  the 
29th. 

Crossed  Boone's  Trail.  This,  in  all  probability,  is  the 
gap  through  which  Daniel  Boone  and  his  party  had  passed  in 
1769  on  their  way  to  Kentucky.  It  is  between  Zionville,  N.  C. 
and  Trade,  Tenn.,  and  the  gap  is  so  low  that  one  is  not  con- 
scious of  passing  over  the  top  of  a  high  mountain.  Tradition 
says  that  an  Indian  trail  went  through  the  same  gap,  and 
traces  of  it  are  still  visible  to  the  north  of  the  present  turn- 
pike. The  young  man  who  had  been  employed  as  a  pilot  at 
Mr.  Miller's  house  on  the  28th  was  found  on  the  29th  not  to 
be  a  "woodsman  and  of  course  he  was  discharged."  On 
June  1st  they  came  to  the  "Wattogo"  river,  where  they  killed 
a  bear,  "very  poor,"  upon  which  and  "some  bacon  stewed 
together,  with  some  good  tea  and  johnny  cake  we  made  a  Sab- 
bath morning  breakfast  fit  for  a  European  Lord."  There  is  a 
tradition  among  the  people  living  near  the  falls  of  the  Watauga 
at  the  State  line,  that  the  line  between  the  peak  to  the  north 
of  the  falls  and  the  Yellow  mountain  was  not  actually  run 
and  marked;  but  the  field  notes  of  both  Strother  and  Henry 
show  that  the  line  was  both  run  and  marked  all  the  w&y.  The 
reason  the  line  was  run  from  the  peak  north  of  the  Watauga 
to  the  bald  of  the  Yellow  was  because  the  act  required  it  to  be 
run  in  precisely  that  way;  the  language  being  "to  the  place 
where  Watauga  river  breaks  through  it  [the  mountain],  thence 
a  direct  course  to  the  top  of  the  Yellow  Mountain  where 
Bright's  road  crosses  the  same."  As  it  is  impossible  to  see 
the  Yellow  from  the  river  at  the  falls  where  the  river  breaks 
through,  it  was  necessary  to  get  the  course  from  the  top  of  the 
peak  north  of  the  river. 

Rattlebugs.  On  Saturday,  June  1st,  they  came  upon  "a 
very  large  rattlebug, "  which  they  "attempted  to  kill,  but  it 
was  too  souple  in  the  heels  for  us. "  On  the  night  of  May  31st 
they  had  had  "severe  lightning  and  some  hard  slaps  [sic]  of 
thunder." 

Laurel  and  Ivy.  There  are  some  who,  nowadays,  contend 
that  ivy  and  laurel  did  not  grow  in  these  mountains  while  the 
Indians  occupied  them,  and  cite  as  proof  that  it  is  almost 


BOUNDARIES  41 


impossible  to  tincl  a  laurel  log  with  rings  indicating  more  than 
a  hundred  years  of  growth.  But  Bishop  Spangenburg  men- 
tions having  encountered  laurel  on  what  is  supposed  to  have 
been  the  Grandfather  mountain  in  1752,  and  John  Strother, 
in  his  diary  of  the  survey  between  Virginia  and  North  Caro- 
lina in  1799,  repeatedly  mentions  it,  both  before  and  after 
crossing  the  ridge  which  divides  the  waters  of  Nollechucky 
from  those  of  the  French  Broad.  What  are  now  known  as  the 
"Ivory  Slicks,"  is  a  tunnel  cut  through  the  otherwise  impen- 
etrable ivy  on  the  slope  between  the  Hang  Over  and  Dave 
Orr's  cabins  on  Slick  Rock,  south  of  the  Little  Tennessee. 

Two  Wagon  Roads  Across  the  Mountains.  Even  at 
that  early  date  there  seem  to  have  been  two  roads  crossing  the 
mountains  into  Tennessee,  for  the  very  next  call  of  the  statute 
is  "thence  along  the  ridge  of  said  mountain  between  the  waters 
of  Doe  river  and  the  waters  of  Rock  creek  to  the  place  where 
the  road  crosses  the  Iron  mountain."  Bright  used  to  live  at 
the  Crab  Orchard,  long  known  as  Avery's  Quarters,  about  a 
mile  above  Plum  Tree,  and  where  W.  W.  Avery  now  lives.  *  ^ 
On  the  5th  of  June  Major  Neely  "turned  off  the  line  today  and 
went  to  Doe  river  settlements  for  a  fresh  supply  of  provisions," 
and  was  to  meet  them  at  the  Yellow  mountain,  where  on  that 
day  the  trees  were  "just  creeping  out  of  their  Avinter  garb," 
and  where  "the  lightning  and  thunder  were  so  severe  that 
they  were  truly  alarming."  From  "the  yellow  spot"  on  the 
Yellow,  whither  they  had  gone  to  take  observations,  but  were 
prevented  by  the  storm,  "we  went  back  and  continued  the  line 
on  to  a  low  gap  at  the  head  of  Roaring  or  Sugar  creek  of  Towe 
[sic]  river  and  a  creek  of  Doe  river  at  the  road  leading  from 
Morganton  to  Jonesborough,  where  we  encamped  as  wet  as 
we  could  be."  This  fixes  the  main  road  between  North  Caro- 
lina and  the  Watauga  settlement,  which  had  been  finished  in 
1772,  and  over  which  Andrew  Jackson  was  to  pass  in  the 
spring  of  1788.  *  ^  Robert  Henry  mentions  a  Gideon  Lewis 
as  one  of  the  guides  from  White  Top  mountain,  and  it  is  re- 
markable that  a  direct  descendant  of  his  and  having  his  name 
is  now  living  at  Taylor's  Valley,  near  Konarok,  Va.,  and  that 
several  others  now  live  near  Solitude  or  Ashland,  N.  C. 

Was  This  Ever  "No  Man's  Land"?  When  the  survey- 
ing party  came  to  the  Yellow  they  found  that  the  compass  had 
been  deflected  when  it  had  been  sighted  from  the  peak  just 


42  HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

north  of  Watauga  Falls,  caused  doubtless  by  the  proximitj^  to 
the  Cranberry  Iron  mountain,  of  whose  existence  apparently 
they  then  had  no  knowledge.  Of  late  years  some  have  supposed 
that  the  "territory  between  the  Iron  mountain  and  the 
Blue  Ridge,  after  the  act  of  cession,  was  left  out  of  any  county 
from  1792  or  1793  till  1818  or  1822,  and  was  without  any  local 
government  till  it  was  annexed  to  Burke  county."  L.  D. 
Lowe,  Esq.,  in  the  Watauga  Democrat  of  July  3d,  1913,  gave 
the  following  explanation:  "It  is  quite  true  that  there  was 
no  local  government,  but  it  was  not  for  the  reason  that  this 
part  of  the  territory  was  not  claimed  by  Burke  county;  but  it 
was  because  the  lands  had  been  granted  to  a  few,  and  there 
were  only  a  limited  number  of  people  within  the  territory  to 
be  governed,  hence  there  was  very  little  attention  paid  to  it." 
In  previous  articles  in  the  same  paper  he  had  shown  that  "the 
reason  this  territory  had  not  been  settled  at  an  earlier  date" 
was  because  "the  State  had  been  paid  for  more  than  three 
hundred  thousand  acres  embraced  within  the  boundaries  of 
six  grants, "  but  had  failed  to  refer  to  the  fact  that  "these  grants 
or  some  of  them  had  especially  excepted  certain  other  grants 
within  their  boundaries — for  example,  certain  grants  to 
Waightstill  Avery,  Reuben  White,  John  Dobson  and  others. 
Within  the  past  twenty-five  years  it  has  been  clearly  demon- 
strated that  some  of  the  Cathcart  grants  run  with  the  Ten- 
nessee line  for  14  miles." 

Home  Comfoets.  "Mr.  Hawkins  and  myself  went  down 
to  Sugar  creek  to  a  Mr.  Currey's,  where  we  got  a  good  supper 
and  a  bed  to  sleep  in,"  continues  the  diary.  Evidently  the 
food  in  the  camp  had  about  given  out,  for  we  hear  nothing 
more  of  meals  "fit  for  a  European  Lord;"  but,  instead,  of  the 
comforts  of  good  Mr.  Currey's  bed  and  board.  Here  too  they 
"took  breakfast  with  Mrs.  Currey,  got  our  clothes  washed 
and  went  to  camp,  where  IMajor  Neely  met  us  with  a  fresh 
supply  of  provisions.  It  rained  all  day  [and]  of  course  we  are 
still  at  our  camp  at  the  head  of  Sugar  creek." 

Pleasant  Beech  Flats.  The  next  day  they  crossed 
"high  spur  of  the  Roan  mountain  to  a  low  gap  therein  where 
we  encamped  at  a  pleasant  Beech  flat  and  good  spring. " 

An}^  one  who  has  never  seen  one  of  these  "pleasant  beech 
flats"  would  scarcely  realize  what  they  are  like.  As  one 
ascends  any  of  the  higher  mountains  of  North  Carolina,  the 


BOUNDARIES  43 


size  of  all  the  trees  perceptibly  diminish,  especially  near  the 
six  thousand  feet  line,  to  be  succeeded,  generally,  on  the  less 
precipitous  slopes,  by  miniature  beech  trees,  perfect  in  shape, 
but  resembling  the  so-called  dwarf-trees  of  the  Japanese. 
They  really  seem  to  be  toy  trees. 

John  Strotiier's  Flowers  of  Rhetoric.  It  was  here 
that  they  "spent  the  Sabbath  day  in  taking  observations  from 
the  high  spur  we  crossed,  in  gathering  the  fir  oil  of  the  Balsam 
of  Pino  which  is  found  on  the  mountain,  in  collecting  a  root 
said  to  be  an  excellent  preventative  against  the  bite  of  a  rattle- 
snake, and  in  visioning  the  wonderful  scene  this  conspicuous 
situation  affords.  There  is  no  shrubbery  grows  on  the  tops 
of  this  mountain  for  several  miles,  say,  and  the  wind  has  such 
a  power  on  the  top  of  this  mountain  that  the  ground  is  blowed 
in  deep  holes  all  over  the  northwest  sides.  The  prospect 
from  the  Roan  mountain  is  more  conspicuous  [extensive?]  than 
from  any  other  part  of  the  Appelatchan  mountains." 

Cloudland.  a  modern  prospectus  of  the  large  and 
comfortable  hostelry,  called  the  Cloudland  hotel,  which  has 
crowned  this  magnificent  mountain  for  more  than  thirty  years, 
the  result  of  the  ardor  and  enterprise  of  Gen.  John  H.  Wilder 
of  Chattanooga,  Tenn.,  could  not  state  the  charms  of  this 
most  charming  resort,  now  become  the  sure  refuge  of  hundreds 
of  sufferers  from  that  scourge  of  late  summer  and  early  autumn 
and  kno\\Ti'as  hay  fever,  more  invitingly. 

Unsurpassed  View.  Of  the  magnificence  of  this  view  a 
later  chronicler  has  this  to  say:  "That  view  from  the  Roan 
eclipses  everything  I  have  ever  seen  in  the  White,  Green,  Cat- 
skill  and  Virginia  mountains. "  This  is  a  statement  put  into  the 
mouth  of  a  Philadelphia  lawyer  in  1882  by  the  authors  of 
"The  Heart  of  the  Alleghanies, "  p.  253. 

Mountain  Moonshine.  On  Monday  they  "proceeded 
on  between  the  head  of  Rock  creek  and  Doe  river,  and  en- 
camped in  a  low  gap  between  these  two  streams.  The  next 
day  they  went  five  or  six  miles  to  the  foot  of  the  Iron  mountain 
to  a  place  they  called  Strother's  Camp,  where  they  had  some 
good  songs,  "then  raped  [wrapped]  ourselves  up  in  our  blank- 
ets and  slep  sound  till  this  morning."  Here  "Cols.  Vance 
and  Neely  went  to  the  Limestone  settlements  for  a  pilot, 
returned  to  us  on  the  line  at  two  o'clock  with  a  Mr.  Collier  as 
pilot  and  two  gallons  whiskey,  we  stop,  drank  our  own  health 


44         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

and  proceeded  on  the  line.  Ascended  a  steep  spur  of  the 
Unaker  mountain,  got  into  a  bad  laurel  thicket,  cut  our  way- 
some  distance.  Night  came  on,  we  turned  off  and  camped  at 
a  very  bad  place,  it  being  a  steep  laurelly  hollow,"  but  the 
whiskey  had  such  miraculous  powers  that  it  made  the  place 
"tolerably  comfortable." 

Bad  Luck  on  the  Thirteenth.  On  Thursday  the  13th, 
if  they  were  superstitious,  the  expected  bad  luck  happened; 
for  here  they  were  informed  that  for  the  next  two  or  three 
days'  march  the  pack-horses  could  not  proceed  on  the  line — 
that  is,  could  not  follow  the  extreme  height  of  the  mountain 
crest.  This  was  a  calamity  indeed;  but  what  was  the  result? 
How  did  these  men  meet  it?     We  read  how: 

Between  Hollow  Poplar  and  Greasy  Cove.  "Myself 
[John  Strother]  together  with  the  chain-bearers  and  markers 
packed  our  provisions  on  our  backs  and  proceeded  on  with  the 
line,  the  horses  and  rest  of  the  company  was  conducted  round 
by  the  pilot  a  different  route.  We  continued  the  line  through 
a  bad  laurel  thicket  to  the  top  of  the  Unaker  mountain  and 
along  the  same  about  three  miles  and  camped  at  a  bad  laurelly 
branch."  On  Friday,  however,  they  came  "to  the  path 
crossing  [the  Unaker  mountain]  from  Hollow  Poplar  to  the 
Greasy  Cove  and  met  our  company.  It  rained  hard.  We 
encamped  on  the  top  of  the  mountain  half  a  mile  from  water 
and  had  an  uncomfortable  evening. " 

Devil's  Creek  and  Lost  Cove.  It  seems  that  the  infor- 
mation Mr.  Collier  had  given  "respecting  the  Unaker  moun- 
tain was  false,"  and  Mr.  Strother  prevailed  upon  the  com- 
missioners to  discharge  him  on  Saturday  the  15th  of  June. 
They  then  crossed  the  Nolechucky  "where  it  breaks  through 
the  Unaker  or  Iron  mountain."  Here  it  is  that  that  match- 
less piece  of  modern  railroad  engineering,  the  C.  C.  &.  O.  R. 
R.,  disputes  with  the  "Chucky"  its  dominion  of  the  canon 
and  transports  from  its  exhaustless  coal  mines  in  Virginia 
hundreds  of  tons  of  the  finest  coal  to  its  terminus  on  the 
Atlantic  coast. 

Robert  He_nry  Meets  His  Fate.  Here,  too,  it  being  again 
found  "impracticable  to  take  horses  from  this  place  on  the  line 
to  the  Bald  mountain,  Mr.  Henry,  the  chain-bearers  and 
markers,  took  provisions  on  their  backs  [and]  proceeded  on 
the  line  and  the  horses  went  round  by  the  Greasy  Cove  and 


BOUNDARIES  45 


met  the  rest  of  the  company  on  Sunday  on  the  top  of  the  Bald 
mountain,  where  we  tarried  till  Tuesday  morning." 

"Tarrying"  in  the  Greasy  Cove.  One  cannot  help 
wondering  why  they  "tarried"  here  so  long;  but  no  one  who 
has  ever  visited  that  "Greasy  Cove"  and  shared  the  hospital- 
ity of  its  denizens  need  long  remain  without  venturing  a  guess; 
for  it  is  a  pleasant  place  to  be,  with  the  "red  banks  of  Chucky" 
still  crumbling  in  the  bend  of  the  river  and  the  ravens  croak- 
ing from  their  clifi's  among  the  fastnesses  of  the  Devil's  Look- 
ing Glass  looming  near.  ■*  ■•  The  C.  C.  &  O.  have  their  immense 
shops  here  now,  covering  almost  a  hundred  acres  of  land. 

Vance's  Camp.  From  the  Bald  mountain,  now  in  Yancey 
county,  it  seems  that  Col.  Love  became  their  pilot;  and  five  or 
six  miles  further  on  in  "a  low  gap  between  the  head  of  Indian 
creek  and  the  waters  of  the  south  fork  of  Laurel,  we  encamped 
and  called  it  Vance's  Camp."  The  richness  of  the  moun- 
tains is  noted. 

The  Grier  Bald.  This  Bald  is  sometimes  called  the  Grier 
Bald  from  the  fact  that  David  Grier,  a  hermit,  lived  upon  it 
for  thirty-two  years.  *  ^  Grier  was  a  native  of  South  Carolina 
who,  because  one  of  the  daughters  of  Col.  David  Vance 
refused  to  marry  him,  built  himself  a  log  house  here  in  1802, 
just  three  years  after  Colonel  Vance  had  passed  the  spot,  and 
it  is  probable  Grier  first  heard  of  it  through  this  gentleman. 
In  a  quarrel  over  his  land  he  killed  a  man  named  Holland 
Higgins  and  was  acquitted  on  the  ground  of  insanity  "and 
returned  home  to  meet  his  death  at  the  hands  of  one  of  Hol- 
land's friends." 

Boone's  Cove.  On  Wednesday  the  19th  of  June,  after 
having  suffered  severely  the  previous  night  from  gnats,  they 
went  to  "Boone's  Cove,  between  the  waters  of  Laurel  and 
Indian  creeks,"  while  on  the  20th  they  had  to  pass  over  steep 
and  rocky  and  brushy  knobs,  with  water  scarce  and  a  consid- 
erable distance  from  the  line.  All  day  Friday  their  horses 
suffered  from  want  of  water  and  food,  part  of  the  way  being 
impassable  for  horses;  while  on  Saturday  it  took  them  "four 
hours  and  23  minutes"  to  cut  their  way  one  and  one-fourth 
miles  to  the  top  of  the  mountain,  where,  after  getting  through 
the  laurel,  they  "came  into  an  open  flat  on  top  of  Beech  moun- 
tain where  we  camped  till  Monday  at  a  good  spring  and  excel- 
lent range  for  our  horses." 


46         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

A  Recruit  of  Bacon.  On  Monday,  the  24th  of  June, 
their  provisions  began  to  fail  them  again,  but  they  proceeded 
on  the  line  six  miles  and  "crossed  the  road  leading  from  Bar- 
nett's  Station  to  the  Brushy  Cove  and  encamped  in  a  low  gap 
between  the  waters  of  Paint  creek  and  Laurel  river. "  *^ 
They  had  a  wet  evening  here;  but  as  they  "suped  on  venison 
stewed  with  a  recruit  of  bacon  Major  Neely  brought  in  this 
day  from  the  Brushy  Cove  settlement,"  we  may  hope  their 
lot  was  not  altogether  desolate;  for  it  is  possible  that  this 
enterprising  commissary,  Major  Neely,  might  have  brought 
them  something  besides  that  "recruit  of  bacon";  for  it  will  be 
recalled  that  on  a  former  occasion  he  went  for  a  pilot  and 
returned  not  only  with  a  pilot  but  with  two  gallons  of  a  liquid 
that  "had  such  marvelous  powers"  that  it  made  a  very  "bad 
place"  "tolerably  comfortable." 

Barnett's  Station.  At  any  rate,  they  knew  they  were 
nearing  the  end  of  their  long  and  arduous  journey,  for  they 
had  now  reached  the  waters  of  Paint  creek,  which  they  must 
have  known  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  "Painted  Rock," 
their  destination.  The  Barnett  Station  referred  to  above 
was  probably  Barnard's  old  stock  stand  on  the  French  Broad 
river,  five  or  six  miles  below  Marshall. 

Off  the  Track  for  Awhile.  After  losing  their  way  on  the 
25th  and  "having  a  very  uncomfortable  time  of  it"  on  Paint 
creek,  they  got  on  the  "right  ridge  from  the  place  we  got  off 
of  it  and  proceeded  on  the  line  five  miles  and  encamped  between 
the  waters  of  F.  B.  R.  [French  Broad  river]  and  Paint  creek. " 

"Hasey"  and  "Anctoous."  Thursday  27.  This  morning 
is  cloudy  and  hasey.  The  Commissioners  being  anctoous  to 
get  on  to  the  Painted  Rock  started  us  early";  but  they  took 
a  wrong  ridge  again  and  had  to  return  and  spend  an  uncom- 
fortable evening. 

Dropping  the  Plummet  from  Paint  Rock.  However, 
on  Friday,  the  28th  day  of  June,  1799,  they  reached  the  Painted 
Rock  at  last  and  measured  its  height,  finding  it  to  be  "107 
feet  three  inches  high  from  the  top  to  the  base,"  that  "it 
rather  projects  out,"  and  that  "the  face  of  the  rock  bears  but 
few  traces  of  its  having  formerly  been  painted,  owing  to  its 
being  smoked  by  pine  knots  and  other  wood  from  a  place  at 
its  base  where  travellers  have  frequently  camped.  In  the 
year  1790  it  was  not  much   smoked,  the   pictures   of   some 


BOUNDARIES  47 


humans,  wild  beasts,  fish  and  fowls  were  to  be  seen  plainly 
made  with  red  paint,  some  of  them  20  and  30  feet  from  its 
base." 

Animal  Pictures  Have  Disappeared.  How  muoh  more 
satisfactory  this  last  sentence  would  have  been  if  he  had  only 
added:  "I  saw  them."  For,  as  the  rock  appears  today, 
the  red  paint  seems  to  be  nothing  more  or  less  than  the  oxida- 
tion of  the  iron  in  the  exposed  surfaces,  while  all  trace  of 
"some  humans,  wild  beasts,"  etc.,  mentioned  by  him  have 
entirely  disappeared. 

The  Real  "Painted  Rock."  However,  he  leaves  us  in 
no  doubt  that  they  had  reached  the  real  Painted  Rock  called 
for  by  the  Act  of  Cession,  ceding  "certain  lands  therein  de- 
scribed"; for  he  goes  on  to  say  that,  while  "some  gentlemen 
of  Tennessee  wish  to  construe  as  the  painted  rock  referred  to" 
another  rock  in  the  French  Broad  river  "about  seven  miles 
higher  up  on  the  opposite  or  S.  W.  side  in  a  very  obscure 
place,"  that  "it  is  to  be  observed  that  there  is  no  rock  on 
French  Broad  river  that  ever  was  known  as  the  painted  rock 
but  the  one  first  described,  which  has,  ever  since  the  River 
F.  Broad  was  explored  by  white  men,  been  a  place  of  Pub- 
Hck  Notoriety." 

Surpasses  a  "Best  Seller"  of  To-day.  This  is  the  next 
to  the  concluding  sentence  in  this  quaint  and  charming  nar- 
rative— a  narrative  that  one  hundred  and  fifteen  years 
after  it  was  penned  can  still  be  read  with  more  interest  than 
many  of  the  so-called  "best  sellers"  of  the  present  day. 

"We  then  went  up  to  the  Warm  Springs  where  we  spent 
the  evening  in  conviviality  and  friendship. " 

The  Loneliness  of  Bachelorhood.  But  it  is  in  the  very 
last  sentence  that  one  begins  to  suspect  that  John  Strother 
was  at  that  time  a  bachelor,  for  we  read : 

"Saturday,  29th.  The  Company  set  out  for  home  to  which  place  I 
wish  them  a  safe  arrival  and  happy  reception,  as  for  myself  I  stay  at  the 
Springs  to  get  clear  of  the  fatigue  of  the  Tour." 

One  wonders  whose  bright  eyes  made  his  "fatigue"  so 
much  greater  than  that  of  the  others  and  kept  him  so  long 
at  the  springs. 

To  THE  "Big  Pigeon."  The  line  from  the  Painted  Rock 
to  the  Big  Pigeon  was  run  a  few  weeks  later  on  by  the  same 


48         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

commissioners  and  surveyors;  but  we  have  no  narrative  of 
the  trip,  which,  doubtless,  was  without  incident,  though  the 
way,  probably,  was  rough  and  rugged. 

Second  Tennessee  Boundary  Survey.  North  Carolina 
having  acquired  by  the  treaty  of  February  27,  1819,  all  lands 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Hiwassee  "to  the  first  hill  which 
closes  in  on  said  river,  about  two  miles  above  Hiwassee  Old 
Town;  thence  along  the  ridge  which  divides  the  waters  of  the 
Hiwassee  and  Little  Tellico  to  the  Tennessee  river  at  Talas- 
see;  thence  along  the  main  channel  to  the  junction  of  the 
Cowee  and  Nanteyalee;  thence  along  the  ridge  in  the  fork  of 
said  river  to  the  top  of  the  Blue  Ridge;  thence  along  the  Blue 
Ridge  to  the  Unicoy  Turnpike  road;  thence  by  straight  line  to 
the  nearest  main  source  of  the  Chastatee;  thence  along  its  main 
channel  to  the  Chattahoochee,  etc.,"^^  it  became  necessary 
to  complete  its  boundary  line  from  the  Big  Pigeon  at  the 
Cataloochee  turnpike  southwest  to  the  Georgia  line.  To 
that  end  it  passed,  in  1819  (2  R.  S.  N.  C,  1832),  an  act  under 
which  James  Mebane,  Montford  Stokes  and  Robert  Love 
were  appointed  commissioners  for  North  Carolina  for  the  pur- 
pose of  running  and  marking  said  line.  These  commissioners 
met  Alexander  Smith,  Isaac  Allen  and  Simeon  Perry,  com- 
missioners representing  Tennessee,  at  Newport,  Tenn.,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Big  Pidgeon,  July  16,  1821;  and,  starting  from  the 
stone  in  the  Cataloochee  turnpike  road  which  had  been  set 
up  by  the  commissioners  of  1799,  they  ran  in  a  southwest- 
wardly  course  to  the  Bald  Rock  on  the  summit  of  the  Great 
Iron  or  Smoky  mountain,  and  continued  along  the  main  top 
thereof  to  the  Little  Tennessee  river.  The  notes  of  W.  Dav- 
enport's field  book  give  as  detailed  an  account  of  the  progress 
of  these  commissioners  and  surveyors  as  did  John  Strother's 
in  1799;  but  as  they  met  no  one  betw'een  these  two  points 
there  was  little  to  relate.  The  same  or  another  party  might 
follow  the  same  route  to-day  and  they  w^ould  meet  no  one. 
But  Mr.  Davenport  does  not  call  the  starting  point  a  "turn- 
pike." He  calls  it  a  "track,"  which  was  quite  as  much  as  it 
could  lay  claim  to,  the  present  turnpike  having  been  built 
from  Jonathan's  creek  up  Cove  creek,  across  the  Hannah  gap, 
passing  the  Carr  place  and  up  the  Little  Cataloochee,  through 
Mount  Sterling  gap,  as  late  as  the  fifties.  ^  ^  At  twenty  miles 
from  the  starting  point  they  were  on  "the  top  of  an  extreme 


BOUNDARIES  49 


high  pinnacle  in  view  of  Sevierville. "  At  22  miles  they  were  at 
the  Porter  gap,  from  which,  in  1853,  Eli  Arrington  (^f  Waynes- 
ville  carried  on  his  shoulders  W.  W.  Rhinehart,  dying  of 
milk-sick,  three  miles  tlown  the  Bradley  fork  of  Ocona  Luftee 
to  a  big  poplar,  where  Rhinehart  died.  Near  here,  although 
they  did  not  know  it  then,  an  alum  cave  was  one  day  to  be 
discovered,  out  of  which,  in  the  lean  years  of  the  Southern 
Confederacy,  Col.  William  H.  Thomas  and  his  Indians  were 
to  dig  for  alum,  copperas,  saltpeter  and  a  little  magnesia  to 
be  used  in  the  hospitals  of  this  beleaguered  land,  in  default  of 
standard  medicines  which  had  been  made  contraband  of  war. 

Arnold  Guyot  and  S.  B.  Buckley.  Here,  too,  Arnold 
Guyot,  the  distinguished  professor  of  geology  and  physical 
geography  of  Princeton  college,  came  in  1859,  following  Prof. 
S.  B.  Buckley,  and  made  a  series  of  barometric  measurements, 
not  alone  of  the  Great  Smoky  mountain  chain,  but  also  of  that 
little  known  and  rugged  group  of  peaks  wholly  in  Tennessee, 
knoNVTi  as  the  Bull  Head  mountains. 

Doubtful  of  a  Road  Ever  Crossing  the  Smokies. 
Surveyor  Davenport  noted  a  low  gap  through  which  "if  there 
ever  is  a  wagon  road  through  the  Big  Smoky  mountain,  it 
must  go  through  this  gap."  Well,  during  the  Civil  War, 
Col.  Thomas,  with  his  "sappers  and  miners,"  composed  of 
Cherokee  Indians  and  Union  men  of  East  Tennessee,  did  make 
a  so-called  wagon  road  through  this  gap,  now  called  Collins 
gap;  and  through  it,  in  January,  1864,  General  Robert  B. 
Vance  carried  a  section  of  artillery,  dragging  the  dismounted 
cannon,  not  on  skids,  but  over  the  bare  stones,  only  to  be 
captured  himself  with  a  large  part  of  his  command  at  Causbey 
creek  two  days  later.  But  no  other  vehicle  has  ever  passed 
that  frightful  road,  save  only  the  front  wheels  of  a  wagon, 
as  it  is  dangerous  even  to  walk  over  its  precipitous  and  rock- 
ribbed  course.  No  other  road  has  ever  been  attempted,  and 
this  one  has  been  abandoned,  except  by  horsemen  and  foot- 
men, for  years.  Not  even  a  wagon  track  is  visible.  On  the 
7th  of  August  they  came  at  the  31st  mile  to  Meigs'  Post. 
At  the  34th  mile  they  came  in  view  of  Brassto^vn;  and  next 
day,  at  the  45th  mile,  they  reached  the  head  of  Little  river,  and 
must  have  been  in  plain  view  of  Tuckalecchee  Cove  and  near 
Thunderhead  mountain,  both  immortalized  by  Miss  Mary 
N.  Murfree  (Charles  Egbert  Craddock)  in  her  stories  of  the 
w.  N.  c. — 4 


50         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Tennessee  mountains.  On  the  11th  they  were  at  the  head 
of  Abram's  creek,  which  flows  through  Cade's  Cove  into  the 
Little  Tennessee  at  that  gem  of  all  mountain  coves,  the  Har- 
den farm  at  Talassee  ford.  On  the  13th  they  came  to  a  "red 
oak  ...  at  Equeneetly  path  to  Cade's  cove."  This  is  only 
a  trail,  and  is  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  prongs  of  Eagle  creek 
and  not  far  from  where  Jake  and  Quil  Rose,  two  famous 
mountaineers,  lived  in  the  days  of  blockade  stills.  Of  course 
they  did  not  still  any!  On  this  same  unlucky  13th,  they 
came  to  the  top  of  a  l^ald  spot  in  sight  of  Talassee  Old  Town, 
at  the  57th  mile.  This  is  the  Harden  farm  spoken  of  above, 
and  is  a  tract  of  about  500  acres  of  level  and  fertile  land.  On 
the  16th  they  passed  over  Parsons  and  Gregorj^  Balds.  On 
this  day  also  they  crossed  the  Little  Tennessee  river  "to  a 
large  white  pine  on  the  south  side  of  the  river  at  the  mouth 
of  a  large  creek,  65th  mile."  From  there  on  to  the  Hiwassee 
turnpike  the  boundary  line  is  in  dispute,  the  case  being  now 
before  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  One  of  the 
marks  still  visible  is  that  made  on  the  19th,  at  the  86th  mile, 
"a  holly  tree  .  .  .  near  the  head  of  middle  fork  of  TelUco 
river."  They  were  then  close  to  what  has  since  been  known 
as  State  Ridge,  on  which  in  July,  1892,  William  Hall,  stand- 
ing on  the  North  Carolina  side  of  the  line,  was  to  shoot  and 
kill  Andrew  Bryson;  and  if  these  surveyors  had  not  done  their 
work  well,  Hall  might  have  suffered  severely;  for,  all  uncon- 
sciously, this  man  was  to  invoke  the  same  law  Carson  and 
Vance  and  other  noted  duellists  had  relied  on,  when  they 
"fought  across  the  State  line."^^  Zim.  Roberts,  who  lives 
under  the  Devil's  Looking  Glass,  says  that  a  healthy  white 
oak  tree,  under  which  Hall  was  standing  when  he  fired  at 
Bryson,  began  to  die  immediately  and  is  now  quite  dead. 
On  the  20th  of  August  they  were  at  "the  89th  mile,  at  the 
head  of  Beaver  Dam"  creek  of  Cherokee  county,  N.  C,  and 
not  far  from  the  Devil's  Looking  Glass, "  an  ugly  cHff  of  rock, 
where  the  ridge  comes  to  an  abrupt  and  almost  perpendicular 
end.  On  that  day,  at  the  93d  mile,  they  came  to  "the  trad- 
ing path  leading  from  the  Valley  Towns  to  the  Overhill  set- 
tlements," reaching  the  95th  mile  on  that  path  before  they 
paused. 

That  Sahara-Like   Thirst.     On  the   24th,   at   the   96th 
mile,  they  w^ere  on  the  top  of  the  Unicoy  mountain,  and  on 


BOUNDARIES  51 


the  same  (l:i\-  they  reached  "the  hickory  and  rock  at  the 
wagon  road,  tlic  lOlst  mile,  at  the  end  of  the  Unicoy  moun- 
tain." It  was  here  that  tradition  says  that  the  Sahara-Uke 
thirst  overtook  the  party;  as  from  the  101st  mile  post  their 
course  was  "due  south  15  miles  and  220  poles  to  a  post  oak 
post  on  the  Georgia  line,  at  23  poles  west  of  the  72d  mile 
from  the  Nick-a-jack  Old  Town  on  the  Tennessee  river." 

Tuyon's  Boundary  Line.  "In  the  spring  and  early  sum- 
mer of  1767  there  were  fresh  outbreaks  on  the  part  of  the 
Indians.  Governor  Tryon  had  run  a  boundary-line  between 
the  back  settlements  of  the  Carolinas  and  the  Cherokee  hunt- 
ting-grounds.  But  hunters  and  traders  would  persist  in  wan- 
dering to  the  west  of  this  line  and  sometimes  they  were 
killed."^" 

Indian  Boundary  Lines.  Almost  as  important  as  the 
State  lines  were  the  Indian  boundary  lines;  but  most  of  them 
were  natural  boundaries  and  have  given  but  little  trouble. 
There  was  one  notable  exception,  however,  and  that  is  the 

Meigs  and  Freeman  Line.  According  to  the  map  of  the 
"Former  Territorial  Limits  of  the  Cherokee  Indians,"  ac- 
companying the  Fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Eth- 
nology, 1883-84,  there  were  three  lines  run  to  establish  the 
boundary  between  the  Cherokees  and  the  ceded  territory 
under  the  treaty  of  October  2,  1798;  the  first  of  which  was 
run  by  Captain  Butler  in  1798,  and  extending  from  "Meigs' 
post  on  the  Great  Stone  mountain  to  a  fork  of  the  Keowee 
river  in  South  Carolina  known  as  Little  river.  But,  accord- 
ing to  the  text  *  ^  the  line  was  not  run  till  the  summer  of 
1799,  and  is  described  as  "extending  from  Great  Iron  moun- 
tain in  a  southeasterly  direction  to  the  point  where  the  most 
southerly  branch  of  Little  river  crossed  the  divisional  line  to 
Tugaloo  river."  However,  "owing  to  the  unfortunate  de- 
struction of  official  records  by  fire,  in  the  year  1800,  it  is  im- 
possible to  ascertain  all  the  details  concerning  this  survey, 
but  it  was  executed  on  the  theory  that  the  "Little  River" 
named  in  the  treaty  was  one  of  the  northermost  branches  of 
Keowee  river."  ^^ 

Return  J.  Meigs  and  Thomas  Freeman.  But,  "this  sur- 
vey seems  not  to  have  been  accepted  by  the  War  Depart- 
ment, for  on  the  3d  of  June,  1802,  instructions  were  issued 
by  the  Secretary  of  War  to  Return  J.  Meigs,  as  commissioner, 


52         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

to  superintend  the  execution  of  the  survey  of  this  same  por- 
tion of  the  boundary.  Mr.  Thomas  Freeman  was  appointed 
surveyor. "^^  "There  were  three  streams  of  that  name  in 
that  vicinity.  Two  of  these  were  branches  of  the  French 
Broad  and  the  other  of  the  Keowee.' ' 

Expediency  Governed.  "If  the  line  should  be  run  to  the 
lower  of  these  two  branches  of  the  French  Broad,  it  would 
leave  more  than  one  hundred  white  families  of  white  settlers 
within  the  Indian  territory.  If  it  were  run  to  the  branch  of 
the  Keowee  river,  it  would  leave  ten  or  twelve  Indian  vil- 
lages within  the  State  of  North  Carolina."  It  was,  therefore, 
determined  by  Commissioner  Meigs  to  accept  the  upper 
branch  of  the  French  Broad  as  the  true  intent  and  meaning 
of  the  treaty,  and  the  line  was  run  accordingly;  whereby 
"not  a  single  white  settlement  was  cut  off  or  intersected,  and 
but  five  Indian  families  were  left  on  the  Carolina  side  of  the 
line." 

Location  of  the  "Meigs  Post."  In  a  footnote  (p.  181-2) 
Commissioner  Meigs  refers  to  the  plat  and  field-notes  of  Sur- 
veyor Freeman,  but  the  author  declares  that  they  cannot  be 
found  among  the  Indian  office  records.  ^  ^  Also  that  there  is 
"much  difficulty  in  ascertaining  the  exact  point  of  departure 
of  the  'Meigs  Line'  from  the  great  Iron  Mountains.  In  the 
report  of  the  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina  boundary  com- 
missioners in  1821  it  is  stated  to  be  "313^  miles  by  the  cource 
of  the  mountain  ridge  in  a  general  southwesterly  course  from 
the  crossing  of  Cataloochee  turnpike;  9}/^  miles  in  a  similar 
direction  from  Porter's  gap;  213/2  miles  in  a  northeasterly 
direction  from  the  crossing  of  Equovetley  Path,  and  333^^ 
miles  in  a  like  course  from  the  crossing  of  Tennessee  river." 
...  It  was  stated  to  the  author  by  Gen.  R.  N.  Hood,  of 
Knoxville,  Tenn.,  that  there  is  a  tradition  that  "Meigs  Post" 
was  found  some  years  since  about  13^2  miles  southwest  of 
Indian  gap.  A  map  of  the  survey  of  Qualla  Boundary,  by 
M.  S.  Temple,  in  1876,  shows  a  portion  of  the  continuation 
of  "Meigs  Line  as  passing  about  13^^  miles  east  of  Qualla- 
town."  Surveyor  Temple  mentions  it  as  running  "south  50° 
east  (formerly  south  523^2°  east)."  Meigs'  Post  should  have 
stood  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  Hawkins  Line  which  had  been 
run  by  Col.  Benj.  Hawkins  and  Gen.  Andrew  Pickens  in 
August,  1797,  pursuant  to  the  treaty  of  July  2,  1791,  com- 


BOUNDARIES  53 


mencing  1000  yards  above  South  West  Point  (now  Kingston) 
and  running  south  76°  east  to  the  Great  Iron  Mountain.  ^  * 
''From  tliis  point  the  Hne  continued  in  the  same  course  until 
it  reached  the  Hopewell  treaty  line  of  1785,  and  was  called 
the  "Pickens  Une."^^  The  Hopewell  treaty  line  ran  from  a 
point  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  about  12  miles  east  of  Hen- 
dersonville,  crossed  the  Swannanoa  river  just  east  of  Asheville, 
and  went  on  to  ^McNamee's  camp  on  the  Nollechucky  river, 
three  miles  southeast  of  Greenville,  Tenn.  "The  supposition 
is  that  as  the  commissioners  were  provided  with  two  survey- 
ors, they  separated,  Col.  Hawkins,  with  Mr.  Whitner  as  sur- 
veyor, running  the  line  from  Clinch  river  to  the  Great  Iron 
Mountains,  and  Gen.  Pickens,  with  Col.  Kilpatrick  as  sur- 
veyor, locating  the  remainder  of  it.  This  statement  is  veri- 
fied so  far  as  Gen.  Pickens  is  concerned  by  his  own  written 
statement."  ^^ 

Col.  Stringfield  Follows  the  Line.  George  H.  Smathers, 
Esq.,  an  attorney  of  Wa>Tiesville,  says  there  is  a  tradition 
that  the  Meigs  and  Freeman  posts  were  really  posts  set  up 
along  this  line,  and  not  marks  made  on  living  trees;  but  Col. 
W.  W.  Stringfield  of  the  same  place  writes  that  he  measured 
nine  and  one-half  miles  southwestwardly  of  Porter's  gap 
"and  found  Meigs'  post,  a  torn-dowTi  stone  pile  on  the  top 
of  a  smooth  mountain.  .  .  .  Meigs'  and  Freeman's  line  was 
as  well  marked  as  any  line  I  ever  saw;  I  traced  this  line 
south  521/2  °  east,  from  Scott's  creek  to  the  top  of  Tennessee 
mountain,  between  Hayw'ood  and  Transylvania  counties,  a 
few  miles  south  of  and  in  full  view  of  the  Blue  Ridge  or  South 
Carolina  line  ...  I  found  a  great  many  old  marks,  evidently 
made  when  the  line  was  first  run  in  1802.  I  became  quite 
familiar  with  this  line  in  later  years,  and  ran  numerous  lines 
in  and  around  the  same  in  the  sale  of  the  Love  "Speculation" 
lands.  .  .  .  Many  of  these  old  marked  trees  can  still  be  found 
all  through  Jackson  county,  on  the  waters  of  Scott's  creek. 
Cane  or  Wurry-hut,  Caney  Fork,  Cold  or  Tennessee  creek, 
and  others."  ^^  When  he  was  running  the  line  he  was  told  by 
Chief  Smith  of  the  Cherokees,  Wesley  Enloe,  then  over  80 
years  old.  Dr.  Mingus,  then  92  years  old,  Eph.  Connor  and 
others,  that  he  was  on  the  Meigs  line. 

Return  Jonathan  Meigs.  "He  was  the  firstborn  son 
of  his  parents,  who  gave  him  the  somewhat  peculiar  name 


54         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Return  Jonathan  to  commemorate  a  romantic  incident  in 
their  own  courtship,  when  his  mother,  a  young  Quakeress 
called  back  her  lover  as  he  was  mounting  his  horse  to  leave 
the  house  forever  after  what  he  had  supposed  was  a  final 
refusal.  The  name  has  been  handed  down  through  five  gen- 
erations. "59.    .    . 

Treaty  of  1761.  ^"^  The  French  having  secured  the  active 
sympathy  of  the  Cherokees  in  their  war  with  Great  Britain, 
Governor  Littleton  of  South  Carolina,  marched  against  the 
Indians  and  defeated  them,  and  in  1760,  concluded  a  treaty 
with  them,  under  which  the  Cherokees  agreed  to  kill  or  im- 
prison every  Frenchman  who  should  come  into  their  country 
during  the  war.  But  as  the  Cherokees  still  continued  hos- 
tile South  Carolina  sent  Col.  Grant,  who  conquered  them  in 
1761,  and  concluded  a  treaty  by  which  "the  boundaries  be- 
tween the  Indians  and  the  settlements  were  declared  to  be  the 
sources  of  the  great  rivers  flowing  into  the  Atlantic  ocean." 
As  the  Blue  Ridge  is  an  unbroken  watershed  south  of  the 
Potomac  river,  this  made  that  mountain  range  the  true  east- 
ern boundary  of  the  Indians.  This  treaty  remained  in  force 
till  the  treaty  of  1772  and  the  purchase  of  1775  to  the  north- 
ern part  of  that  boundary,  or  the  land  lying  west  of  the  Blue 
Ridge  and  north  of  the  Nollechucky  river.  It  remained  in 
force  as  to  all  land  west  and  south  of  that  territory  till  1785 
(November  28),  called  the  treaty  of  Hopewell. 

Treaty  of  1772  and  Purchase  of  1775.  The  Virginia 
authorities  in  the  early  part  of  1772  concluded  a  treaty  with 
the  Cherokees  whereby  a  boundary  line  was  fixed  between 
them,  which  was  to  run  west  from  White  Top  mountain,  which 
left  those  settlers  on  the  Watauga  river  within  the  Indian 
limits,  whereupon,  as  a  measure  of  temporary  relief,  they 
leased  for  a  period  of  eight  years  all  the  country  on  the  waters 
of  the  Watauga  river.  "Subsequently  in  1775  (March  19) 
they  secured  a  deed  in  fee  simple  therefor,"  .  .  .  and  it  em- 
braced all  the  land  on  "the  waters  of  the  Watauga,  Holston, 
and  Great  Canaway  [sic]  or  New  river."  This  tract  began 
"on  the  south  or  southwest  of  the  Holston  river  six  miles 
above  Long  Island  in  that  river;  thence  a  direct  line  in  nearly 
a  south  course  to  the  ridge  dividing  the  waters  of  Watauga 
from  the  waters  of  Nonachuckeh  (Nollechucky  or  Toe)  and 
along  the  ridge  in  a  southeasterly  direction  to  the  Blue  Ridge 


BOUNDARIES  55 


or  line  dividing  North  Carolina  from  tho  Cherokee  lands; 
thence  along  the  Blue  Ridge  to  the  Virginia  line  and  west  along 
such  line  to  the  Holston  river;  thence  down  the  Holston  to  the 
beginning,  including  all  waters  of  the  Watauga,  part  of  the 
waters  of  Holston,  and  the  head  branches  of  the  New  river 
or  Great  Canaway,  agreeable  to  the  aforesaid  boundaries." « ^ 

Treaty  of  Hopewell,  1785.  Hopewell  is  on  the  Keowee 
river,  fifteen  miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Tugaloo.  It  was 
here  that  the  treaty  that  was  to  move  the  boundary  line  west 
of  the  Blue  Ridge  was  made.  This  line  began  six  miles  southeast 
of  Greenville,  Tenn.,  where  Camp  or  McNamee's  creek  empties 
into  the  NoUechucky  river;  and  ran  thence  a  southeast  course 
"to  Rutherford's  War  Trace,"  ten  or  twelve  miles  west  of 
the  Swannanoa  settlement.  This  "War  Trace"  was  the  route 
followed  by  Gen.  Griffith  Rutherford,  when,  in  the  summer 
of  1776,  he  marched  2,400  men  through  the  Swannanoa  gap, 
passed  over  the  French  Broad  at  a  place  still  known  as  the 
"War  Ford";  continued  up  the  valley  of  Hominy  creek, 
leaving  Pisgah  mountain  to  the  left,  and  crossing  Pigeon  river 
a  little  below  the  mouth  of  East  Fork;  thence  through  the 
mountains  to  Richland  creek,  above  the  present  town  of 
Waynesville,  etc.  From  the  point  where  the  line  struck  the 
War  Trace  it  was  to  go  "to  the  South  Carolina  Indian  bound- 
ary." Thus,  the  line  probably  ran  just  east  of  Marshall,. 
Asheville  and  Hendersonville  to  the  South  Carolina  line, 
though  its  exact  location  was  rendered  "unnecessary  by  rea- 
son of  the  ratification  in  February,  1792,  of  the  Cherokee 
treaty  concluded  July  2,  1791,  wherein  the  Indian  boundary 
line  was  withdra^vn  a  considerable  distance  to  the  west."  ^^ 

North  Carolina's  Indian  Reservation.  Meantime,  how- 
ever. North  Carolina  being  a  sovereign  State,  bound  to  the 
Confederation  of  the  Union  only  by  the  loose  articles  of 
confederation,  in  1883,  set  apart  an  Indian  reservation  of  its 
own;  which  ran  from  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Pigeon  to  its  source 
and  thence  along  the  ridge  between  it  and  the  waters  of  the 
Tuckaseigee  (Code  N.  C,  Vol.  ii,  sec.  2346)  to  the  South 
Carolina  line.  This,  however,  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
supported  by  any  treaty.  The  State  had  simply  moved  the 
Indian  boundary  line  twenty  miles  westward  to  the  Pigeon 
river  at  Canton. 


56         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Treaties  of  1791  and  1792.  The  treaty  of  1791  was  not 
satisfactory  to  the  Indians  and  another  treaty  supplemental 
thereto  was  made  February  17,  1792,  which  in  its  turn  was 
followed  by  one  of  January  21,  1795,  and  another  of  October 
2,  1798.  They  all  call  for  what  was  afterwards  run  and  called 
the  Meigs  and  Freeman  line,  treated  fully  under  that  head.^^ 

Treaty  of  February  27,  1819.  This  treaty  cedes  all 
land  from  the  point  where  the  Hiwassee  river  empties  into 
the  Temiessee,  thence  along  the  first  ridge  which  closes  in  on 
said  river,  two  miles  above  Hiwassee  Old  Town;  thence  along 
the  ridge  which  divides  the  Avaters  of  Hiwassee  and  Little 
Tellico  to  the  Tennessee  river  at  Talassee;  thence  along  the 
main  chaimel  to  the  junction  of  the  Nanteyalee;  thence  along 
the  ridge  in  the  fork  of  said  river  to  the  top  of  the  Blue  Ridge; 
thence  along  the  Blue  Ridge  to  the  Unicoy  Turnpike,  etc. 
This  moved  the  line  twenty  miles  west  of  what  is  now  Frank- 
lin. 6  4 

Treaty  of  New  Echota,  December  29,  1835.  By  this 
treaty  the  Cherokees  gave  up  all  their  lands  east  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi river,  and  all  claims  for  spoliation  for  $5,000,000,  and 
the  7,000,000  acres  of  land  west  of  the  Mississippi  river,  guar- 
anteed them  by  the  treaties  of  1828  and  1833.  This  was  the 
treaty  for  their  removal,  treated  in  the  chapter  on  the  East- 
ern Band.  ^  ^ 

The  Rainbow  Country.  During  the  year  1898  while 
Judge  H.  G.  Ewart  was  acting  as  District  Judge  of  the  U.  S. 
Court  at  Asheville,  some  citizen^  of  New  Jersey  obtained  a 
judgment  against  the  heirs  of  the  late  JMesser  Fain  of  Chero- 
kee county  for  certain  land  in  the  disputed  territory,  known  as 
the  Rainbow  Country  because  of  its  shape.  The  sheriff  of 
Monroe  county,  Tennessee,  armed  with  a  writ  of  possession 
from  the  Tennessee  court,  entered  the  house  occupied  by  one 
of  Fain's  sons  and  took  possession.  Fain  had  him  arrested 
for  assault  and  trespass,  and  he  sued  out  a  writ  of  habeas 
corpus  before  Judge  Ewart,  who  decided  the  case  in  favor  of 
Fain;  but  the  sheriff  appealed  to  the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals 
for  the  4th  circuit,  and  Judge  Ewart  was  reversed.  There- 
upon Fain  sued  out  a  writ  of  certiorari  before  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  Dnited  States;  but  after  the  writ  had  been 
granted   Fain   decided  not  to   pay  for  the   printing   of  the 


BOUNDARIES  57 


large  record,  and  the  ease  was  dismissed  for  want  of  prose- 
cution. This  was  one  of  the  forerunners  to  Htigation  with 
Tennessee. 

Recent  Boundary  Disputes.  There  is  now  pending  be- 
fore the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  a  controversy 
between  the  State  of  Tennessee  and  the  State  of  North  Caro- 
lina over  what  is  known  as  the  "Rainbow"  country  at  the 
head  of  Tellico  creek,  Cherokee  county.  Tennessee  claims 
that  the  line  should  have  followed  the  main  top  of  the  Unaka 
mountains  instead  of  leaving  the  main  ridge  and  crossing  one 
prong  of  Tellico  creek  which  rises  west  of  the  range.  This  is 
probably  what  should  have  been  done  if  the  commissioners 
who  ran  the  line  in  1821  had  followed  the  text  of  the  statute 
literally;  but  they  left  the  main  top  and  crossed  this  prong  of 
Tellico  creek,  and  their  report  and  field-notes,  showing  that 
this  had  been  done  were  returned  to  their  respective  States 
and  the  line  as  run  and  marked  was  adopted  by  Tennessee  as 
well  as  by  North  Carolina.  ^  ^ 

Lost  Cove  Boundary  Line.  In  1887,  Gov.  Scales,  under 
the  law  providing  for  the  appointment  of  a  commission  to 
meet  another  from  Tennessee  to  determine  at  what  point  on 
the  Nollechucky  river  the  State  line  crosses,  appointed  Cap- 
tain James  ]\L  Gudger  for  North  Carolina,  J.  R,  Neal  be- 
ing his  surveyor;  but  there  was  a  disagreement  from  the 
outset  between  the  North  Carolina  and  the  Tennessee  com- 
missioners. The  latter  insisted  on  going  south  from  the  high 
peak  north  of  the  Nollechucky  river,  which  brought  them  to 
the  deep  hole  at  the  mouth  of  lost  Cove  creek,  at  least  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  east  of  the  point  at  which  the  line  run  for 
the  North  Carolina  commissioner  reached  the  same  stream, 
which  was  a  few  hundred  yards  below  the  mouth  of  Devil's 
creek.  The  North  Carolina  commissioner  claimed  to  have 
the  original  field-notes  of  the  surveyors,  and  followed  them 
strictly.  Neither  side  would  yield  to  the  other,  and  the  line 
remains  as  it  was  originally  run  in  1799.  The  notes  followed 
by  Captain  Gudger  were  deposited  by  him  with  his  report 
with  the  Secretary  of  State  at  Raleigh.  See  Pub.  Doc.  1887, 
and  Dugger  v.  McKesson,  100  N.  C,  p.  1. 

Macon  County  Line.  The  legislature  of  North  Carolina 
provided  for  a  survey  between  Macon  County,  N.  C,  and 
Rabun  county,  Ga.,  in  1879,  from  EUiquet's  Rock,  the  cor- 


58  HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ner  of  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  to  the 
"Locust  Stake",  and  as  much  further  as  the  line  was  in  dis- 
pute. L.  Howard  of  ]\Iacon  county  was  the  commissioner  for 
North  CaroHna.     (Ch.  387,  Laws  1883.) 

Tennessee  Line  Between  Cherokee  and  Graham.  The 
line  between  these  two  counties  and  Tennessee  was  ordered 
located  by  the  county  surveyors  of  the  counties  named  ac- 
cording to  the  calls  of  the  act  of  182L  See  Ch.  202,  Pub. 
L.  1897,  p.  343. 

notes. 

lAsheville's  Centenary. 

2Col.  Rec,  Vol.  V,  p.  xxxix. 

'Ibid. 

<Ibid. 

sHill,  p.  31-32. 

ejbid.,  p.  33. 

nhid.,  p.  89. 

sjbid.,  p.  88. 

•Ibid.,  89. 

loCol.  Rec,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  23  et  seq. 

"Ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  790. 

i^Ibid.,  p.  794. 

1 3' '  The  line  thus  run  was  accepted  by  both  Colonies  and  remains  still  the  boundary 
between  the  two  states."     Hill,  89. 

"Byrd,  190. 

■5Col.  Rec,  Vol.  II,  p.  223. 

i^Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  p.  xxiv. 

I'Col.  Rec,  Vol.  IV.  p.  xiii. 

I'The  large  green,  treeless  spot  on  the  top  of  this  mountain,  covered  with  grass,  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  forest  of  singular  trees,  locally  known  as  "Lashorns. "  From  a  sketch  of 
Wilborn  Waters,  "The  Hermit  Hunter  of  White  Top,"  by  J.  A.  Testerman,  of  Jefferson, 
Ashe  Co.,  N.  C,  the  following  description  of  these  trees  is  taken:  "They  have  a  diameter 
of  from  15  to  30  feet,  and  their  branches  will  hold  the  weight  of  several  persons  at  one  time 
on  their  level  tops.  They  resemble  the  Norway  Spruce,  but  do  not  thrive  when  trans- 
planted."    The  diameter  given  above  refers  to  that  of  the  branches,  not  of  the  trunks. 

»»Ch.  144,  Laws  1779,  377,  Potter's  Revisal;  W.  C.  Kerr  in  Report  of  Geological  Survey 
of  N.  C,  Vol.  I,  (1875),  p.  2,  states  that  this  survey  carried  the  line  beyond  Bristol,  Tenn.- 
Va. 

20A  glance  at  any  map  of  Tennessee  reveals  the  fact  that  the  line  does  not  run  "due 
west"  all  the  waj';  but  that  does  not  concern  North  Carolina  now. 

2iRoosevelt,  Vol.  I,  217. 

220glethorpc  did  not  sail  for  Savannah  till  November  17,  1732. 

2  3Its  head  waters  are  in  Rockingham  and  Guilford  counties. 

2  ^The  mouth  of  the  Waccamaw  river  must  be  90  miles  southwest  from  that  of  the  Cape 
Fear. 

26Col.  Rec,  Vol.  IV,  8. 

2'Mear  means  a  boundary,  a  limit. 

"Col.  Rec,  Vol.  IV,  p.  vii,  and  W.  C.  Kerr's  Report  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  N.  C, 
(1875). 

28It  was  in  the  Waxhaw  settlement  that  ."Andrew   Jackson  was  born,  March  15,  1767. 

2 'Potter's  Revisal,  p.  1280. 

3«Potter's  Revisal,  1131. 

"Ibid.,  1280. 

'2Ibid.,  1318. 

33Ellicott's  Rock  is  on  the  west  bank  of  Chatooga  river.  Rev.  St.  N.  C,  Vol.  II,  145. 
Andrew  Ellicott  had  been  previously  appointed  to  survey  the  line  under  the  Creek  treaty 
of  1790,  according  to  Fifth  Eth.  Rep.,  p.  163. 

3<FifthEth.  Rep.,  p.  182. 

"N.  C.  Booklet,  Vol.  Ill,  No.  12. 

seibid. 

"Ibid. 

'8By  the  late  C.  D.  Smith,  1905. 

"Draper,  259. 

^oin  the  Narrative  of  Vance  and  Henry  of  the  Battle  of  Kings  Mountain,  published  in 
1892  by  T.  F.  Davidson. 

* 'Ambrose  gap  is  a  few  miles  southwest,  and  is  so  called  because  a  free  negro  of  that 
name  built  a  house  across  the  State  line  in  this  gap,  and  when  he  died  his  grave  was  dug 
half  in  Tennessee  and  half  in  North  Carolina,  according  to  local  tradition. 

<2Draper,  176. 

* 'Allison,  p.  4. 


BOUNDARIES  59 


"Zoigler  &  Grosscup,  pp.  271-2-3. 

«'FiftirS:th'!'2[9.' 220."""^  ^^°^'^  "'''*  ^^  '^'^  "*  ^•"■°'="'«  Station.  November  4.  1802. 

"Liiws  ISoofsi,  ch.  fa?.  But  there  was  a  road  of  .some  kind,  for  Bishon  AHhurv 
mentions  cr.js..,nK  Catnloochce  on  a  Iok  in  December,  1810.  "Bui  O  the  mCuntain- 
heighl  after  heiKht,  and  five  miles  over  I"  ^  ^^    luo    niouniain— 

••Thu^it?"  w^"  ''*^^'  *"'*  "*  ^"  ^^  *"•  "^'^^  ^^'^^  **^^'  "^^  ^''^• 

"Fifth  Eth..  181. 

"Ibid. 

"Ibid. 

»*Ibid.,  181. 

"Ibid.,  168. 

"Ibid. 

"Ibid.,  168. 

"154  N.  C.  Rep.,  79. 

"Nineteenth  Eth.,  214. 

"Fifth  Eth.,  146. 

"Ibid. 

"Ibid.,  156-157. 

"Ibid..  158-159,  169. 

"Ibid.,  219. 

"Ibid.,  253. 

"Rev.  St.  N.  C,  Vol.  Ill,  96-97. 


CHAPTER  III 
COLONIAL  DAYS 

Though  the  mountains  were  not  settled  during  colonial 
days  except  north  of  the  ridge  between  the  Toe  and  Watauga 
rivers,  the  people  who  ultimately  crossed  the  Blue  Ridge 
lived  under  colonial  laws  and  customs,  or  descended  from 
those  pioneers  who  did.  Therefore,  colonial  times  in  North 
Carolina,  especially  in  the  Piedmont  country,  should  be  of 
interest  to  those  who  would  know  how  our  more  remote  ances- 
tors lived  under  English  rule.  This  should  be  especially 
true  of  those  venturesome  spirits  who  first  crossed  the  Blue 
Ridge  and  explored  the  mountain  regions  of  our  State,  what- 
ever may  have  been  the  object  of  their  quest.  For  ''when 
the  first  Continental  Congress  began  its  sittings  the  only 
frontiersmen  west  of  the  mountains  and  beyond  the  limits 
of  continuous  settlement  within  the  old  thirteen  colonies  were 
the  two  or  three  hundred  citizens  of  the  Little  Watauga  com- 
monwealth. ^  For  they  were  a  commonwealth  in  the  truest 
sense  of  the  word,  being  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  any  gov- 
ernment except  that  of  their  own  consciences.  In  these 
circumstances  they  voluntarily  formed  the  first  republican 
government  in  America.  "The  building  of  the  Watauga 
commonwealth  by  Robertson  and  Sevier  gave  a  base  of  oper- 
ations and  furnished  a  model  for  similar  commonwealths  to 
follow."  2 

For  the  first  -nTitten  compact  that,  west  of  the  mountains, 
Was  framed  for  the  guidance  of  Uberty's  feet, 

Was  writ  here  by  letterless  men  in  whose  bosoms, 
Undaunted,  the  heart  of  a  paladin  beat. 

Earl  of  Granville.  There  were  eight  Lords  Proprietors 
to  whom  Carolina  was  originally  granted  in  1663.  Among 
them  was  Sir  George  Carteret,  afterwards  Earl  of  Granville. ' 
On  the  3d  of  May,  1728,  the  king  of  England  bought  North 
Carolina  and  thus  ended  the  government  of  the  Lords  Pro- 
prietors. But  he  did  not  buy  the  interest  of  the  Earl  of  Gran- 
ville, who  refused  to  sell;  though  he  had  to  give  up  his  share 

(60) 


COLONIAL  DAYS  61 


in  the  government  of  the  colony.  Hence,  grants  from  Earl 
of  Granville  are  as  valid  as  those  from  the  crown-  for  in  1743 
his  share  was  given  him  in  land.  It  included  about  one-half 
ol  the  State,  and  he  collected  rents  from  it  till  1776,  his  dis- 
honest agents  giving  the  settlers  on  it  great  trouble.  ' 

Moravians.     The    Moravians    were    a    band    of    religious 
brethren  who  came  to  America  to  do  mission  work  among 
tlie  Indians  and  to  gain  a  full  measure  of  religious  freedom 
1  heir  plan  was  to  build  a  central  to^vn  on  a  large  estate  and 
to  sell  the  land  around  to  the  members  of  the  brotherhood 
Ihe  town  was  to  contain  shops,  mills,  stores,  factories,  churches 
and    schools.     After    selecting    several    pieces    of    lowlands, 
iiishop   Spangenberg  bought   from   the   Earl   of  Granville   a 
large  tract  in  the  bounds  of  the  present  county  of  Forsyth 
and  called  the  tract  Wachovia,  meaning  ''meadow  stream."^ 
On  November  17,  1753,  a  company  of  twelve  men  arrived  at 
Wachovia,    and   started   what   is   now   Salem.     This   Bishop 
Spangenberg  is  spoken  of  in  Hill's  ''Young  People's  History 
of    North    Carolina"   as   Bishop   Augustus   G.   Spangenberg; 
whi  e  the  Spangenberg  whose  diary  is  quoted  from  exten- 
sively in  the  next  few  pages  signs  himself  I.  Spangenberg. 
He  wil   be  called  the  Bishop,  nevertheless,  because  he  "spake 
as  one  having  authority. "  s 

First  to  Cross  the  Blue  Ridge.     Vol.  V,  Colonial  Rec- 
ords (pp.  1  to  14),  contains  the  diary  of  I.  Spangenberg,  of  the 
Moravian  church.     He  is  the  first  white  man  who  crossed 
the  Blue  Ridge  in  North  Carolina,  so  far  as  the  records  show 
except  those  who  had  prolonged  the  Virginia  State  line  in 
1749.     He,  with  his  co-religionist,  Brother  I.  H.  Antes,  left 
Edenton  September  13,   1752,  for  the  purpose  of  inspecting 
and  selecting  land  for  settling  xMoravian  immigrants.     The 
land  was  to  have  been  granted  by  Earl  Granville,  and  the 
surveyor,  Mr.  Churton,  who  accompanied  the  expedition,  had 
instructions  from  that  proprietor  to  survey  the  lands,  and  as 
he  was  to  be  paid  three  pounds  sterling  for  each  5,000-acre 
tract,  he  was  averse  to  surveying  tracts  of  smaller  acreage. 
His  instructions  limited  him  also  to  north  and  south  and  east 
and  west  lines,  which  frequently  compelled  the  good  Bishop 
to  include  mountains  in  his  boundaries  that  he  did  not  par- 
ticularly desire.     Having  run  three  lines  this  surveyor  declined 
to  run  the  fourth,  and  the  Bishop  notes  that  fact  in  order 


i 


\ 


62         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

to  save  his  brethern  the  trouble  of  searching  for  lines  that 
were  never  run  or  marked.  The  surveyor,  however,  did  sur- 
vey for  the  Bishop  smaller  tracts  than  those  containing  5,000 
acres,  though  reluctantly. 

Quaker  Meadows.  In  Judge  Avery's  "Historic  Homes" 
(N.  C.  Booklet,  Vol.  IV,  No.  3)  he  refers  to  the  fact  that  these 
meadows  were  so  called  from  the  fact  that  a  Quaker  (Mora- 
vian) once  camped  there  and  traded  for  furs.  This  Quaker 
was  Bishop  Spangenberg.  He  reached  on  November  12, 
1752,  the  "neighborhood  of  what  may  be  called  Indian  Pass. 
The  next  settlement  from  here  is  that  of  Jonathan  Weiss, 
more  familiarly  known  as  Jonathan  Perrot.  This  man  is  a 
hunter  and  lives  20  miles  from  here.  There  are  many  hunters 
about  here,  who  live  like  Indians:  they  kill  many  deer,  sell- 
ing their  hides,  and  thus  live  wathout  much  work."  On  the 
19th  of  November  he  reached  Quaker  Meadows,  "fifty  miles 
from  all  settlements  and  found  all  we  thought  was  required 
for  a  settlement,  very  rich  and  fertile  bottoms.  .  .  .  Our 
survey  begins  seven  or  eight  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  3d 
river  where  it  flows  into  the  Catawba.  What  lies  further 
down  the  river  has  already  been  taken  up.  The  other  [west- 
ern] line  of  the  survey  runs  close  to  the  Blue  Ridge.  .  .  .  This 
piece  consists  of  6,000  acres.  We  can  have  at  least  eight  set- 
tlements in  this  tract,  and  each  will  have  water,  range,  etc. 
...  I  calculate  to  every  settlement  eight  couples  of  brethren 
and  sisters." 

Buffalo  Trails.  There  were  no  roads  save  those  made 
by  buffaloes.  The  surveyor  was  stopped  by  six  Cherokees  on 
a  hunt,  but  they  soon  became  friendly.  November  24th  they 
were  five  miles  from  Table  Rock,  which  with,  the  Hawk's  Bill 
is  so  conspicuous  from  Morganton,  where  they  surveyed  the 
fifth  tract  of  land,  of  700  or  800  acres. 

Musical  Wolves.  "The  wolves,  which  are  not  like  those 
in  Germany,  Poland  and  Lapland  (because  they  fear  men 
and  do  not  easily  come  near)  give  us  such  music  of  six  differ- 
ent cornets,  the  like  of  which  I  have  never  heard  in  my  life. 
Several  brethren,  skilled  in  hunting,  will  be  required  to  exter- 
minate panthers,  wolves,  etc." 

Old  Indian  Fields.  ^  On  November  28th  they  were 
camped  in  an  old  Indian  field  on  the  northeast  branch  of 
Middle  Little  river  of  the  Catawba,  where  they  arrived  on 


COLONIAL  DAYS  63 


the  25th,  and  resolved  to  take  up  2,000  acres  of  land  lying 
on  two  streams,  both  well  adapted  to  mill  purposes.  That 
the  Indians  once  lived  there  was  very  evident — possibly  be- 
fore the  war  which  they  waged  with  North  Carolina — "from 
the  remains  of  an  Indian  fort:  as  also  the  tame  grass  which 
was  still  growing  about  the  old  residences,  and  from  the  trees." 
On  December  3d  they  camped  on  a  river  in  another  old  Indian 
field  at  the  head  of  a  l)ranch  of  New  river,  "after  passing 
over  frightful  mountains  and  dangerous  cliffs." 

Where  Men  Had  Seldom  Trod.  On  the  29th  they  were 
in  camp  on  the  second  or  middle  fork  of  Little  river,  not  far 
from  Quaker  Meadows  "in  a  locality  that  has  probably  been 
but  seldom  trodden  by  the  foot  of  man  since  the  creation  of 
the  world.  For  70  or  80  miles  we  have  been  traveling  over 
^terrible  mountains  and  along  very  dangerous  places  where 
there  was  no  way  at  all."  One  might  call  the  place  in  which 
they  were  camped  a  basin  or  kettle,  it  being  a  cove  in  the 
mountains,  rich  of  soil,  and  where  their  horses  found  abun- 
dant pasture  among  the  buffalo  haunts  and  tame  grass  among 
the  springs.  The  wild  pea-vines  which  formerly  covered  these 
mountains,  growing  even  under  the  forest  trees  most  luxuri- 
antly for  years  after  the  whites  came  in,  afforded  fine  pas- 
turage for  their  stock.  It  also  formed  a  tangled  mat  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth  through  which  it  was  almost  impossible 
for  men  to  pass.  Hence,  the  pioneers  were  confined  gener- 
ally to  the  Indian  and  buffalo  trails  already  existing.  These 
pea- vines  return  even  now  whenever  a  piece  of  forest  land  is 
fenced  off  a  year  or  two. 

On  the  Grandfather?  It  would  seem  that  they  had  been 
misled  by  a  hunter  whom  they  had  taken  along  to  show  them 
the  way  to  the  Yadkin;  but  had  missed  the  way  and  on  De- 
cember 3d  came  "into  a  region  from  which  there  was  no  out- 
let excc])t  by  climbing  up  an  indescribably  steep  mountain. 
Part  of  the  way  we  had  to  crawl  on  our  hands  and  feet,  and 
sometimes  we  had  to  take  the  baggage  and  saddles  from  the 
horses,  and  drag  them  up,  while  they  trembled  and  quivered 
hke  leaves.  The  next  day  we  journeyed  on:  got  into  laurel 
bushes  and  beaver  dams  and  had  to  cut  our  way  through  the 
bushes.  Arrived  at  the  top  at  last,  we  saw  hundreds  of 
mountain  peaks  all  around  us,  presenting  a  spectacle  like 
ocean  waves  in  a  storm."     The  descent  on  the  western  side 


64         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

was  "neither  so  steep,  nor  as  deep  as  before,  and  then  we 
came  to  a  stream  of  water,  but  no  pasture.  .  .  .  The  next 
day  we  got  into  laurel  bushes  and  beaver  dams  and  had  to 
cut  our  way  through  the  bushes.  .    .    .  " 

Wandering  Bewildered  in  Unknown  Ways.  "Then  we 
changed  our  course — left  the  river  and  went  up  the  mountain, 
where  the  Lord  brought  us  to  a  delicious  spring,  and  good 
pasturage  on  a  chestnut  ridge.  .  .  .  The  next  day  we  came 
to  a  creek  so  full  of  rocks  that  we  could  not  possible  cross  it; 
and  on  both  sides  were  such  precipitous  banks  that  scarcely 
a  man,  certainly  no  horse  could  climb  them  .  .  .  but  our 
horses  had  nothing — absolutely  nothing.  .  .  .  Directly  came 
a  hunter  who  had  climbed  a  mountain  and  had  seen  a  large 
meadow.  Thereupon,  we  scrambled  down  .  .  .  and  came 
before  night  into  a  large  plain.  .    .    . 

Caught  in  a  Mountain  Snowstorm.  "We  pitched  our 
tent,  but  scarcely  had  we  finished  when  such  a  fierce  wind- 
storm burst  upon  us  that  we  could  scarcely  protect  ourselves 
against  it.  I  camiot  remember  that  I  have  ever  in  winter 
anywhere  encountered  so  hard  or  so  cold  a  wind.  The  ground 
was  soon  covered  with  snow  ankle  deep,  and  the  water  froze 
for  us  aside  the  fire.  Our  people  became  thoroughly  dis- 
heartened. Our  horses  would  certainly  perish  and  we  with 
them." 

In  Goshen's  Land.  "The  next  day  we  had  fine  sunshine, 
and  then  warmer  days,  though  the  nights  were  'horribly'  cold. 
Then  we  went  to  examine  the  land.  A  large  part  of  it  is  al- 
ready cleared,  and  there  long  grass  abounds,  and  this  is  all 
bottom.  Three  creeks  flow  together  here  and  make  a  con- 
siderable river,  which  flows  into  the  Mississippi  according  to 
the  best  knowledge  of  our  hunters."  There  were  countless 
springs  but  no  reeds,  but  "so  much  grass  land  that  Brother 
Antes  thinks  a  man  could  make  several  hundred  loads  of  hay 
of  the  wild  grass.  .  .  .  There  is  land  here  suitable  for  wheat, 
corn,  oats,  barley,  hemp,  etc.  Some  of  the  land  will  prob- 
ably be  flooded  when  there  is  high  water.  There  is  a  mag- 
nificent chestnut  and  pine  forest  near  here.  Whetstones  and 
millstones  which  Brother  Antes  regards  the  best  he  has  seen 
in  North  Carolina  are  plenty.  The  soil  is  here  mostly  lime- 
stone and  of  a  cold  nature.  .  .  .  We  surveyed  this  land  and 
took  up  5,400  acres.  .   .  .     We  have  a  good  many  mountains, 


COLONIAL  DAYS  65 


but  they  are  very  fertile  and  admit  of  cultivation.  Some  of 
them  are  already  covered  with  wood,  and  are  easily  acces- 
sible. Many  hundred — yes,  thousand  crab-apple  trees  grow 
here,  which  may  be  useful  for  vinegar.  One  of  the  creeks 
presents  a  number  of  admirable  seats  for  milling  purposes. 
This  survey  is  about  15  miles  from  the  Virginia  line,  as  we 
saw  the  Meadow  mountain,  and  I  judged  it  to  be  about  20 
miles  distant.  This  mountain  lies  five  miles  from  the  line 
between  Virginia  and  North  Carolina.  In  all  probability  this 
tract  would  make  an  admirable  settlement  for  Christian  In- 
dians, like  Grandenhutten  in  Pennsylvania.  There  is  wood, 
mast,  wild  game,  fish  and  a  free  range  for  hunting,  and  admir- 
able land  for  corn,  potatoes,  etc.  For  stock  raising  it  is  also 
incomparable.  Meadow  land  and  pasture  in  abundance." 
After  ''a  bitter  journey  among  the  mountains  where  we  were 
virtually  lost  and  whichever  way  we  turned  we  were  literally 
walled  in  on  all  sides,"  they  came  on  December  14,  1752, 
to  the  head  of  Yadkin  river,  after  having  abandoned  all 
streams  and  paths,  and  followed  a  course  east  and  south,  and 
"scrambling  across  the  mountains  as  well  as  we  could." 
Here  a  hunter  named  Owen,  "of  Welch  stock,  invited  us 
into  his  house  and  treated  us  very  kindly."  He  lived  near 
the  Mulberry  Fields  which  had  been  taken  up  by  Morgan 
Bryant,  but  were  uninhabited.  The  nearest  house  was  60 
miles  distant. 

The  First  Hunters.  The  hunters  who  assisted  the  Bishop 
in  finding  the  different  bodies  of  suitable  land  were  Henry 
Day,  who  lived  in  Granville,  John  Perkins,  who  lived  on  the 
Catawba,  "and  is  knowoi  as  Andrew  Lambert,  a  well-known 
Scotchman,"  and  Jno.  Rhode,  who  "lives  about  20  miles 
from  Capt.  Sennit  on  the  Yadkin  road."  John  Perkins  was 
especially  commended  to  the  Brethren  as  "a  diligent  and  true 
worthy'  man,  and  a  friend  to  the  Brethren."  The  late  Judge 
A.  C.  Avery  said  he  was  called  "Gentleman  John,"  and  that 
Johns  river  in  Burke  was  named  for  him. '' 

Settlers  from  Pennsylvania.  "Many  of  the  immi- 
grants were  sent  to  Pennsylvania,  and  they  had  traveled  as 
far  west  as  Pittsburg  early  in  the  18th  century.  The  Indians 
west  of  the  Alleghanies  were,  however,  fiercer  than  any  the 
Quakers  had  met;  but  to  the  southwest  for  several  hundred 
miles  the  Appalachians  "run  in  parallel  ranges  .  .  .  through 
w.  X.  c. — 5 


66         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Virginia,  West  Virginia,  the  Carolinas  and  East  Tennessee 
..."  and  through  these  "long,  deep  troughs  between  these 
ranges  .  .  .  Pennsylvanians  freely  wandered  into  the  South 
and  Southwest  .  .  .  "and  "between  the  years  1732  and  1750, 
numerous  groups  of  Pennsylvanians — Germans  and  Irish  large- 
ly, ^vith  many  Quakers  among  them — had  been  .  .  .  grad- 
ually pushing  forward  the  line  of  settlement,  until  now  it  had 
reached  the  upper  waters  of  the  Yadkin  river,  in  the  north- 
west corner  of  North  Carolina."*  "Thus  was  the  wilder- 
ness tamed  by  a  steady  stream  of  immigration  from  the  older 
lands  of  the  northern  colonies,  while  not  a  few  penetrated 
to  this  Arcadia  through  the  passes  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  from 
eastern  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas."^ 

Nick-a-Jack's  Cave.  Almost  the  first  difficulties  those 
who  first  crossed  the  mountains  encountered  was  from  the 
depredations  of  renegade  Indians  and  desperate  white  men 
defiant  of  law  and  order.  There  was  at  this  time  (1777-78) 
a  body  of  free-booters,  composed  of  "adventurous  and  unruly 
members  from  almost  all  the  western  tribes — Cherokees, 
Creeks,  Chickasaws,  Choctaws,  and  Indians  from  the  Ohio, 
generally  known  as  Chickamaugas.  Many  Tories  and  white 
refugees  from  border  justice  joined  them  and  shared  in  their 
misdeeds.  Their  shifting  villages  stretched  from  Chicka- 
mauga  creek  to  Running  Water.  Between  these  places  the 
Tennessee  twists  down  through  the  somber  gorges  by  which 
the  chains  of  the  Cumberland  range  are  riven  in  sunder. 
Some  miles  below  Chickamauga  creek,  near  Chattanooga, 
Lookout  mountain  towers  aloft  into  the  clouds;  at  its  base 
the  river  bends  round  Moccasin  Point,  and  then  rushes  through 
a  gap  between  Walden's  Ridge  and  the  Raccoon  Hills.  Then, 
for  several  miles,  it  foams  through  the  mnding  Narrows 
between  jutting  cliffs  and  sheer  rock  walls,  while  in  its  boulder- 
strewn  bed  the  swift  torrent  is  churned  into  whirlpools,  cata- 
racts, and  rapids.  Near  the  Great  Crossing,  where  the  war 
parties  and  hunting  parties  were  ferried  over  the  river,  lies 
Nick-a-jack's  cave,  a  vast  cavern  in  the  mountain-side.  Out 
of  it  flows  a  stream  up  which  a  canoe  can  paddle  two  or  three 
miles  into  the  heart  of  the  mountain.  In  these  high  fastnesses, 
inaccessible  ravines,  and  gloomy  caverns  the  Chickamaugas 
built  their  towns,  and  to  them  they  retired  with  their  prisoners 
and  booty  after  every  raid  on  the  settlements. " 


COLONIAL  DAYS  67 


French  and  Indian  War  Land  Warrants.  ^  °  The  Chick- 
amaugas  lived  on  Chickamauga  creek  and  in  the  moun- 
tains about  where  Chattanooga  now  stands;  they  were  kins- 
men of  the  Cherokees.  In  1748  Dr.  Thomas  Walker  and  a 
party  of  hunters  came  from  Virginia  into  Powell's  Valley, 
crossing  the  mountains  at  Cumberland  gap,  and  named  it 
and  the  river  in  honor  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  Prime 
Minister  of  England.  In  1750-7  the  English  ])uilt  Fort  Lou- 
don, 30  miles  from  Knoxville,  as  the  French  were  trying  to 
get  the  Cherokees  to  make  war  on  the  North  Carolina  set- 
tlers. After  the  treaty  of  peace  between  France  and  England 
in  1763  many  hunters  poured  over  the  mountains  into  Ten- 
nessee; though  George  III  had  ordered  his  governors  not  to 
allow  whites  to  trespass  on  Indian  lands  west  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  if  any  white  man  did  buy  Indian  lands  and  and  the 
Indians  moved  away  the  land  should  belong  to  the  king. 
He  appointed  Indian  commissioners;  but  the  whites  persisted, 
some  remaining  a  year  or  more  to  hunt  and  were  called  Long 
Hunters.  Land  warrants  had  been  issued  to  officers  and 
soldiers  who  had  fought  in  the  French  and  Indian  wars  and 
those  issued  by  North  Carolina  wanted  to  settle  in  what  is 
now  Tennessee.  The  Iroquois  complained  that  whites  were 
killing  their  stock  and  taking  their  lands,  and  at  a  great  Indian 
council  at  Fort  Stanwix,  at  Rome,  N.  Y.,  the  northern  tribes 
gave  England  title  to  all  their  lands  between  the  Ohio  and 
Teimessee  rivers  in  1767.  But  the  Indian  commissioners  for 
the  southern  tribes  called  a  council  at  Hard  Labor,  S.  C,  and 
bought  title  to  the  same  land  from  the  Cherokees.  These 
treaties  were  finished  in  1768.  William  Bean  in  1769  was 
living  in  a  log  cabin  where  Boone's  creek  joins  the  Watauga. 
In  1771  Parker  and  Carter  set  up  a  store  at  Rogersville,  and 
people  from  Abingdon  (called  Wolf's  Hill)  followed,  and 
the  settlement  was  called  the  Carter's  Valley  settlement. 
In  1772  Jacob  Bro\\Ti  opened  a  store  on  the  Nollechucky  river, 
and  pioneers  settling  around,  it  was  called  Nollechucky  set- 
tlement. Shortly  before  Bean  had  settled  the  Cherokees  had 
attacked  the  Chickasaws  and  been  defeated,  and  the  settlers 
got  a  ten  years'  lease  from  Indians  for  lands  they  claimed. 
In  May  1771,  at  Alamance,  Tryon  had  defeated  the  Regula- 
tors and  many  of  them  had  moved  to  Tennessee.  Most 
settlers  in  Tennessee  thought  they  were  in  Virginia,  but  either 


68         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Richmond  or  Raleigh  was  too  far  off,  so  they  formed  the 
Watauga  Association  in  1772  and  a  committee  of  13  elected 
five  commissioners  to  settle  disputes,  etc.,  with  judicial  powers 
and  some  executive  duties  also.  It  was  a  free  government 
by  the  consent  of  every  individual.  When  the  Revolution- 
ary War  l)egan  Watauga  Association  named  their  country 
Washington  District  and  voted  themselves  indebted  to  the 
United  Colonies  for  their  share  of  the  expenses  of  the  war. 

The  Watauga  Settlement  and  Indian  Wars.  This 
caused  the  British  government  to  attempt  the  destruction 
of  these  settlements  by  inciting  the  Cherokees  to  make  war 
upon  them.  Alexander  Cameron  was  the  Indian  commis- 
sioner for  the  British  and  he  furnished  the  Indians  with  guns 
and  ammunition  for  that  purpose;  but  in  the  spring  of  1776, 
Nancy  Ward,  a  friendly  Indian  woman,  told  the  white  settlers 
that  700  Cherokee  warriors  intended  to  attack  the  settlers. 
They  did  so,  but  were  defeated  at  Heaton's  Station  and  at 
Watauga  Fort.  In  these  battles  the  settlers  were  aided  by 
Virginia.  James  Robertson  and  John  Sevier  were  leaders 
in  these  times.  It  was  after  this  that  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina  and  South  Carolina  sent  soldiers  into  the  Cherokee 
country  of  North  Carolina  for  the  extermination  of  the  sav- 
age Cherokees.  ^  ^  In  August  1776  the  Watauga  Settlement 
asked  to  be  annexed  by  North  Carolina,  113  men  signing 
the  petition,  all  of  whom  signed  their  names  except  two,  who 
made  their  marks.  There  seems  to  be  no  record  of  any  formal 
annexation;  but  in  November,  1776,  the  Provisional  Congress 
of  North  Carolina  met  at  Halifax  and  among  the  delegates 
present  were  John  Carter,  John  Sevier,  Charles  Robertson 
and  John  Haile  from  the  Washington  District.  It  is,  there- 
fore, safe  to  conclude  that  Watauga  had  been  annexed,  for 
these  men  helped  to  frame  the  first  free  constitution  of  the 
State  of  North  Carolina.  But  this  Watauga  Association 
seems  to  have  continued  its  independent  government  until 
February,  1778;  for  in  1777  (November)  Washington  Dis- 
trict became  Washington  county  with  boundaries  cotermi- 
nous with  those  of  the  present  State  of  Tennessee.  Magis- 
trates or  justices  of  the  peace  took  the  oath  of  office  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1778,  when  the  entire  county  began  to  be  governed 
under  the  laws  of  North  Carolina.  Thus,  the  Watauga  Asso- 
ciation was  the  germ  of  the  State  of  Tennessee,  and  although 


COLONIAL  DAYS  69 


there  is  on  u  tree  near  Boone's  creek  an  inscription  intlicatinf^ 
that  Daniel  Boone  killed  a  bear  there  in  17G0,  William  Bean 
ap[)ears  to  have  been  the  first  permanent  settler  of  that  sec- 
tion. Indeed,  this  author  states  that  Col.  Richard  Hender- 
son, of  North  Carolina,  induced  Boone  to  make  his  first  visit 
to  Kentucky  in  the  spring  of  1769,  and  that  James  Robertson, 
afterwards  ''The  Father  of  Middle  Tennessee, "  accompanied 
him;  but  stopped  on  the  Wautaga  with  William  Bean  and 
raised  a  crop,  removing  his  family  from  Wake  county  in  1770 
or  1771. 

Forts  Loudon  and  Dobbs.  Fort  Loudon  was  on  the  Little 
Tennessee.  It  was  attacked  and  besieged  by  the  Indians, 
and  surrendered  August  9,  1760,  after  Indian  women  had 
kept  the  garrison  in  food  a  long  time  in  defiance  of  their  own 
tribesmen.  ^  -  In  1756  Fort  Dobbs  was  constructed  a  short 
distance  south  of  the  South  Fork  of  the  Yadkin.  ^  ^  For 
the  first  few  years  Fort  Dobbs  was  not  much  used,  ^  •*  the 
Catawbas  being  friendly;  but  in  1759  the  Yadkin  and  Ca- 
tawba valleys  were  raided  by  the  Cherokees,  with  the  usual 
results  of  ruined  crops,  burned  farm  buildings,  and  murdered 
households.  The  Catawbas,  meanwhile,  remained  faithful 
to  their  white  friends.  Until  this  outbreak  the  Carolinas  had 
greatly  prospered;  but  after  it  most  of  the  Yadkin  families, 
with  the  English  fur-traders,  huddled  within  the  walls  of 
Fort  Dobbs,  but  many  others  fled  to  settlements  nearer  the 
Atlantic.  ^  ^  In  the  early  winter  of  1760  the  governors  of 
Virginia  and  North  and  South  Carolina  agreed  upon  a  joint 
campaign  against  the  hostiles,  and  attacked  the  Cherokee 
to\\Tis  on  the  Little  Tennessee  in  the  summer  of  1760,  com- 
pletely crushing  the  Indians  and  sent  5,000  men,  women  and 
children  into  the  hills  to  starve.  ^^  With  the  opening  of  1762 
the  southwest  border  began  to  be  reoccupied,  and  the  aban- 
doned log  cabins  again  had  fires  lighted  upon  their  hearths, 
the  deserted  clearings  were  again  cultivated,  and  the  pursuits 
of  peace  renewed.  ^  ^ 

Remains  of  Fort  Loudon.  In  June,  1913,  Col.  J.  Fain 
Anderson,  a  noted  historian  of  Washington  College,  Tenn., 
visited  Fort  Loudon,  and  found  the  outline  of  the  ditches  and 
breastworks  still  visible.  The  old  well  was  walled  up,  but 
the  wall  has  fallen  in.  He  says  there  were  twelve  small  iron 
cannon  in  this  fort  in  1756,  all  of  which  had  been  "packed 


70         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

over  the  mountains  on  horses,"  and  that  a  Air.  Steele  who 
lives  at  McGee's  Station — the  nearest  railroad  station  to 
the  old  fort — has  a  piece  of  one  of  them  which  his  father 
ploughed  up  over  forty  years  ago.  The  land  on  which  the 
fort  stood  now  belongs  to  James  Anderson,  a  relative  of  J.  F. 
Anderson,  near  the  mouth  of  Tellico  creek.  But  no  tablet 
marks  the  site  of  this  first  outpost  of  our  pioneer  ancestors. 

Westward  the  Course  of  Empire  Takes  Its  Way. 
From  Judge  A.  C.  Avery's  "Historic  Homes  of  North  Caro- 
lina" (N.  C.  Booklet,  Vol.  iv.  No.  3)  we  get  a  glimpse  of  the 
slow  approach  of  the  whites  of  the  Blue  Ridge  :  "According 
to  tradition  the  Quaker  Meadows  farm  near  Morganton  was 
so  called  long  before  the  McDowells  or  any  other  whites 
established  homes  in  Burke  county,  and  derived  its  name 
from  the  fact  that  the  Indians,  after  clearing  parts  of  the 
broad  and  fertile  bottoms,  had  suffered  the  wild  grass  to 
spring  up  and  form  a  large  meadow,  near  which  a  Quaker 
had  camped  before  the  French  and  Indian  War,  and  traded 
for  furs."  This  was  none  other  than  Bishop  I.  Spangenberg, 
the  Moravian,  who,  on  the  19th  of  November,  1752,  (Vol.  v, 
Colonial  Records,  p.  6)  records  in  his  diary  that  he  was  en- 
camped near  Quaker  Meadows  "in  the  forest  50  miles  from 
any  settlement." 

The  McDowell  Family.  Judge  Avery  goes  on  to  give 
some  account  of  the  McDowells  :  Ephraim  McDowell,  the 
first  of  the  name  in  this  country,  having  emigrated  from  the 
north  of  Ireland,  when  at  the  age  of  62,  accompanied  by  two 
sons,  settled  at  the  old  McDowell  home  in  Rockbridge  coun- 
ty, Virginia.  His  grandson  Joseph  and  his  grandnephew 
"Hunting  John"  moved  South  about  1760,  but  owing  to  the 
French  and  Indian  War  went  to  the  northern  border  of  South 
Carolina,  where  their  sturdy  Scotch-Irish  friends  had  already 
named  three  counties  of  the  State,  York,  Chester  and  Lancas- 
ter. One  reason  for  the  late  settlement  of  these  Piedmont 
regions  was  because  the  English  land  agents  dumped  the 
Scotch-Irish  and  German  immigrants  in  Pennsylvania,  from 
which  State  some  moyed  as  soon  as  possible  to  the  unclaimed 
lands  of  the  South. 

"Hunting  John"  and  His  Sporting  Friends.  "But  as 
soon  as  the  French  and  Indian  war  permitted  the  McDow- 
ells removed  to    Burke.       'Hunting  John'  was  so  called  be- 


COLONIAL  DAYS  71 


cause  of  his  venturing  into  the  wilderness  in  pursuit  of 
game,  and  was  probably  the  first  to  live  at  his  beautiful  home, 
Pleasant  Gardens,  in  the  Catawba  \'alley,  in  what  is  now 
McDowell  county.  About  this  time  also  his  cousin  Joseph  set- 
tled at  Quaker  Meadows;  though  'Hunting  John'  first  en- 
tered Swan  Ponds,  about  three  miles  above  Quaker  Meadows, 
but  afterwards  sold  it,  without  having  occupied  it,  to  Waight- 
still  Avery.  .  .  .  The  McDowells  and  Carsons  of  that  day 
and  later  reared  thorough-bred  horses,  and  made  race-paths 
in  the  broad  lowlands  of  every  large  farm.  They  were  su- 
perb horsemen,  crack  shots  and  trained  hunters.  John 
McDowell  of  Pleasant  Gardens  was  a  Nirarod  w'hen  he  lived  in 
Virginia,  and  we  learn  from  tratlition  that  he  acted  as  guide 
for  his  cousins  over  the  hunting  grounds  when,  at  the  risk  of 
their  lives,  they,  with  their  kinsmen,  James  Greenlee  and 
Captain  Bowman,  [who  fell  at  Ramseur's  Mill  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary War]  traveled  over  and  inspected  the  valley  of  the 
Catawl)a  from  Morganton  to  Old  Fort,  and  selected  the  large 
domain  allotted  to  each  of  them." 

Log-Cabin  Ladies'  Whims.  "The}'^  built  and  occupied 
strings  of  cabins,  because  the  few  plank  or  boards  used  by 
them  were  sawed  by  hand  and  the  nails  driven  into  them 
were  shaped  in  a  blacksmith's  shop.  I  have  seen  many  old 
buildings,  such  as  the  old  houses  at  Fort  Defiance,  the  Lenoir 
house  and  Swan  Ponds,  where  every  plank  was  fastened  by 
a  wrought  nail  with  a  large  round  head — sometimes  half  an 
inch  in  diameter.  From  these  houses  the  lordly  old  propri- 
etors could  in  half  an  hour  go  to  the  water  or  the  woods  and 
provide  fish,  deer  or  turkeys  to  meet  the  whim  of  the  lady 
of  the  house.  They  combined  the  pleasure  of  sport  with  the 
profit  of  providing  their  tables.  .  .  .  'Hunting  John'  prob- 
ably died  in  1775." 

Living  Without  Law  or  Gospel?  William  Byrd,  the  Vir- 
ginia commissioner  who  helped  to  run  the  boundary  between 
North  Carolina  and  Virginia  in  1728,  wrote  to  Governor  Bar- 
rington,  July  20,  1731,  '^that  it  "must  be  owned  that  North 
Carolina  is  a  very  happy  country  where  people  may  live  with 
the  least  labor  that  they  can  in  any  part  of  the  world, "  and 
"are  accustomed  to  live  \vithout  law  or  gospel,  and  will  with 
great  reluctance  submit  to  either."  This  is  still  true  of  North 
Carolina,  except  the  statement — which  was  never  true — that 


72  HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

we  were  accustomed  to  live  without  law  or  gospel  in  1731;  for 
when  this  identical  gentleman  was  seeking  to  get  paid  for  his 
services  as  a  commissioner  to  run  the  boundary  line  in  1728, 
he  wrote  the  Board  of  Trade  that  the  Reverend  Peter  Foun- 
tain, the  chaplain  of  that  survey  "christened  over  100  chil- 
dren among  the  settlers  along  the  line  in  North  Carolina." 

A  "Bird"  Who  Spelt  His  Name  Improperly.  In  spite 
of  his  animadversions  upon  the  pioneer  settlers  of  the  eastern 
part  of  our  State,  we  must  always  incline  to  forgive  Col.  Wil- 
liam Byrd  of  Westover  after  reading  his  piquant  and  learned 
disquisitions  upon  many  matters  in  the  "Dividing  Line."  He 
must  truly  have  been  what  we  of  more  modern  times  call  a 
"Bird,"  although  he  spelt  his  name  with  a  y. 

Where  Every  Day  was  Sunday.  ^  ^     Following  are  Col. 
Byrd's  Pictures  of  Colonial  Days:     "Our  Chaplain,  for  his 
Part,  did  his  Office,  and  rubb'd  us  up  with  a  Seasonable  Ser- 
mon.    This  was  quite  a  new  Thing  to  our  Brethren  of  North 
Carolina,  who  Hve  in  a  cHmate  where  no  clergyman  can  Breathe 
any  more  than  Spiders  in  Ireland.     For  want  of  men  in  Holy  Or- 
ders, both  the  Members  of  the  Council  and  Justices  of  the  Peace 
are  empowered  by  the  Laws  of  that  Country  to  marry  all 
those  who  will  not  take  One  another's  Word;  but  for  the 
ceremony  of  Christening  their  children,  they  trust  that  to 
chance.     If  a  parson  come  in  their  way,  they  will  crave  a 
Cast  of  his  office,  as  they  call  it,  else  they  are  content  their 
Offspring  should  remain  Arrant  Pagans  as  themselves.     They 
account  it   among  their  greatest   advantages  that  they   are 
not  Priest-ridden,  not  remembering  that  the  Clergy  is  rarely 
guilty  of  Bestriding  such  as  have  the  misfortune  to  be  poor. 
.    .    .    One  thing  may  be  said  for  the  Inhabitants  of  that  Pro- 
vince, that  they  are  not  troubled  Avith  any  Religious  Fumes, 
and  have  the  least  Superstition  of  any  People  living.     They 
do  not  know  Sunday  from  any  other  day,  any  more  than 
Robinson  Crusoe  did,  which  would  give  them  a  great  Advan- 
tage were  they  given  to  be  industrious.     But  they  keep  so 
many  Sabbaths  every  week,  that  their  disregard  of  the  Seventh 
Day  has  no  maimer  of  cruelty  in  it,  either  to  servants  or 
cattle." 

Nymph  Echo  in  the  Dismal  Swamp.  ^^  Once,  when  sep- 
arated from  their  companions.  Col.  Byrd  "ordered  Guns  to 
be  fired  and  a  drum  to  be  beaten,  but  received  no  Answer, 


COLONIAL  DAYS  73 


unless  it  was  from  that  j>rating  Nymph  Eelio,  wlio,  like  a 
loquacious  Wife,  will  always  have  the  last  word,  and  Some- 
times return  three  for  one. " 

They  Brought  no  Capons  for  the  Parson.  -  *  Some  of 
the  people  were  apprehensive  that  the  survey  would  throw 
their  homes  into  Virginia.  "In  that  case  they  must  have  sub- 
mitted to  some  Sort  of  Order  and  Government;  whereas,  in 
North  Carolina,  every  One  does  what  seems  best  in  his  own 
Eyes.  There  were  some  good  Women  that  l)rought  their 
children  to  be  Baptiz'd,  but  brought  no  Capons  along  with 
them  to  make  the  solemnity  cheerful.  In  the  meantime  it 
was  Strange  that  none  came  to  be  marry'd  in  such  a  Multi- 
tude, if  it  had  only  been  for  the  Novelty  of  having  their  Hands 
Joyn'd  by  one  in  Holy  Orders.  Yet  so  it  was,  that  tho'  our 
chajilain  Christen'd  above  an  Hundred,  he  did  not  marry  so 
much  as  one  Couple  during  the  whole  Expedition.  But 
marriage  is  reckon'd  a  Lay  contract,  as  I  said  before,  and  a 
Country  Justice  can  tie  the  fatal  Knot  there,  as  fast  as  an  Arch- 
bishop." 

Gentlemen  Smell  Liquor  Thirty  Miles."  "We  had 
several  \'isitors  from  Edenton  [who]  .  .  .  having  good  Noses, 
had  smelt  out,  at  30  Miles  Distance,  the  Precious  Liquor, 
with  which  the  Liberality  of  our  good  Friend  Mr.  Mead  had 
just  before  supply 'd  us.  That  generous  Person  had  judg'd 
very  right,  that  we  were  now  got  out  of  the  Latitude  of  Drink 
proper  for  men  in  Affliction,  and  therefore  was  so  good  as  to 
send  his  Cart  loaden  with  all  sorts  of  refreshments,  for  which 
the  Commissioners  return'd  Him  their  Thanks,  and  the  Chap- 
lain His  Blessing." 

Getting  up  an  Appetite  for  Dog. ^^  "The  Surveyors 
and  their  Attendants  began  now  in  good  earnest  to  be  alarm- 
ed with  Apprehensions  of  Famine,  nor  could  they  forbear  look- 
ing with  Some  Sort  of  Appetite  upon  a  dog  that  had  been  the 
faithful  Companion  of  their  Travels." 

Poverty  with  Contentment.  -  •*  The  following  is  Col. 
Byrd's  idea  of  some  of  our  people  who  lived  near  Edenton  in 
1728: 

"Surely  there  is  no  place  in  the  world  where  the  Inhabitants  live  with 
less  labor  than  in  North  Carolina?  It  approaches  nearer  to  the  descrip- 
tion of  Lubberland  than  any  other,  by  the  great  felicity  of  the  Climate, 
the  easiness  of  raising  provisions,  and  the  Slothfulness  of  the  People.    .   .    . 


74         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

The  Men,  for  their  Parts,  just  like  the  Indians,  impose  all  the  Work  upon 
the  poor  Women.  They  make  their  Wives  rise  out  of  their  Beds  early 
in  the  morning,  at  the  same  time  that  they  lye  and  Snore,  till  the  sun 
has  run  one  third  his  course,  and  disporst  all  the  unwholesome  damps. 
Then,  after  Stretching  and  Yawning  for  half  an  Hour,  they  light  their 
Pipes,  and,  under  the  Protection  of  a  cloud  of  Smoak,  venture  out  into 
the  open  Air;  tho',  if  it  happens  to  be  never  so  little  cold  they  quickly 
return  Shivering  into  the  Chimney  corner.  When  the  weather  is  mild,  they 
stand  leaning  with  both  their  arms  upon  the  corn-field  fence,  and  gravely 
consider  whether  they  had  best  go  and  take  a  Small  Heat  at  the  Hough; 
but  generally  find  reasons  to  put  it  off  till  another  time.  Thus  they 
loiter  away  their  lives,  like  Solomon's  Sluggard,  with  their  arms  across, 
and  at  the  Winding  up  of  the  Year  Scarcely  have  Bread  to  Eat.  To 
speak  the  truth,  'tis  aversion  to  Labor  that  makes  People  file  off  to  N. 
Carolina,  where  Plenty  and  a  warm  Sun  confirm  them  in  their  disposition 
to  Laziness  for  their  whole  Lives." 

Our  Commissioner  Treats  the  Parson  to  a  Fricassee 
OF  Rum.  2  s  The  chaplain  went  once  to  Edenton,  accompanied 
by  Mr.  Little,  one  of  the  North  Carolina  commissioners, 
"who  to  shew  his  regard  for  the  Church,  offer'd  to  treat  Him 
on  the  Road  with  a  fricassee  of  Rum.  They  fry'd  half  a  Doz- 
en Rashers  of  very  fat  Bacon  in  a  Pint  of  Rum,  both  of  which 
being  disht  up  together,  served  the  Company  at  once  for 
meat  and  Drink." 

The  Democracy  of  the  Colonists.-^  "They  are  rarely 
guilty  of  Flattering  or  making  any  Court  to  their  governors, 
but  treat  them  with  all  the  Excesses  of  Freedom  and  Famil- 
iarity. They  are  of  opinion  their  rulers  wou'd  be  apt  to 
grow  insolent,  if  they  grew  Rich,  and  for  that  reason  take 
care  to  keep  them  poorer,  and  more  dependent,  if  possible 
than  the  Saints  in  New  England  used  to  do  their  Governors." 

The  Men  of  Alamance.  ^Meantime  the  exactions  of 
the  British  tax  collectors  had  brought  on  the  Regulators 
War,  and  the  battle  of  Alamance  in  May,  1771,  resulted 
in  the  departure  of  a  "company  of  fourteen  families"  from 
"the  present  county  of  Wake  to  make  new  homes  across  the 
mountains.  -  ^  The  men  led  the  way  and  often  had  to  clear 
a  road  with  their  axes.  Behind  the  axmen  went  a  mixed 
procession  of  women,  children,  dogs,  cows  and  pack-horses 
loaded  with  kettles  and  beds."  These  settled  in  Tennessee 
on  the  Watauga  river.  James  Robertson,  "a  cool,  brave, 
sweet-natured  man  was  the  leader  of  the  company."  Then 
came  John  Sevier  and  many  others.     In  the  language  of  the 


COLONIAL  DAYS  75 


Hon.  (u'orgo  Bancroft,  historian  and  at  that  time  minister 
to  Enf!;hinii,  "it  is  a  mistake  if  anyone  have  supposed  that 
the  Reguhitors  were  cowed  down  by  their  defeat  at  Akimance. 
Like  the  mammoth,  they  took  the  bolt  from  their  brow  and 
crossed  the  mountains."  Of  them  and  those  who  followed 
them,  Hon.  Jolm  AUison  in  his  "Dropped  Stitches  of  Ten- 
nessee History"  (p.  37)  says: 

"The  people  who  made  it  possible  for  Tennessee  to  have  a  centennial 
were  a  wonderful  people.  Within  a  period  of  about  fifteen  years  they 
were  ongaRod  in  throe  revolutions;  pai-ticipatcd  in  organizinp;  and  lived 
under  five  dilTerent  governments;  established  and  adinini.stered  the  first 
free  and  independent  government  in  America,  founded  the  first  churcli 
and  the  first  college  in  the  Southwest;  put  in  operation  the  second 
newspaper  in  the  'New  World  West  of  the  AUoghanies' ;  met  and 
fought  the  British  in  half  a  dozen  battles,  from  Kings  Mountain  to  the 
gates  of  Charleston,  gaining  a  victory  in  every  battle;  held  in  check, 
beat  back  and  finally  expelled  from  the  country  four  of  the  most  power- 
ful tribes  of  Indian  warriors  in  America;  and  left  Tennesseans  their  fame 
as  a  heritage,  and  a  commonwealth  of  which  it  is  their  privilege  to  be 
proud." 

The  Freest  of  the  Free.  The  historian,  George  Ban- 
croft, exclaims:  "Are  there  any  who  doubt  man's  capacity 
for  self-government?  Let  them  study  the  history  of  North 
Carolina.  Its  inhabitants  were  restless  and  turbulent  in  their 
imperfect  submission  to  a  government  imposed  from  abroad; 
the  administration  of  the  colony  was  firm,  humane  and  tran- 
quil when  they  were  left  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Any 
government  but  one  of  their  own  institution  was  oppres- 
sive.    North  CaroHna  was  settled  by  the  freest  of  the  free. "  ^  ^ 

The  First  Public  Declaration  of  Independence.  This 
was  made  at  Halifax,  N.  C,  by  the  Provisional  Congress, 
April  12,  1770,  when  its  delegates  to  the  Continental  Con- 
gress were  authorized  to  concur  with  other  delegates  in 
"declaring  independence  and  forming  foreign  alliances," 
reserving  the  right  of  forming  a  constitution  and  laws  for 
North  Carolina. 

The  Scotch-Irish;  Their  Origin  and  Religion.-^  "Men 
will  not  be  fully  able  to  understand  Carolina  till  they  have 
opened  the  treasures  of  history  and  drawn  forth  some  few 
particulars  respecting  the  origin  and  religious  habits  of  the 
Scotch-Irish  and  become  familiar  with  their  doings  previous 
to    the    Revolution — during   that   painful    struggle — and    the 


76         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

succeeding  years  of  prosperity;  and  Carolina  will  be  respected 
as  she  is  knwon, " 

In  Pioneer  Days.  ^ "  The  men  and  boys  wore  moccasins, 
short  pantaloons  and  leather  leggings,  hunting  shirts,  which 
were  usually  of  dressed  deerskin,  cut  like  the  modern  shirt,  open 
the  entire  length  in  front  and  fastened  by  a  belt.  In  this 
belt  were  carried  a  small  hatchet  and  a  long,  sharp  hunting 
knife.  They  wore  caps  of  mink  or  coon  skin,  with  the  tail 
hanging  behind  for  a  tassel.  The  rifles  were  long,  muzzle- 
loading,  flint-locks,  and  in  a  pouch  hung  over  one  shoulder 
were  carried  gun-wipers,  tow,  patching,  bullets,  and  flints, 
while  fastened  to  the  strap  was  a  horn  for  powder.  The 
women  and  girls  wore  sun  bonnets,  as  a  rule,  and  had  little 
time  to  spend  on  tucks  and  ruffles.  There  was  no  place  at 
which  to  buy  things  except  the  stores  of  Indian  traders,  and 
they  had  very  few  things  white  people  wanted.  .  .  .  The 
pioneer  moved  into  a  new  country  on  foot  or  on  horse  back 
and  brought  his  household  goods  on  pack  horses.  They  were 
about  as  follows  :  The  family  clothing,  some  blankets  and  a 
few  other  bed  clothes,  with  bed  ticks  to  be  filled  with  grass 
or  hair,  a  large  pot,  a  pair  of  pothooks,  an  oven  with  lid,  a 
skillet,  and  a  frying  pan,  a  hand  mill  to  grind  grain,  a  wooden 
trencher  in  which  to  make  bread,  a  few  pewter  plates,  spoons, 
and  other  dishes,  some  axes  and  hoes,  the  iron  parts  of  plows, 
a  broadax,  a  froe,  a  saw  and  an  auger.  Added  to  these  were 
supplies  of  seed  for  field  and  vegetable  crops,  and  a  few  fruit 
trees.  When  their  destination  was  reached  the  men  and  boys 
cut  trees  and  built  a  log  house,  split  boards  with  the  froe  and 
made  a  roof  which  was  held  on  by  weight  poles,  no  nails  be- 
ing available.  Puncheons  were  made  by  splitting  logs  and 
hewing  the  flat  sides  smooth  for  floors  and  door  shutters. 
Some  chimneys  were  made  of  split  sticks  covered  on  the  in- 
side with  a  heavy  coating  of  clay;  but  usually  stones  were 
used  for  this  purpose,  as  they  were  plentiful.  The  spaces 
between  the  log  walls  were  filled  in  by  mortar,  called  chinks 
and  dobbin.  Rough  bedsteads  were  fixed  in  the  corners  of 
the  rooms  farthest  from  the  fire  place,  and  rude  tables  and 
benches  were  constructed,  with  three-legged  stools  as  seats. 
Pegs  were  driven  into  the  walls,  and  on  the  horns  of  bucks 
the  rifle  was  usually  suspended  above  the  door.  Windows 
were  few  and  unglazed.     Then  followed  the  spinning  wheel, 


COLONIAL  DAYS  77 


the  reel,  and  the  hand  loom.  Cards  for  wool  had  to  l>e 
bought.  The  horses  and  cattle  were  turned  into  the  woods 
to  eat  grass  in  summer  and  cane  in  winter,  being  enticed 
home  at  night  by  a  small  bait  of  salt  or  grain.  The  small 
trees  and  bushes  were  cut  and  their  roots  grubiied  up,  while 
the  larger  trees  were  girdled  and  left  to  die  and  become  leaf- 
less. Rails  were  made  and  the  clearing  fenced  in,  the  brush 
was  piled  and  burnt,  and  tlic  land  was  plowed  and  planted. 
After  the  first  crop  the  settler  usually  had  plenty,  for  his  land 
was  new  and  rich.  Indeed,  the  older  farmers  of  this  region 
were  so  accustomed  to  clearing  a  "new  patch"  when  the  first 
was  worn  out,  instead  of  restoring  the  old  land  by  modern 
methods,  that  even  at  this  time  they  know  little  or  nothing 
of  reclaiming  exhausted  land.  Cooking  was  done  on  the  open 
hearths  by  the  women  who  dressed  the  skins  of  wild  animals 
and  brought  water  from  the  spring  in  rude  pails,  milked  the 
cows,  cut  firewood,  spun,  wove,  knit,  washed  the  clothing, 
and  tended  the  bees,  chickens  and  gardens.  When  the  men 
and  boys  were  not  at  work  in  the  fields  they  were  hunting 
for  game.  After  the  first  settlement  time  was  found  for  cut- 
ting down  the  larger  trees  for  fields,  and  the  logs  were  rolled 
together  by  the  help  of  neighbors  and  burned.  The  first  rude 
cabin  home  was  turned  into  a  stable  or  barn  and  a  larger  and 
better  log  house  constructed.  When  the  logs  had  been  hewed 
and  notched  neighbors  were  invited  to  help  in  raising  the 
walls.  The  log-rollings  and  house-raisings  were  occasions  for 
large  dinners,  some  drinking  of  brandy  and  whiskey,  games 
and  sports  of  various  kinds.  There  were  no  schools  and  no 
churches  at  first,  and  no  wagon  roads;  but  all  these  things 
followed  slowly. 

Other  Early  Explorers.  In  the  case  of  Avery  v.  Walker, 
(8  N.  C,  p.  117)  it  appears  that  Col.  James  Hubbard  and 
Captain  John  Hill  had  "been  members  of  Col.  George  Do- 
horty's  party"  and  explored  "the  section  of  country  around 
Bryson  City,  Swain  county,  shortly  before  April  22,  1795"; 
that  Col.  John  Patton,  the  father  of  Lorenzo  and  Montreville 
Patton  of  Buncombe,  and  who  o^vned  the  meadow  land  on 
the  Swannanoa  river  which  was  sold  to  George  W.  Vander- 
bilt  by  Preston  Patton,  and  the  "haunted  house"  at  the  ford 
of  that  river,  when  the  stage  road  left  South  Main  street  at 
what  is  now  Victoria  Road  and  crossed  the  Swannanoa,  there, 


78         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

instead  of  at  Biltmore,  was  then  county  survej^or  of  Bun- 
combe, and  refused  to  survey  land  on  Ocona  Lufty  for  Waight- 
still  Avery  because  it  was  "on  the  frontier  and  the  Indian 
boundary  had  not  then  actually  been  run  out,  and  it  might 
be  dangerous  to  survey  near  the  line."  Also  that  Dohorty's 
party  had  a  battle  with  the  Indians  at  the  mouth  of  Soco 
creek,  and  that  what  is  now  Bryson  city  was  then  called  Big 
Bear's  village.  In  Eu-Che-Lah  v.  Welch  (10  N.  C,  p.  158) 
will  be  found  an  exhaustive  study  of  the  laws  of  Great  Britain 
in  colonial  days  regarding  the  granting  of  Indian  lands  and  of 
the  various  treaties  made  by  the  State  with  the  Cherokee  In- 
dians since  July  4,  1776. 

NOTES. 

iRoosevelt,  Vol.  Ill,  276  to  280. 

2Ibid. 

'Hill,  pp.  32,  116. 

^Ibid.,  p.  121 

sibid.,  pp.  89,  90,  116. 

'There  were  other  Old  Fields,  doubtless  made  by  Indians  years  before  America  was 
discovered,  at  the  mouth  of  Gap  creek  in  Ashe;  at  Valle  Crucis  in  Watauga,  at  Old  Fields 
of  Toe  in  Avery,  at  "The  Meadows"  in  Graham,  and  at  numerous  other  level  places. 

'There  is  a  family  of  Perkinses  living  at  Old  Field  now,  1912,  the  descendants  of  Luther 
Perkins. 

sThwaites,  p.  14. 

'Ibid.,  p.  15,  and  Col.  Rec,  Vol.  IV,  p.  1073. 

'"From  R.  G.  McGee's  "A  History  of  Tennessee." 

iilbid. 

i2Thwaites,  pp.  46-47. 

isibid.,  p.  37. 

"Ibid.,  p.  41. 

isibid.,  p.  42. 

isibid.,  p.  48. 

"Ibid.,  p.  59. 

isQol.  Rec,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  xii  and  194.  Thwaite  also  says:  "There  was  for  a  long  time 
neither  law  nor  gospel,  upon  this  far-away  frontier.  Justices  of  the  Peace  had  small 
authority.      Preachers  were  at  first  unknown."     "Daniel  Boone,"  p.  33. 

"Byrd,  60-61. 

2»Ibid.,  62. 

2ilbid,  63. 

2  2lbid. 

2  3Ibid.,  66-67. 

"Ibid.,  75-76. 

2slbid.,  76. 

2  6Ibid.,  80-81. 

2'McGee,  p.  214. 

2  8Asheville's  Centenary. 

2  9Foote's  Sketches,  p.  83. 

soCondensed  from  G.  R.  McGee'a  "A  History  of  Tennessee." 


CHAPTER  IV 
DANIEL  BOONE 

Just  as  seven  cities  contended  for  the  honor  of  having  been 
the  birthplace  of  Homer;  so,  too,  many  states  are  proud  to 
boast  that  Boone  once  Hved  within  their  borders.  But  North 
Carohna  was  the  home  of  his  boyhood,  his  young  manhood 
and  the  State  in  which  he  chose  his  wife.  From  his  home  at 
Hohnan's  Ford  he  passed  to  his  cabin  in  the  village  of  Boone 
on  frequent  occasions,  making  hunting  trips  from  that  point 
into  the  surrounding  mountains.  From  there,  too,  he  started 
on  his  trips  into  Kentucky. 

From  an  address  read  by  Miss  Esther  Ransom,  daughter 
of  the  late  U.  S.  Senator  Matt.  W.  Ransom,  to  Thomas  Polk 
Chapter,  D.  A.  R.,  the  following  is  copied  : 

"It  has  been  argued  that  Boone  did  not  fight  in  the  Revolutionary- 
war.  This  is  true.  He  was  too  busy  fighting  Indians  in  Kentucky,  the 
'dark  and  bloodj'  ground.'  Let  me  impress  it  upon  you  that  but  for  Boone 
and  Clark  and  Denton  and  the  other  Indian  fighters  there  wouldn't  have 
been  any  Revolutionary  war;  no  Kings  Mountain,  no  Guilford  Court 
House,  no  Yorktown.  The  Indians  were  natural  allies  of  the  British. 
British  money  supplied  them  with  arms  and  ammunition  and  King  George 
III  was  constantly  inciting  them  through  his  officers,  to  murder  and 
destroy  the  Patriots. 

"Just  suppose  for  a  moment  if,  at  Kings  Mountain  where  the  moun- 
tain men  surrendered  Ferguson  they,  in  their  turn,  had  been  surrounded 
by  five  hundred  or  a  thousand  Indians.  The  day  would  have  ended  in 
dire  disaster  and  it  would  have  taken  another  Caesar  to  have  rescued  the 
Patriots  from  that  terrible  predicament. 

"Daniel  Boone  did  as  much  or  more  service  for  our  country  in  fight- 
ing Indians  and  keeping  them  back  as  if  he  had  served  in  the  war  with 
Washington  and  Green. 

"Like  Washington,  Boone  was  a  surveyor.  He  surveyed  nearly  all 
the  land  in  Kentucky.  He  was  a  law  maker.  He  passed  a  law  for  the 
protection  of  game  in  Kentucky  and  also  one  for  keeping  up  the  breed 
of  fine  horses. 

"Roosevelt  in  his  vigorous  EngUsh  calls  him  'Road-Builder,  town-maker 
and  Commonwealth  founder,'  and  when  Kentucky  had  representation 
in  Virignia,  Boone  sat  in  the  house  of  commons  as  a  Burgess. 

"He  might  be  styled  the  '  Nimrod'  of  the  United  States,  for  truly  '  He 
was  a  mighty  hunter  before  the  Lord.'" 

(79) 


80         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

John  Finley.  Finley  was  the  Scotch-Irishman  who  had 
descended  the  Ohio  river  as  far  as  Louisville  in  1752;  and 
who,  after  Boone's  return  from  his  trip  to  the  Big  Sandy  in 
1767,  turned  up  at  Boone's  cabin  at  Holman's  Ford  in  the 
winter  of  1768-69.  ^  He  had  suggested  when  on  the  Brad- 
dock  expedition  that  Boone  might  reach  Kentucky  "by  fol- 
lowing the  trail  of  the  buffaloes  and  the  Shawnese,  northwest- 
ward through  Cumberland  gap."-  "ScaUng  the  lofty  Blue 
Ridge,  the  explorers  passed  over  Stone  and  Iron  mountains 
and  reached  Holston  Valley,  whence  they  proceeded  through 
Moccasin  gap  of  Clinch  mountain  and  crossed  over  interven- 
ing rivers  and  densely  wooded  hills  until  they  came  to  Powell's 
Valley,  then  the  furthest  limits  of  white  settlement.  Here 
they  found  a  hunters'  trail  which  led  them  through  Cumber- 
land gap. "  ^  If  they  did  this  by  the  easiest  and  shortest  route, 
they  passed  up  the  Shawnee  trail  on  the  ridge  between  Elk 
and  Stony  forks  through  Cooks  gap,  down  by  Three  Forks 
of  New  river,  through  what  is  now  Boone  village  and  Hodges 
gap,  across  the  Grave  Yard  gap  down  to  Dog  Skin  creek, 
following  the  base  of  Rich  mountain  to  State  Line  gap  be- 
tween Zionville  and  Trade  to  the  head  of  Roan  creek  to  the 
crossing  of  the  two  Indian  trails  at  what  is  now  Shoun's  Cross 
Roads,  and  thence  over  the  Iron  mountains.  Any  other  route 
would  have  been  deliberately  to  go  wrong  for  the  sake  of 
doing  so.  From  any  eminence  that  route  seemed  to  have 
been  marked  out  by  nature. 

Benjamin  Cutbirth.  This  name  was  pronounced  Cut- 
baird  according  to  the  recollection  of  Cyrus  Grubb,  a  prom- 
inent citizen  of  Watauga,  and  Benjamin  Cuthbirth's  name 
appears  on  the  records  of  Ashe  county  as  having  conveyed 
100  acres  of  land  on  the  South  Fork  of  New  river  to  Andrew 
Ferguson  in  1800.  This  is  the  same  "Scotch-Irishman"  who 
had  married  Elizabeth  Wilcoxen,  a  neice  of  Daniel  Boone,  at 
the  close  of  the  French  and  Indian  war,  and  when  he  was 
about  twenty-three  years  old.  In  1767  he  and  John  Stuart, 
John  Baker  and  John  Ward,  crossed  the  mountains  and  went 
to  the  Mississippi  river,  where  they  spent  a  year  or  two,  go- 
ing even  to  New  Orleans.  •* 

Holman's  Ford.  About  this  time  Daniel  Boone  moved 
sixty-five  miles  west  from  the  Yadkin  settlement  near  Dutch- 


DANIEL  BOONE  81 


man's  creek,  "choosing  his  final  home  on  the  upper  Yadkin, 
just  above  the  mouth  of  Beaver  creek.  *  Col.  James  M.  Is- 
bell's  grantfather,  Martin,  told  him  that  Daniel  Boone  used 
to  live  six  miles  below  James  M.  Isbell's  present  home  near 
the  bank  of  the  Yadkin  river,  on  a  little  creek  now  known  as 
Beaver  creek,  one  mile  from  where  it  flows  into  the  Yadkin 
river,  near  Holman's  ford.  The  Boone  house  was  in  a  little 
swamp  and  canebrake  surrounding  the  point  of  a  ridge,  with 
but  one  approach — that  by  the  ridge.  The  swamp  was  in 
the  shape  of  a  horse-shoe,  with  the  point  of  the  ridge  pro- 
jecting into  it.  The  foundations  of  the  chimney  are  still 
there,  and  the  cabin  itself  has  not  been  gone  more  than  52 
years.  Alfred  Foster  who  owned  the  land  showed  Col.  Isbell 
the  cabin,  which  was  still  there  during  his  boyhood,  and  he 
remembered  how  it  looked.  His  grandmother,  the  wife  of 
Benjamin  Howard,  knew  Boone  well  as  he  often  stayed  with 
her  father,  Benjamin  Howard,  at  the  mouth  of  Elk  creek, 
now  Elkville.  ® 

Boone's  Trip  to  Kentucky.  There  is  no  evidence  except 
the  inscription  on  the  leaning  beech  at  Boone's  creek,  nine 
miles  north  of  Jonesboro,  Tenn.,  that  Boone  was  at  that  spot 
in  1760.  Thwaite's  life  of  Boone,  compiled  from  the  Draper 
manuscript  in  the  Wisconsin  State  library,  says  that  in  the 
spring  of  1759,  Boone  and  two  of  his  sons  went  to  Culpepper 
county,  Virginia,  where  he  was  employed  in  hauling  tobacco 
to  Fredericksburg,  and  that  he  was  again  a  member  of  Hugh 
Waddell's  regiment  of  500  North  Carolinians,  when,  in  1761, 
they  fought  and  defeated  the  Cherokees  at  Long  Island  on 
the  Holston.  He  cites  the  inscription  but  gives  no  other 
facts.  ^  As  1769  is  generally  considered  the  date  of  his  first 
trip  across  the  mountains,  it  becomes  important  to  state  that 
Thwaite  (p.  69)  says  that,  in  1767,  Boone's  brother-in-law, 
John  Stewart,  and  Benjamin  Cutbirth,  who  had  married 
Boone's  niece,  and  several  others,  went  west  as  far  as  the 
Mississippi,  crossing  the  mountains  and  returning  before 
1769;  and  that  Boone  himself,  and  William  Hall,  his  friend, 
and,  possibly.  Squire  Boone,  Daniel's  brother,  in  the  fall  of 
1767,  still  desiring  to  get  to  Kentucky — of  which  he  had  been 
told  by  John  Finley,  whom  he  had  met  in  the  Braddock  expe- 
dition— crossed  the  mountains  into  the  valleys  of  the  Hol- 
w.  X.  c. 6 


82  HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ston,  and  the  Clinch,  and  reached  the  headwaters  of  the  west 
fork  of  the  Big  Sandy,  returning  to  Holman's  Ford  in  the 
spring  of  1768. 

Colonel  James  M.  Isbell.  According  to  the  statement 
made  by  this  gentleman,  in  ]\Iay,  1909,  Benjamin  Howard, 
his  grandfather,  owned  land  near  the  village  of  Boone,  and 
used  to  range  his  stock  in  the  mountains  surrounding  that 
picturesque  village.  He  built  a  cabin  of  logs  in  front  of  what 
is  now  the  Boys'  Dormitory  of  the  Appalachian  Training 
School  for  the  accommodation  of  himself  and  his  herders 
whenever  he  or  they  should  come  from  his  home  on  the  head 
waters  of  the  Yadkin,  at  Elkville.  Among  the  herders  was 
an  African  slave  named  Burrell.  When  Col.  Isbell  was  a  boy, 
say,  about  1845,  Burrell  was  still  alive,  but  was  said  to  have 
been  over  one  hundred  years  of  age.  He  told  Col.  Isbell  that 
he  had  piloted  Daniel  Boone  across  the  Blue  Ridge  to  the 
Howard  cabin  the  first  trip  Boone  ever  took  across  the  moun- 
tains. 

Boone's  Trail.  ^  They  went  up  the  ridge  between  Elk 
creek  and  Stony  Fork  creek,  following  a  well-known  Indian 
trail,  passed  through  what  is  now  called  Cook's  gap,  and  on 
b}^  Three  Forks  church  to  what  is  now  Boone.  There  is 
some  claim  that  Boone  passed  through  Deep  gap;  but  that 
is  six  miles  further  north  than  Cook's  gap,  and  that  much  out 
of  a  direct  course.  If  Boone  wanted  to  go  to  Kentucky  he 
knew  his  general  course  was  northwest ;  and  having  reached  the 
town  of  Boone  or  Howard's  cabin,  his  most  direct  route  would 
have  been  through  Hodge's  gap,  down  Brushy  Fork  creek 
two  miles,  and  then  crossing  the  Grave  Yard  gap  to  Dog 
Skin  creek;  then  along  the  base  of  Rich  mountain,  crossing 
what  was  then  Sharp's  creek  (now  Silverstone)  to  the  gap 
between  what  is  now  Zionville  in  North  Carolina  and  Trade 
in  Tennessee.  He  would  then  have  been  at  the  head  of  Roan's 
creek,  do^\Ti  which  he  is  known  to  have  passed  as  far  as  what 
is  now  knoA\Ti  as  Shoun's  Cross  Roads.  There,  on  a  farm 
once  owned  by  a  Wagner  and  now  by  Wiley  Jenkins,  he 
camped.  His  course  from  there  in  a  northwesterly  direction 
would  have  led  him  across  the  Iron  and  Holston  mountains 
to  the  Holston  river  and  Powell's  Valley.  There  is  also  a 
tradition  that  he  followed  the  Brushy  Fork  creek  from  Hodge's 
gap  to  Cove  creek;  thence  do\vn  Cove  creek  to  Rock  House 


DANIEL  BOONE  83 


branch  at  Dr.  Jordan  B.  PliiUips— also  a  descendant  of  Ben- 
jamin   Howard— across    Ward    gap    to    the    Beaver    Dams; 
tlien  across  Baker's  gap  to  Roan's  creek;  thence  down  it  to 
its  mouth  in  the  Watauga  at  wliat  is  now  Butler,  Tenn.     Also, 
that  when  he  got  to  the  mouth  of  the  Brushy  fork  he  crossed 
over  to  the  Beaver  Dams  through  what  has  for  many  years 
been  called  George's  gap;  antl  thence  over  Baker's  gap.'^     If 
he  took  either  of  these  routes  he  preferred  to  cross  two  high 
mountains  and  to  follow  an  almost  due  southwest  course  to 
following  a  well-worn  and  well-known  Indian  trail  which  was 
almost  level  and  that  led  directly  in  the  direction  he  wished 
to  go.     A  road  now  leaves  the  wagon  road  nearly  opposite 
the   Brushy   Fork   Baptist   church,    about   three   miles   from 
Boone,  and  crosses  a  ridge  over  to  Dog  Skin  creek,  and  thence 
over  the  Grave  Yard  gap  to  Silverstone,  Zionville,  and  Trade, 
thus  cutting  off  the  angle  made  by  following  Brushy  Fork  to 
its  mouth.  1"    Tradition  says  the  Indian  trail  also  crossed 
Dog  Skin  and  the  Grave  Yard  gap.     Yet,  while  this  seems 
to  be  the  most  feasible  and  natural  trail,  the  venerable  Levi 
IVIorphew,  now  well  up  in  ninety,  thinks  Boone  had  a  camp 
on  Boone's  branch  of  Hog  Elk,  two  miles  east  of  the  Winding 
Stairs  trail,  by  which  he  probably  crossed  the  Blue  Ridge, 
which  would  have  taken  him  four  miles  northeast  of  Cook's 
gap,  and  Col.  Bryan  states  that  there  is  a  tradition  that  Boone 
passed  through  Deep  gap,  crossed  the  Bald  mountain  and  Long 
Hope  creek,  through  the  Ambrose  gap  and  so  into  Tennessee. 
No  doubt  all  these  routes  were  followed  by  Boone  during  his 
hunting  trips  through  these  mountains  prior  to  his  first  great 
treck  into  Kentucky;  but  on  that  important  occasion  it  is 
more  than  probable  that,  as  his  horses  were  heavily  laden 
with  camp  equipage,  salt,  ammunition  and  supplies,  he   fol- 
lowed the  easiest,  most  direct,  and  most  feasible  route,  and 
that  was  via  Cook's  gap,  Three  Forks,  Hodges'  gap,  across 
Dog  Skin,  over  the  Grave  Yard  gap,  to  Zionville  and  Trade 
and  thence  to  what  is  now  knowTi  as  Shoun's  Cross  Roads. 
Boone's  Cabin  Monument.     The  chimney  stones  of  the 
cabm  in  which  it  is  said  that  Boone  camped  while  hunting  in 
New  river  valley  are  still  visible  at  the  site  of  that  cabin  where 
It  is  said  Boone  was  found  one  snowy  night  seated  by  a  roar- 
ing fire  when  the  young  couple  who  had  occupied  it  the  night 
before  and  had  allowed  their  fire  to  go  entirely  out,  returned 


84         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

from  a  trip  to  the  Yadkin  for  a  "live  chunk"  with  which  to 
rekindle  it;  but  which  they  had  dropped  in  the  snow  when 
almost  at  Boone's  cabin,  thus  putting  it  out,  and  leaving  them 
as  badly  off  as  when  they  had  set  out  that  morning.  Boone 
had  struck  fire  from  his  flint  and  steel  rifle  and  caught  the  spark 
in  tow,  from  which  he  had  kindled  his  blaze.  Upon  this  site, 
that  public-spirited  citizen,  the  venerable  and  well-informed 
Col.  W.  L.  Bryan,  now  in  his  76th  year,  has  erected  an  impos- 
ing stone  and  concrete  monument,  whose  base  is  seven  by 
seven  feet,  with  a  shaft  26  feet  in  height.  On  the  side  facing 
the  road  is  the  following  inscription,  chiseled  in  white  marble: 
"Daniel  Boone,  Pioneer  and  Hunter;  Born  Feb.  11,  1735; 
Died  Sep.  26,  1820."  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  monument 
on  a  similar  stone  is  the  following:  "W.  L.  Bryan,  Son  of 
Battle  and  Rebecca  Miller  Bryan;  Born  Nov.  19,  1837;  Built 
Daniel  Boone  Monument,  Oct.  1912.     Cost  S203.27." 

Boone's  Watauga  Relatives.  WiUiam  Coffey  married 
Anna  Boone,  a  sister  of  Jesse  Boone  and  a  neice  of  Daniel 
Boone.  She  had  another  brother  called  Israel  Boone.  Jesse 
Boone  undoubtedly  lived  in  a  cabin  which  used  to  stand  in  a 
field  four  miles  from  Shull's  mills  and  two  miles  from  Kelsey 
post  office,  where  he  had  cleared  a  field.  The  chimney  foun- 
dation is  still  shown  as  his.  On  the  8th  of  July,  1823,  Jesse 
Boone  conveyed  to  William  and  Alexander  Elrod  for  $600 
350  acres  of  land  on  Flannery's  fork  of  New  River  and  on 
Roaring  branch,  about  two  miles  southeast  of  Boone  village; 
adjoining  land  then  being  owned  by  John  Agers,  Jesse  Council 
and  Russell  Sams,  and  now  owned  in  part  by  J.  W.  Farthing. 
This  deed  was  registered  in  Book  M,  page  391,  of  Ashe  county 
records,  July  2,  1841.  When  Jesse  Boone's  sister,  Anna  Cof- 
fey, was  nearly  one  hundred  years  old  she  talked  with  Mr. 
J.  W.  Farthing  while  he  was  building  a  house  for  her  grand- 
son Patrick  Coffey,  on  Mulberry  creek,  Caldwell  county,  in 
1871.  Mr.  Mack  Cook  of  Lenoir  is  a  direct  descendant  of 
Daniel  Boone's  brother,  Israel,  Boone  and  has  a  rifle  and  pow- 
der horn  that  used  to  belong  to  him.  Arthur  B.  Boone  of 
Jacksonville,  Fla.,  claims  direct  descent  from  Daniel  Boone, 
and  his  son  Robbie  E.  Boone,  has  a  razor  said  to  have  been  the 
property  of  Daniel  Boone.  There  are  many  others  who  are 
related  to  the  Boone  family.  Col.  W.  L.  Bryan  thinks  that 
Thwaites  is  mistaken  in  stating  that  Rebecca  Boone  was  the 


DANIEL  BOONE  85 


daughtor  of  Joseph  Bryan,  as  hor  father's  name  was  Morgan, 
from  whom  he  himself  and  WiUiam  Jennings  Bryan  are  tli- 
rectly  deseendetl.  ' '  Smitli  Coffey  was  born  in  1832  in  Cald- 
well county,  and  says  that  Jesse  was  a  brother  of  Daniel 
Boone,  and  had  three  daughters;  Anna,  who  married  William 
Coffey;  Hannah,  who  married  Smith  Coffey,  and  Celie,  who 
married  Buck  Craig.  The  Smith  Coffey  who  married  Han- 
nah Boone  was  the  present  Smith  Coffey's  grandfather. 
Smith  Coffey's  father  moved  to  Cherokee  in  1838  and  set- 
tled on  Hiwassee  river  four  miles  above  Murphy,  after  which 
he  moved  to  Peach  Tree  creek  where  he  died  a  year  later, 
his  family  returning  to  Caldwell.  In  1858  Smith  returned  to 
Cherokee  and  lived  on  a  place  adjoining  the  farm  of  George 
Hayes  on  Valley  river,  and  had  a  fight  with  that  gentleman 
concerning  a  sow  just  before  the  Civil  War.  Nevertheless  he 
joined  Hayes'  company,  when  the  war  began,  which  became 
Company  A  in  the  Second  N,  C.  Cavalry.  After  the  battle 
before  New  Bern,  Hayes  resigned  and  returned  to  Cherokee, 
and  William  B.  Tidwell  of  Tusquitte,  now  Clay  county,  was 
elected  captain  from  the  ranks,  and  retained  that  place  till 
the  close  of  the  war. 

■  The  Henderson  Purchase.  Although  the  purchase  of  In- 
dian lands  by  white  men  had  been  prohibited  by  royal  proc- 
lamation '  ^  as  early  as  October  7,  1763,  and  although  much  of 
the  territory  was  in  the  actual  possession  of  the  Indians, 
Richard  Henderson  and  eight  other  private  citizens  deter- 
mined to  buy  a  large  tract  of  land  in  Kentucky  and  the  north- 
ern part  of  Middle  Tennessee.  To  anticipate  somewhat,  it 
may  be  here  stated  that  this  intention  was  carried  out  but 
afterwards  repudiated  by  both  Virginia,  which  claimed  the 
Kentucky  portion,  and  North  Carolina,  which  claimed  the 
Tennessee  tract,  and  Henderson  and  his  associates  were  par- 
tially compensated  by  grants  of  much  smaller  bodies  of 
land;^'  nevertheless,  at  the  treaty  of  Hopewell,  S.  C,  on  the 
Keowee  river,  fifteen  miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Tuga- 
loo,  on  the  18th  of  December,  1785,  Benjamin  Hawkins,  An- 
drew Pickens,  Joseph  Martin  and  Lachlan  Campbell,  com- 
missioners representing  the  United  States,  had  the  face  to 
deny  the  claim  of  the  Indians  to  this  identical  territory — 
contending  that  they  had  already  sold  it  to  Henderson  and 
associates.  ^  * 


86         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Boone's  Split-Bullet.  About  1890  John  K.  Perry  and 
another  were  felling  trees  in  Ward's  gap  on  Beaver  Dams, 
Watauga  county,  when  Perry's  companion  cut  a  bullet  in 
two  while  trimming  a  young  poplar.  He  remarked  that  it 
might  have  been  fired  there  by  Daniel  Boone,  as  it  was  on 
his  old  trail.  Perry  said  that  whether  Boone  fired  it  or  not 
it  should  be  a  Boone  bullet  thereafter.  So,  he  filed  two  cor- 
ners off  a  shingle  nail  and  pressing  the  point  of  the  nail  thus 
filed  on  to  the  clean  surface  of  the  split  bullet  made  the  first 
part  of  a  B.  Then  he  finished  the  second  part  by  pressing 
the  nail  below  the  first  impression,  and  found  he  had  a  per- 
fect B.  Filing  a  larger  nail  in  the  same  way  he  made  the 
impression  of  a  D,  which  completed  Boone's  initials.  This 
was  shown  around  the  neighborhood  for  a  number  of  years, 
and  most  people  contended  that  the  bullet  really  had  been 
fired  from  Boone's  rifle.  But  in  June,  1909,  Mr.  Perry  dis- 
closed the  joke  rather  than  have  the  deception  get  into  se- 
rious history. 

Daniel  Boone,  the  Path  Finder.  From  Chief  Justice 
Walter  Clark's  "The  Colony  of  Transylvania,"  (N.  C.  Booklet, 
Vol.  iii,  No.  9)  we  learn  that  Boone  was  a  wagoner  under 
Hugh  Waddell  in  Braddock's  campaign  of  1755,  when  Boone 
was  21  years  old;  and  that  "in  the  following  years  he  made 
the  acquaintance  of  Col.  Richard  Henderson,  who,  struck 
with  Boone's  intelligence,  and  the  opportunity  for  fortune 
offered  by  the  new  lands  south  of  the  Ohio,  since  known  as 
Kentucky,  organized  a  company,  and  employed  Boone  in 
1763  to  spy  out  the  country  ^  ^  .  .  .  Years  passed  before  it 
took  final  shape.  Boone  is  knowTi  to  have  made  one  of  his 
visits  to  Kentucky  in  1769,  and  was  probably  there  earlier.  ^  ^ 
In  1773  he  again  attempted  to  enter  Kentucky,  carrying 
his  family,  but  was  driven  back  with  the  loss  of  six  men 
killed  by  the  Indians,  among  them  his  eldest  son  at  Wallen's 
gap."  But  in  1768  Henderson  had  been  appointed  a  judge, 
which  position  he  held  till  1773  and  which  probably  delayed 
his  land  scheme;  but  in  1774  Nathaniel  Hart,  one  of  Hender- 
son's partners,  journeyed  to  the  Otari  towns  to  open  negoti- 
ations with  the  Cherokees  for  the  grant  of  suitable  territory 
for  a  colony  of  whites.  On  March  17,  1775,  the  Overhill 
Cherokees  assembled  at  the  Sycamore  Shoals  of  the  Watauga, 
pursuant  to  an  order  of  their  chief,  Oconostata,  where  a  treaty 


DANIEL  BOONE  87 


was  mado  and  signed  hy  liim  and  two  otluM-  cliiofs,  Savanoo- 
koo  and  Little  Carpenter  (Atta  Culla  Culla),  by  which,  in 
consideration  of  £12,000  in  goods,  the  Cherokees  granted  the 
lands  between  the  Kentueky  and  Cumberland  rivers,  em- 
bracing one-half  of  what  is  now  Kentucky  and  a  part  of  Ten- 
nessee. But  Dragging  Canoe,  a  chief,  had  opposed  a  treaty 
for  four  days,  and  never  consented  to  it.  The  share  of  one 
brave  was  only  one  shirt.  But,  the  Cherokees  had  no  title 
to  convey,  as  this  land  was  a  battle-ground  where  the  hostile 
tribes  met  and  fought  out  their  differences.  Besides,  this  con- 
veyance of  the  land  by  Indians  was  unlawful  under  both  the 
British  and  colonial  laws.  Henderson  called  this  grant  Tran- 
sylvania. 

As  soon  as  Henderson  thought  this  treaty  would  be  signed 
he  started  Boone  ahead  on  March  10,  1775,  with  30  men,  to 
clear  a  trail  from  the  Holston  to  Kentucky — the  first  regular 
path  opened  in  the  wilderness. 

The  Boone  Family.  Many  people  of  the  mountains 
claim  descent  or  collateral  relationship  with  Daniel  Boone. 
His  father  was  Squire  Boone,  who  was  born  in  Devonshire, 
England  and  came  to  Pennsylvania,  between  1712  and  1714, 
when  he  was  about  21  years  old.  He  maried  Sarah  Morgan 
July  23,  1720.  Their  children  were  Sarah,  Israel,  Samuel, 
Jonathan,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  Daniel,  George,  Edward,  Squire 
and  Hannah,  all  born  at  Otey,  Penn.  Daniel  was  the  sixth 
child  and  was  born  November  2,  1734.  Edward  was  killed 
by  Indians  when  36  years  old,  and  Squire  died  at  the  age  of 
76.  Daniel  married  Rebecca  Bryan,  daughter  of  Joseph,  in 
the  spring  of  1756.  Daniel's  children  were  James,  Israel, 
Susannah,  Jemima,  Lavinia,  Rebecca,  Daniel  Morgan,  John 
B.  and  Nathan.  The  four  daughters  married.  The  two 
eldest  sons  were  killed  by  Indians,  and  the  three  younger 
emigrated  to  Missouri.  ^  ^  None  of  Daniel's  children  was 
named  Jesse,  but  there  was  a  Jesse  Boone  who  lived  just 
west  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  about  four  miles  east  of  Shull's  Mills 
and  one  mile  west  of  Kelsey  postoffice  in  Watauga  county, 
N.  C.  This  was  on  what  has  been  called  "Boone's  Fork" 
of  Watauga  river. 

The  Calloways.  Among  the  Kentucky  pioneers  was 
Col.  Richard  Calloway '  ^  Two  of  his  daughters,  Betsy  and 
Fanny,  were  captured  with  Jemima,  Boone's  second  daugh- 


88         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ter,  in  a  boat  at  Boonesborough,  Ky.,  on  the  17th  of  July, 
1776.  They  were  recovered  unharmed  soon  afterwards ;  ^  ^ 
and  in  the  following  August  Betsy  was  married  to  Samuel 
Henderson,  one  of  the  rescuing  party.  ^ "  Jemima  Boone 
afterwards  married  Flanders  Calloway,  a  son  of  Colonel  Cal- 
loway. 2  ^  It  was  this  Colonel  Calloway  who  accused  Boone 
of  having  voluntarily  surrendered  26  of  his  men  at  the  Salt 
Licks;  that  when  a  prisoner  at  Detroit  he  had  engaged  with 
Gov.  Hamilton  to  surrender  Boonesborough,  and  that  he  had 
attempted  to  weaken  the  garrison  at  Boonesborough  before 
its  attack  by  the  Indians  by  withdraA\dng  men  and  officers, 
etc.;^^  but  Boone  was  not  only  honorably  acquitted,  but 
promoted  from  a  captaincy  to  that  of  major.  Related  to  this 
Colonel  Calloway  was  Elijah  Calloway,  son  of  Thomas  Cal- 
loway of  Virginia,  who  "did  much  for  the  good  of  society 
and  was  a  soldier  at  Norfolk,  Va.,  in  the  War  of  1812."  ^^ 
John  Calloway  represented  Ashe  county  in  the  House  in  1800, 
and  in  the  Senate  in  1807,  1808,  1809;  and  Elijah  Calloway 
was  in  the  House  from  1813  to  1817,  and  in  the  Senate  in  1818 
and  1818,  and  1819.  One  of  these  men  is  said  to  have  walked 
to  Raleigh,  supporting  himself  on  the  way  by  shooting  game, 
and  in  this  way  saved  enough  to  build  a  brick  house  with  glass 
windows,  the  first  in  Ashe,  near  what  is  now  Obid.  He  was 
turned  out  of  the  Bear  creek  Baptist  church  because  he  had 
thus  proven  himself  to  be  a  rich  man;  and  the  Bible  said  no 
rich  man  could  enter  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  The  church  in 
which  he  was  tried  was  of  logs,  but  the  accused  sat  defiantly 
during  the  trial  in  a  splint-bottomed  chair,  which  he  gave  to 
Mrs.  Sarah  Miller  of  that  locality.  This  may  have  been 
Thomas  Calloway,  whose  grave  is  at  Obid,  marked  with  a 
long,  slender  stone  which  had  marked  one  of  the  camping 
places  of  Daniel  Boone.  -  ^ 

An  Important  Historical  Contribution.  Dr.  Archi- 
bald Henderson,  a  descendant  of  Richard  Henderson,  pub- 
lished in  the  Charlotte  (Sunday)  Observer,  between  the  16th 
of  March  and  the  1st  of  June,  1913,  a  series  of  articles  entit- 
led "Life  and  Times  of  Richard  Henderson,"  in  which  much 
absolutely  new  matter  is  introduced,  and  numerous  mistakes 
have  been  corrected  in  what  has  hitherto  been  accepted  as 
history.  It  is  especially  valuable  regarding  the  Regulators' 
agitation  and  the  part  therein  borne  by  Richard  Henderson. 


DANIEL  BOONE  89 


Dr.  Henderson  is  a  member  of  the  faculty  of  the  University  of 
North  Carohna,  of  the  State  Library  and  Historical  Associa- 
tion, and  of  the  American  Historical  Association,  and  in  the 
forthcoming  volume,  soon  to  appear,  he  will  put  the  result 
of  years  of  study  and  research  into  permanent  form.  He 
may  be  relied  on  to  give  adequate  authority  for  every  state- 
ment of  importance  concerning  his  remarkable  kinsman  and 
the  times  in  which  he  lived. 

Henderson's  Share  in  Boone's  Explorations.  Roose- 
velt, Ramsey  and  other  historians  have  related  the  bare  fact 
that  Boone  went  on  his  first  trip  into  Kentucky  in  1764  at 
the  instance  of  Richard  Henderson;  but  in  these  papers  the 
details  of  the  association  of  the  two  men  are  set  forth.  Cer- 
tainly as  early  as  1763,  Boone  and  Henderson,  then  a  lawyer, 
met,  and  discussed  the  territorj^  lying  to  the  west  of  the  moun- 
tains. Henderson  was  seated  as  a  Superior  Court  judge  at 
Salisbury,  March  5,  1868,  and  ceased  to  represent  Boone  as 
attorney  in  litigation  then  pending  before  the  Superior  Court 
of  Rowan  county;  but  in  March,  1769,  when  the  distinguished 
Waightstill  Avery,  then  fresh  from  his  birthplace,  Norwich, 
Conn.,  and  from  Princeton  College,  where  he  had  graduated 
in  1766,  made  his  first  appearance  before  the  bar  of  that 
county,  we  are  told  that  he  might  have  seen  also  "the  skilled 
scout  and  hunter,  garbed  in  hunting  shjrt,  fringed  leggings 
and  moccasins,  the  then  little  known  Daniel  Boone,"  who 
attended  that  term  of  court  in  defence  of  a  lawsuit,  and  must 
have  (as  shown  by  the  sequel)  conferred  with  Judge  Hen- 
derson at  this  time  about  his  contemplated  trip  into  Tennessee 
and  Kentucky  in  the  interest  of  himself,  John  Williams  and 
Thomas  Hart,  Henderson's  first  associates  in  the  coloniza- 
tion enterprize  he  contemplated  even  at  that  early  date,  and 
while  holding  a  commission  as  judge  of  the  colony.-* 

The  Six  Nations'  Claims  to  "Cherokee."  Before  Rich- 
ard Henderson's  appointment  as  judge  by  Governor  Tryon 
in  1768,  he  and  Hart  and  Williams  had  engaged  Boone  to 
spy  out  the  western  lands  for  them  as  early  as  1764,  though 
the  proclamation  of  George  IV,  in  1763,  forbidding  the  East- 
ern Colonists  to  .settle  on  lands  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  may 
have  retarded  their  plans  for  "securing  title  to  va.st  tracts 
of  western  lands,  and  no  move  was  made  by  Henderson 
to  that  end  until  after  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwx  in  1768,  by 


90         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

which  Great  Britain  had  acquired  by  purchase  from  the  Six 
Nations  their  unwarranted  claim  to  all  the  territory  east  and 
southeast  of  the  Ohio  and  north  of  the  Tennessee  rivers,  which 
territory  had  always  been  claimed  by  the  Cherokees,  and 
that  country  was  then  known  as  "Cherokee." ^^ 

Title  of  the  Cherokees.  "The  ownership  of  all  the 
Kentucky  region,  Avith  the  exception  of  the  extreme  north- 
eastern section,  remained  vested  absolutely  in  the  tribe  of 
Cherokee  Indians.  Their  title  to  the  territory  had  been 
acknowledged  by  Great  Britain  through  her  Southern  agent 

of  Indian  Affairs,  John  Stuart,  at  the  Treaty  of  Lochaber  in 
1770."  27 

King  George's  Proclamation  Made  to  be  Broken? 
Dr.  Henderson  insists  that  the  King's  proclamation  forbid- 
ding the  acquisition  of  Indian  lands  by  the  settlers  was  uni- 
versally disregarded  by  the  settlers  of  the  east.  And  while 
he  points  out  that  Richard  Henderson  obtained  an  "opinion, 
handed  down  by  the  Lord  Chancellor  and  the  Attorney  Gen- 
eral,"  which  "cleared  away  the  legal  difficulties"  in  the  way 
of  securing  "an  indisputable  title  from  the  Indian  owners  and 
.  .  .  to  surmount  the  far  more  serious  obstacle  of  Royal 
edict  against  the  purchase  of  lands  from  the  Indians  by  pri- 
vate individuals,  he  would  doutbless  have  been  justified  in 
his  purchase  by  the  popular  sentiment  of  the  day  in  view  of 
the  universal  disregard  of  the  Royal  Proclamation  of  1763." 
Dr.  Henderson  points  out  that  "George  Washington  expressed 
the  secret  belief  of  the  period  when  he  hazarded  the  judgment 
that  the  Royal  Proclamation  of  1763  was  a  mere  temporary 
expedient  to  quiet  the  Indians,  and  was  not  intended  as  a 
permanent  bar  to  Western  Civilization.  .  .  .  George  Wash- 
ington, acquiring  vast  tracts  of  western  land  by  secret  pur- 
chase, indirectly  stimulated  the  powerful  army  that  was 
carrying  the  broadax  westward.  .  .  .  It  is  no  reflection  upon 
the  fame  of  George  Washington  to  point  out  that,  of  the  two, 
the  service  to  the  nation  of  Richard  Henderson  in  promoting 
western  civilization  was  vastly  more  generous  in  its  nature 
and  far-reaching  in  its  results  than  the  more  selfish  and  pru- 
dent aims  of  Washington. "  ^  * 

Henderson's  Title.  "The  vahd  ownership  of  the  terri- 
tory being  [now]  actually  vested  in  the  Cherokees,  Hender- 
son foresaw  that  the  lands  could  be  acquired  only  by  lease 


DANIEL  BOONE  91 


or  by  purchase  from  that  tril)e,  and  lie  forthwith  set  about 
acquiriufz;  an  accurate  knowledge  of  tlie  territory  in  question. 
To  get  tliis  information  the  services  of  Daniel  Boone  were 
secured,  and  the  latter  must  have  "conferred  with  Judge 
Henderson  at  Salisbury  where  he  was  presiding  over  the 
Superior  Court,  and  plans  were  soon  outlined  for  Boone's 
journey  and  expetlition.  At  this  time  Boone  was  very  poor 
and  his  desire  to  pay  off  his  indebtedness  to  Henderson  [law- 
yer's fees]  made  him  all  the  more  ready  to  undertake  the  exhaus- 
tive tour  of  exploration  in  company  with  Finley  and  others"; 
but  "at  the  time  of  Boone's  return  to  North  Carolina  Judge 
Henderson  was  embroiled  in  the  exciting  issues  of  the  Regu- 
lation. His  plan  to  inaugurate  his  great  western  venture 
was  thus  temporarily  frustrated;  but  the  dissolution  of  the 
Superior  Court  (under  the  judiciary  act  of  1767)  took  place 
in  1773,"  and  left  Richard  Henderson  free  to  act  as  he  saw 
fit.  2  9 

Henderson  and  Daniel  Boone.  "In  the  meantime, 
Daniel  Boone  grew  impatient  over  the  delay  .  .  .  and  on 
September  25,  1773,  started  from  the  Yadkin  Valley  .  .  . 
for  Kentucky,  with  a  colony  numbering  eighteen  men,  besides 
women  and  children;"  but,  being  attacked  by  Indians,  and 
some  of  Boone's  party,  including  his  own  son,  having  been 
killed,  "the  whole  party  scattered  and  returned  to  the  set- 
tlements. This  incident  is  significant  evidence  that  Boone 
was  deficient  in  executive  ability,  the  power  to  originate  and 
execute  schemes  of  colonization  on  a  grand  scale  .  .  .  Boone 
lacked  constructive  leadership  and  executive  genius.  He 
was  a  perfect  instrument  for  executing  the  designs  of  others. 
It  was  not  until  the  creative  and  executive  brain  of  Richard 
Henderson  was  applied  to  the  vast  and  daring  project  of  West- 
ern colonization  that  it  was  carried  through  to  a  successful 
termination."  ^^ 

Henderson's  Scheme  Denounced.  "When,  on  Christmas 
Day,  1774,  there  was  spread  broadcast  throughout  the  colony 
of  North  Carolina  'Proposals  for  the  encouragement  of  set- 
tling the  lands  purchased  by  Messrs.  Richard  Henderson  & 
Co.,  on  the  branches  of  the  Mississippi  river  from  the  Chero- 
kee tribe  of  Indians,'  a  genuine  sensation  was  created."  Archi- 
bald Neilson,  deputy  auditor  of  the  colony,  asked  :  "Is  Richard 
Henderson   out   of   his   head?"  and  Governor  Josiah  Martin 


92         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

issued  "a  forcible-feeble  proclamation  against  Richard  Hender- 
son and  his  confederates  in  their  daring,  unjust  and  unwar- 
rantable proceeding.  In  letters  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth, 
Martin  speaks  scathingly  of  'Henderson,  the  famous  invader,' 
and  of  'the  infamous  Henderson  and  his  associates'  whom  he 
dubs  'an  infamous  company  of  land  Pyrates.'  He  denounced 
their  project  as  a  'lawless  undertaking,'  and  'an  infraction  of 
the  royal  prerogative.'  But  these  'fulminations'  were  un- 
heeded and  'the  goods  already  purchased  were  transported 
over  the  mountains  in  wagons  to  the  Sycamore  Shoals.'  "  ^  ^ 

Failure  of  the  Transylvania  Colony.  "Serious  dan- 
gers from  without  ])egan  to  threaten  the  safety  and  integrity 
of  the  colony.  While  the  Transylvania  legislature  was  in 
session,  Governor  Josiah  Martin  of  North  Carolina  inglori- 
ously  fled  from  his  'palace',  and  on  the  very  day  that  his 
emissary,  a  British  spy,  arrived  at  Boonesborough,  Lord 
Dunmore,  the  royal  governor  of  Virginia,  escaped  to  the  pro- 
tection of  the  British  vessel,  the  'Fowey'  ...  At  Oxford, 
N.  C,  on  September  25,  1775,  the  proprietors  of  the  Tran- 
sylvania company  drew  up  a  memorial  to  the  Continental 
Congress,  then  in  session  at  Philadelphia,  for  the  recognition 
of  the  Transylvania  company  as  the  fourteenth  American 
colony;  but  this  was  refused  "until  it  had  been  properly  ac- 
knowledged by  Virginia."  Application  was  then  made  to  the 
Virginia  convention  at  Williamsburg  for  recognition,  but  the 
effort  of  Henderson,  assisted  by  Thomas  Burke,  was  "de- 
feated chiefly  through  the  opposition  of  two  remarkable  men  : 
George  Rogers  Clark,  w^ho  represented  the  rival  settlement  of 
Harrodsburg  in  Kentucky,  and  Patrick  Henry,  who  sought  to 
extend  in  all  directions  the  power  ajid  extent  of  the  'Ancient 
Dominion  of  Virginia.'  Under  pressure  of  Henderson's  repre- 
sentations, Virginia  finally  acknowledged  the  validity  of  the 
Transylvanians'  claims  against  the  Indians;  but  boldly  con- 
fiscated the  purchase,  and  made  of  Transylvania  a  county  of 
Virginia.  Instead  of  the  20,000,000  acres  obtained  by  the 
treaty  of  Sycamore  Shoals,  Virginia  granted  the  company 
200,000  acres  between  the  Ohio  and  Green  rivers,  and  North 
Carohna  later  granted  to  the  company  a  like  amount  on  Powell 
and  Clinch  rivers  in  Tennessee."  ^  ^ 

Henderson  and  James  Robertson.  Dr.  Archibald  Hen- 
derson claims  for  his  kinsman  the  honor  of  "having  accom- 


DANIEL  BOONE  93 


plished  for  Tennessee,  in  the  same  constructive  way  as  he  had 
done  for  Kentucky  [at  Boonesborough],  the  pioneer  task  of 
estabHshing  a  colony  in  tlio  midst  of  the  Tennessee  wilder- 
ness, devising  a  system  of  laws  and  convening  a  legislature 
for  the  passage  of  those  laws."  This  was  nothing  less  than 
the  settlement  of  Nashborough  (now  Nashville)  and  the  coun- 
try surrounding  it;  for  he  claims  that  "under  Henderson's 
direction  Robertson  made  a  long  and  extended  examination 
of  the  region  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  French  Lick,  just  as 
Boone  in  1769-1771  had  made  a  detailed  examination  under 
Henderson's  direction  of  the  Kentucky  area.  Upon  his  re- 
turn to  the  Watauga  settlements  on  the  Holston,  Robertson 
founil  many  settlers  ready  and  eager  to  take  the  great  step 
towards  colonization  of  the  new  lands,  inspired  by  the  prom- 
ise of  Henderson  and  the  enthusiastic  reports  of  Robertson 
and  his  companions."  It  was  while  Henderson  was  engaged 
in  surveying  the  line  between  Virginia  and  North  Carolina — 
"the  famous  line  of  latitude  of  36°  30'  "—"that  the  Watauga 
settlers  set  out  for  the  wilderness  of  the  Cumberland.  Part 
of  these  settlers  went  by  water — do\\Ti  the  Tennessee  and  up 
the  Cumberland  rivers — under  the  leadership  of  Col.  John 
Donelson,  father  of  Mrs.  Andrew  Jackson,  and  the  others, 
under  Robertson,  overland.  Donelson's  diary  records  the 
meeting  of  Richard  Henderson  on  Friday,  March  31,  1780. 
Henderson  not  only  supplied  the  party  with  all  needed  in- 
formation but  informed  them  that  "he  had  purchased  a  quan- 
tity of  corn  in  Kentucky  to  be  shipped  at  the  Falls  of  Ohio 
(Lousville)  for  the  Cumberland  settlement.  .  .  .  James 
Robertson's  party  had  already  arrived  and  built  a  few  log 
cabins  on  a  cedar  bluff  above  the  'Lick',  when  Donelson's 
party  arrived  by  boat,  April  24,1780.  Henderson  himself  ar- 
rived soon  afterwards,  and,  assisted  by  James  Robertson, 
drew  up  and  adopted  a  plan  of  civil  government  for  the  col- 
ony. A  land  office  was  established;  the  power  to  appoint 
the  entry-taker  was  vested  in  Henderson,  as  president  of  the 
Transylvania  company,  and  the  Transylvania  company  was  to 
be  paid  for  the  lands  at  the  rate  of  26  lbs.,  13  shillings  and  4 
pence,  current  money,  a  hundred  acres,  as  soon  as  the  com- 
pany could  assure  the  settlers  a  satisfactory  and  indisputable 
title.  This  resulted  in  perpetual  non-payment,  since  in  1783, 
North   Carolina,   following   \'irginia's   lead,   expropriated   the 


94         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

lands  of  the  Transylvania  company,  granting  them  in  com- 
pensation a  tract  of  200,000  acres  in  Powell's  Valley."  Hen- 
derson returned  to  North  Carolina,  and  died  in  1785,  aged 
fifty;  and  although  memorials  in  his  honor  have  been  erected 
in  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  his  grave  at  Nutbush  creek  in 
North  Carolina  is  unmarked;  "and  North  Carolina  has  erected 
no  monument  as  yet  to  the  man  who  may  justly  be  termed 
the  founder  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee."  ^^ 

The  Shadow  of  Coming  Events.  '*  "One  sentence  of  this 
backwoods  constitution  [of  Nashborough],  remarkable  in  its 
political  anticipation,  is  nothing  less  than  that  establishing  for 
the  first  time  in  America  the  progressive  doctrine  of  which  so 
much  is  heard  today,  the  recall  of  judges  .  .  .  and  must  for- 
ever be  associated  in  American  history  with  the  names  of 
Henderson  and  his  coadjutor,  Robertson  :  'As  often  as  the 
people  in  general  are  dissatisfied  with  the  doings  of  the  judges 
or  triers  so  to  be  chosen,  they  may  call  a  new  election  in  any 
of  the  said  stations,  and  elect  others  in  their  stead,  having 
due  respect  to  the  number  now  agreed  to  be  elected  at  each 
station,  which  persons  so  to  be  chosen  shall  have  the  same 
power  with  those  in  whose  room  they  shall  or  may  be  chosen 
to  act.'" 

Boone's  Trail.  The  North  Carolina  Society  of  tlie  Daugh- 
ters of  the  American  Revolution  marked  Boone's  trail  in  North 
Carolina  by  planting  iron  tablets  bolted  to  large  boulders  at 
Cook's  Gap,  Three  Forks'  Church,  Boone  Village,  Hodge's 
Gap,  Graveyard  or  Straddle  Gap,  and  at  Zionville,  in  October, 
1913.  Addresses  were  made  at  Boone  courthouse  October  23, 
1913,  by  Mrs.  W.  N.  Reynolds,  State  Regent,  Mrs.  Lindsay 
Patterson,  chairman  of  committee  on  Boone's  trail,  and  Mrs. 
Theo.  S.  Morrison,  Regent  of  Edward  Buncombe  Chapter. 

Record  Evidence  of  the  Residence  of  the  Boones. 
Jonathan  Boone  sold  to  John  Hardin  (Deed  Book  No.  5,  p. 
509,  Ashe  county)  245  acres  on  the  15th  of  September,  1821, 
for  $600 — on  the  North  side  of  New  river  and  on  both  sides 
of  Lynches'  Mill  creek,  adjoining  Jesse  Councill's  line,  and 
running  to  Shearer's  Knob.  This  was  near  the  town  of  Boone. 
The  John  Hardin  mentioned  above  was  the  father  of  John  and 
Joseph  Hardin  of  Boone,  and  his  wife  was  Lottie,  the  daugh- 
ter of  Jordan  Councill,  Sr.,  and  the  daughter  of  Benjamin 
Howard.     On  the  7th  of  November,  1814,  Jesse  Boone  entered 


DANIEL  BOONE  95 


100  acres  on  the  head  waters  of  Watauga  river,  l)ogiiining  on  a 
maple,  Jesse  Coffey's  corner,  and  obtained  a  grant  therefor 
on  the  29th  of  November,  1817.  (Deed  Book  "F,"  Ashe 
county,  p.  170.) 

NOTES. 

'Thwaitos'  "Daniel  Boone,"  pp.  22,  60. 

Mbia..  23. 

>Ibid.,  73. 

*Ibia.,  p.  66. 

'Statement  of  James  M.  Isbell  to  J.  P.  A.  in  May,  1909,  at  lattor's  home. 

•It  "conld  still  be  seen,  a  few  yeans  ago,  at  the  foot  of  a  range  of  hills  some  .seven  and 
a  half  miles  above  Wilkesboro,  in  Wilkes  county."    Thwaites'  "  Danic^l  Boone,"  p.  68. 

'That  inscription  is  not  legible  now.  Tiie  picture  of  it  opposite  page  56  of  Thwaites' 
"Daniel  Boone"  shows  that,  if  it  had  been  made  in  1760  it  would  not  have  been  legible 
in  1S56  when  Captain  \V.  T.  Pritchett  of  Jouesboro,  Tennessee,  was  a  boy,  as  he  stated  was 
the  case  in  June,  1909,  to  J.  P.  A. 

'Some  think  Boone  went  down  Brushy  Fork  to  Dr.  Phillips's  present  home  on  Cove 
creek  and  crossed  Phillips'  gap  to  Beaver  Dams  and  thence  by  Baker's  gap  to  Roan's 
creek.  This,  however,  would  not  have  brought  him  to  Shoun's  Cross  Roads,  below  which 
about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  he  is  said  to  have  made  a  camp  on  the  old  Wagner  farm, 
now  owned  by  Wiley  Jenkins. 

•Dr.  Jordan  B.  Phillips  has  always  heard  that  George's  gap  is  so  called  from  George 
Finley  who  so  often  hunted  with  Boone. 

'"Holland  Hodges  says  Dog  Skin  creek  is  so  called  because  settlors  on  it  used  to  kill 
all  stray  dogs  to  get  their  skins  for  tanning. 

"Thwaites,  25. 

> 'Martin's  North  Carolina,  Vol.  II,  p.  339,  cited  in  Fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau 
of  Ethnology,  1883-84,  p.  149. 

"Ramsey's  Annals  of  Tennessee,  p.  204,  cited  in  Fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of 
Ethnology,  1883-84,  p.  149. 

"Fifth  .\nnual  Report  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  1883-S4,  p.  153. 

"Thwaites'  "Life  of  Boone,"  p.  21. 

"The  only  evidence  of  that  is  the  inscription  on  the  beech  tree  nine  miles  north  ot 
Jonesboro,  Tennessee,  about  killing  a  bear  on  that  tree  in  1760. 

"Thwaites,  pp.  1,  2,  25,  43. 

"Thwaites'   '  Daniel  Boone,"  p.  117. 

"Ibid.,  p.  1356. 

»»Ibid.,  p.  143. 

>'ll)id.,  p.  158. 

»sibid.,  p.  165-7. 

»>'■  Footprints  on  the  Stands  of  Time,"  by  Dr.  A.  B.  Cox,  p.  106. 

'•Statement  of  T.  C.  Bowie,  Esq.,  to  J.  P.  A.,  in  September,  1912. 

•'"Life  and  Times  of  Richard  Henderson,"  Charlotte  Observer,  April  6,  1913. 

"Ibid.,  May  11,  1913. 

"Ibid. 

"Ibid. 

"Ibid. 

»»Ibid. 

»'Ibid. 

»2lhi(i. 

"Ibid.,  June  1. 

"Ibid. 


CHAPTER  V 

REVOLUTIONARY   DAYS 

Our  Part  in  the  Revolution.  ^  In  the  summer  of  1880 
"the  British  were  making  a  supreme  effort  to  dismember  the 
colonies  by  the  conquest  of  the  Southern  States."  "They 
thought,"  says  Holmes,  "that  important  advantages  might  be 
expected  from  shifting  the  war  to  the  rich  Southern  colonies, 
which  chiefly  upheld  the  financial  credit  of  the  Confederacy 
in  Europe,  and  through  which  the  Americans  received  most 
of  their  military  and  other  supplies."  "The  militiaman  of 
Western  North  Carolina  was  unique  in  his  way.  Regarded 
by  his  government,  in  the  words  of  Governor  Graham,  as  'a 
self-supporting  institution,'  he  went  forth  to  service  gener- 
ally without  thought  of  drawing  uniform,  rations,  arms  or 
pay.  A  piece  of  white  paper  pinned  to  his  hunting  cap  was 
his  uniform;  a  wallet  of  parched  flour  or  a  sack  of  meal  was 
his  commissariat;  a  tin-cup,  a  frying-pan  and  a  pair  of  sad- 
dle-bags, his  only  impedimenta;  his  domestic  rifle — a  Deckard 
or  a  Kutter— and  sometimes  a  sword,  made  in  his  own  black- 
smith shop,  constituted  his  martial  weapons;  a  horse  capable  of 
'long  subsisting  on  nature's  bounty'  was  his  means  of  rapid 
mobihzation  or  'hasty  change  of  base';  a  sense  of  manly  duty 
performed,  his  quarter's  pay.  Indeed,  his  sense  of  propriety 
would  have  been  rudely  shocked  by  any  suggestion  of  reward 
for  serving  his  endangered  country.  .  .  An  expert  rider  and 
an  unerring  shot,  he  was  yet  disdainful  of  the  discipline  that 
must  mechanaze  a  man  into  a  soldier  or  convert  a  mob  into 
an  army  ...  he  was  so  tenacious  of  personal  freedom  as  to 
be  jealous  of  the  authority  of  officers  chosen  by  his  vote." 

The  Mecklenburg  Resolves.  Alamance  was  but  the 
forerunner  of  the  declaration  of  independence  at  Mecklen- 
burg, the  proof  of  which  follows  : 

Hon.  George  Bancroft,  the  historian,  and  at  the  time  ]\Iin- 
ister  to  England,  WTote  to  David  L.  Swain,  at  Chapel  Hill, 
July  4,  1848,  as  follows  :  "The  first  account  of  the  Resolves 
'by  the  people  in  Charlotte  Town,  Mecklenburg  County,'  was 

(96) 


"X^V-^J  \^-  »  •  I  - 


0     Ci 


(From  a  daguprreotype  taken  when  he  was  in  his  94th  year.) 


REVOLUTIONARY  DAYS  97 


sent  over  by  Sir  James  Wright,  then  Governor  of  Georgia,  in 
a  letter  of  the  20th  of  June,  1775.  The  newspaper  thus  trans- 
mitted is  still  preserved,  and  is  in  number  498  of  the  South 
Carolina  Gazette  and  Country  Journal. '  Tuesday,  June  13, 
1775.  I  read  the  Resolves,  you  may  be  sure,  with  reverence, 
and  immediately  obtained  a  copy  of  them,  thinking  myself 
the  SOU"  discoverer.  1  tlo  not  send  you  the  copy,  as  it  is  iden- 
tically the  same  with  the  paper  you  enclosed  to  me,  but  I  for- 
ward to  you  a  transcript  of  the  entire  letter  of  Sir  James 
Wright.  The  newspapers  seem  to  have  reached  him  after  he 
had  finished  his  dispatch,  for  the  paragraph  relating  to  it  is 
added  in  his  own  handwriting,  the  former  part  being  written 
by  a  secretary.  .  .  .  It  is  a  mistake  if  any  have  supposed 
that  the  Regulators  were  cowed  down  by  their  defeat  at  Ala- 


mance." 


The  Men  of  Ashe  and  Buncombe.  As  many  of  those 
who  hatl  taken  part  in  the  Mecklenburg  Resolves  bore  their 
part  in  the  Revolutionary  War  which  followed,  and  then 
moved  into  Ashe  and  Buncombe  counties,  west  of  the  Blue 
Ridge,  the  interest  of  their  descendants  in  the  reality  of  that 
heroic  step  is  intense.  As,  also,  many  of  these  men  were  with 
Sevier  and  McDowell  in  the  expedition  to  and  battle  of 
Kings  Mountain,  the  following  account  of  their  experiences 
through  the  mountains  of  Western  North  Carolina  and  of 
the  landmarks  which  still  mark  their  old  trails  must  be  of 
equal  importance. 

Western  North  Carolinians  Won  the  Revolutionary 
War.  '  After  the  battle  of  Alamance,  the  defiance  declared 
at  public  meetings,  the  declaration  of  independence  at  Meck- 
lenburg and  at  Halifax;  after  Gates'  defeat  at  Camden,  Au- 
gust 16,  1780,  and  Sumter's  rout  at  Fishing  creek,  Corn- 
wallis  started  northward  to  complete  the  conquest  of  Vir- 
ginia and  North  Carolina.  "At  this  dark  crisis  the  Western 
North  Carolinians  conceived  and  organized  and,  with  the  aid 
which  they  sought  and  received  from  Virginia  and  the  Wa- 
tauga settlement  [the  latter  being  then  a  part  of  North  Caro- 
lina] now  in  Tennessee,  carried  to  glorious  success  at  Kings 
Mountain  on  October  7,  1780,  an  expedition  which  thwarted 
all  the  plans  of  the  British  commander,  and  restored  the 
almost  lost  cause  of  the  Americans  and  rendered  possible 
its  final  triumph   at  Yorktown  on  October   19,   1781.     This 

w.  N.C. — 7 


98         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

expedition  was  without  reward  or  the  hope  of  reward,  under- 
taken and  executed  by  private  individuals,  at  their  own 
instance,  who  furnished  their  own  arms,  conveyances  and 
supplies,  bore  their  o^vn  expenses,  achieved  the  victory,  and 
then  quietly  retired  to  their  homes,  leaving  the  benefit  of 
their  work  to  all  Americans,  and  the  United  States  their 
debtors  for  independence." 

Vance,  McDowell  and  Henry.  "The  white  occupation 
of  North  Carolina  had  extended  only  to  the  Blue  Ridge  when 
the  Revolution  began";  but  at  its  close  General  Charles 
McDowell,  Col.  David  Vance  and  Private  Robert  Henry  were 
among  the  first  to  cross  the  Blue  Ridge  and  settle  in  the  new 
county  of  Buncombe.^  As  a  reward  for  their  services,  no 
doubt,  they  were  appointed  to  run  and  mark  the  line  between 
North  Carolina  and  Teimessee  in  1799,  McDowell  and  Vance 
as  commissioners  and  Henry  as  surveyor-  While  on  this  work 
they  wrote  and  left  in  the  care  of  Robert  Henry  their  narra- 
tives of  the  battle  of  Kings  Mountain  and  the  fight  at  Cowan's 
ford.  After  his  death  Robert  Henry's  son,  WillianLL,_H£iu:^, 
furnished  the  manuscript  to  the  late  Dr.  J.  F.  E.  Hardy,  and 
he  sent  it  to  Dr.  Lyman  C.  Draper,  of  Wisconsin.  On  it  is 
largely  based  his  "King's  Mountain  and  its  Heroes"  (1880). 

David  Vance.  He  was  the  grandfather  of  Governor  and 
General  Vance;  "came  south  with  a  great  tide  of  Scotch-Irish 
emigration  which  flowed  into  the  Piedmont  country  from 
the  middle  colonies  between  1744  and  1752,  and  made  his 
home  on  the  Catawba  river,  in  what  is  now  Burke,  and  was 
then  Rowan  county,  where  he  married  Miss  Brank  about 
1775;  and  here,  pursuing  his  vocation  as  a  surveyor  and  teacher, 
the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  war  found  him.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  in  North  Carolina  to  take  up  arms  in  support 
of  the  colonies,  and  in  June,  1776,  was  appointed  ensign  in 
the  second  North  Carolina  regiment  of  Regular  Continental 
troops,  and  shortly  thereafter  was  promoted  to  a  lieuten- 
ancy, and  served  with  his  regiment  until  May  or  June,  1778, 
"when  the  remnant  of  that  regiment  was  consolidated  with 
other  North  Carolina  troops.  He  served  at  Brandywine, 
Germantown,  Monmouth,  and  was  with  Washington  at  Val- 
ley Forge  through  the  terrible  winter  of  1777-78.  In  command 
of  a  company  he  fought  at  Ramseur's  Mill,  CowTDens,  and 
King's  Mountain  in  1780-81.     His  son  David  was  the  father 


REVOLUTIONARY  DAYS  99 

of  Zebulon  and  Robert  B.  Vance,  the  United  States  senator 
and  Confederate  general  respectively,  was  a  prominent  and 
influential  citizen  of  his  time,  and  a  captain  in  the  War  of 
1812,  which,  however,  terminated  before  his  regiment  reached 
the  theater  of  war. 

Captain  William  Moore.  He  was  from  Ulster  county, 
Ireland,  and  was  the  first  white  man  to  settle  west  of  the 
Blue  Ridge  in  Buncombe.  He  was  with  his  brother-in-law, 
Griffith  Rutherford  when  that  officer  came  through  Buncombe 
in  177G  on  his  way  to  punish  the  Cherokees,  and  was  struck 
with  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  spot  on  which  he  after- 
wards settled,  six  and  a  half  miles  west  of  Asheville,  the  pres- 
ent residence,  remodeled  and  enlarged,  of  Dr.  David  M. 
Gudger.  He  was  a  captain  of  one  of  Rutherford's  com- 
panies. He  returned  in  1777  and  built  a  fort  on  the  site 
above  referred  to,  obtaining  a  grant  for  640  acres  from  Gov- 
ernor Caswell  soon  afterwards,  for  "land  on  Hominy  creek, 
Burke  county."  But  he  had  to  leave  his  new  home  for  the 
Revolutionary  War,  in  which  he  served  gallantly,  returning 
at  its  close  with  his  own  family — his  wife  being  Gen.  Ruth- 
erford's sister — and  five  others.  He  had  three  sons,  William, 
Samuel,  and  Charles,  and  three  daughters,  all  of  whom  mar- 
ried Penlands,  brothers.  William  and  Samuel  moved  to 
Georgia,  and  Charles,  the  youngest,  fell  heir  to  the  home 
place.  Of  him  Col.  Allen  T.  Davidson  says  in  The  Lyceum  for 
April,  1891,  page  24,  that  he  had  been  born  in  a  fort  on  Hom- 
iny creek  "and  was  one  of  the  most  honorable,  hospitable, 
open-hearted  men  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  know,  whom 
I  was  taught  by  my  parents  to  revere  and  respect;  and  I  can 
now  say  I  never  found  in  him  anything  to  lessen  the  high  es- 
timate placed  upon  him  by  them." 

Mountain  Tories.  There  was  a  man  named  Mills  men- 
tioned in  "The  Heart  of  the  Alleghanies"  as  living  in  Hen- 
derson county  during  the  Revolutionary  War;  local  tradi- 
tion says  there  was  a  Tory  named  Hicks  who  at  some  time 
during  the  Revolutionary  War  built  himself  a  pole  cabin  on 
what  is  now  the  Meadow  Farm  near  Banners  Elk;  but  which 
was  for  years  known  as  Hick's  Improvement.  Benjamin  How- 
ard built  what  is  known  as  the  Boone  cabin  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  himself  and  his  herders  when  they  were  looking  after 
the  cattle  grazing  on  the  mountains  near  what  is  now  the 


100        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

town  of  Boone.  Howard's  Knob,  where  he  is  said  to  have 
had  a  cave,  and  Howard's  creek  are  named  for  him.  His 
daughter  Sarah  married  Jordan  Council,  Sr.,  a  prominent 
citizen,  and  they  Hved  near  the  oak  tree  that  has  buck-horns 
embedded  in  its  trunk,  near  Boone  village.  There  is  also  here, 
at  the  spring,  a  large  sycamore  tree  which  grew  from  a  switch 
stuck  in  the  moist  soil  by  Jesse  Council,  eldest  son  of  Jordan 
Council,  about  one  hundred  years  ago.  Howard  was  a  Tory. 
Some  of  the  Norris  family  are  said  to  have  been  Tories  also; 
and  two  men,  named  White  and  Asher,  were  killed  by  the 
Whigs  near  Shull's  Mills  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  * 
There  were,  doubtless,  other  Tories  hidden  in  these  mountains 
during  those  troublous  times.  Daniel  Boone  himself  was  not 
above  suspicion,  and  escaped  conviction  under  charges  of  dis- 
loyalty at  Boonesborough,  Ky.,  by  pleading  that  his  acts  of 
apparent  disloyalty  were  due  to  the  fact  that  he  had  been 
"playing  the  Indians  in  order  to  gain  time  for  getting  rein- 
forcements to  come  up."  ^ 

The  Norris  Family.  William  Norris  settled  on  Meat 
Camp,  and  his  brother  Jonathan  on  New  river,  about  1803, 
probably,  as  William  was  less  than  ninety  when  he  died  in  1873. 

Thomas  Hodges  came  to  Hodges'  gap  one,  and  a  half  miles 
west  of  what  is  now  Boone,  during  the  Revolutionary  War. 
He  came  from  Virginia,  and  brought  his  family  with  him.  He 
was  a  Tory  and  was  seeking  to  keep  out  of  taking  up  arms 
against  Great  Britain  when  he  came  to  his  new  home.  There 
was  a  Norris  in  this  section  who  was  also  a  Tory.  Thomas 
Hodges'  son  Gilbert  married  a  daughter  of  Robert  Shearer  who 
lived  on  New  River,  three  miles  from  Boone,  and  died  there 
about  1845.  Robert  Shearer  was  a  Scotchman  who  had  fought 
in  the  American  army.  In  1787  Gilbert  was  born,  and  lived  at 
the  place  of  his  birth  in  Hodges'  gap  till  his  death  in  December, 
1862.  Hollard  Hodges,  a  son  of  Gilbert,  was  born  there 
July  18,  1827,  and  is  still  there.  He  still  remembers  that 
about  1856  he  and  Jordan  McGhee  in  one  day  killed  432 
rattlesnakes  on  a  rocky  and  cliffy  place  on  the  Rich  mountain 
about  three  miles  from  Boone;  and  that  he  has  always  heard 
that  Ben.  Howard  had  entered  all  the  land  about  Hodges  gap. 
His  wife  was  born  Elizabeth  Councill,  and  is  a  grand-doughter 
of  Jordan  Councill,  Sr.,  whose  wife  was  Sallie,  daughter  of 
Ben.  Howard. 


REVOLUTIONARY  DAYS  101 

Henderson  County  Heroes.  In  her  history  of  Hender- 
son county,  written  for  this  work,  Mrs.  Mattie  S.  Candler 
says,  "here  are  unquestionably  numbers  of  quiet  sleepers 
in  the  little  old  and  neglected  burying  grounds  all  over  the 
county  who  followed  Shell\v  and  Sevier  at  Kings  Mountain," 
and  mentions  the  grandfather  of  Misses  Ella  and  Lela  McLean 
and  Mrs.  Hattie  Scott  as  having  fought  against  his  immediate 
relatives  in  the  British  army  on  that  occasion,  receiving  a  se- 
vere wound  there.  Elijah  Williamson  is  said  to  have  lived 
in  Henderson  county  on  land  now  owned  by  Preston  Patton, 
his  great  grandson.  Williamson  was  born  in  Virginia,  moved 
to  Ninety-Six,  S.  C,  and  afterwards  settled  on  the  Patton  farm, 
where  he  planted  five  sycamore  trees,  naming  each  for  one 
of  his  daughters.  They  still  stand.  Samuel  Fletcher,  ances- 
tor of  Dr.  G.  E.  Fletcher  and  of  Mrs.  Wm.  R.  Kirk  and  Miss 
Estelle  Edgerton  of  Hendersonville,  owned  an  immense  tract 
adjoining  the  Patton  farm,  to  which  it  is  supposed  he  came 
about  the  time  that  Elijah  Williamson  did. 

Descendants  of  Revolutionary  Heroes.  Representatives 
of  several  Revolutionary  soldiers  reside  in  these  mountains, 
among  whom  are  the  Alexanders,  Davidsons,  Fosters, 
McDowells,  Coffeys,  Bryans,  Penlands,  Wisemans,  Aliens, 
Welches,  and  scores  of  others,  w^ho  fought  in  North  Caro- 
lina. Others  are  descendants  of  Nathan  Horton,  who  was  a 
member  of  the  guard  at  the  execution  of  Major  Andre,  when 
he  carried  a  shot-gun  loaded  with  one  ball  and  three  buck- 
shot. J.  B.  Horton,  a  direct  descendant,  has  the  gun  now. 
J.  C.  Horton,  who  lives  on  the  South  Fork  of  the  New  River, 
near  Boone,  has  a  grandfather's  clock  which  his  ancestor, 
Nathan  Horton,  brought  with  him  from  New  Jersey  over  one 
hundred  years  ago.  The  late  Superior  Court  Judge,  L.  L. 
Greene  of  Boone,  and  the  Greenes  of  Watauga  generally,  trace 
their  descent  directly  from  General  Nathanael  Greene,  who 
conducted  the  most  masterly  retreat  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  when  he  slowly  retired  before  Cornwallis  from  Camden 
to  Yorktown,  and  won  the  applause  of  even  the  British.  ^ 

The  Old  Field.  Where  Gap  creek  empties  into  the  South 
Fork  of  New  River  is  a  rich  meadow  on  which,  according  to 
tradition,  there  has  never  been  any  trees.  It  has  been  called 
the  "old  field"  time  out  of  mind.  It  was  here  that  Col. 
Cleveland  was  captured  by  a  notorious  Tory  named  Riddle 


102        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

and  his  followers  during  the  Revolutionarj'^  War.  ^  The  apple 
tree  under  which  it  is  said  he  was  seated  when  surprised  and 
captured  is  still  standing  in  the  yard  of  the  old  Luther  Per- 
kins home,  ^  now  occupied  by  a  son  of  Nathan  Waugh.  The 
tree  is  said  to  be  180  years  old.  It  is  three  feet  in  diam- 
eter six  feet  from  the  ground,  and  still  bears  fruit.  It  is 
said  that  Mrs.  Perkins  sent  her  daughter  to  notify  Ben  Greer 
And  Joseph  Calloway  of  Cleveland's  capture  and  that  they 
followed  him  by  means  of  twigs  dropped  in  the  river  as  he 
was  led  up  stream,  having  joined  the  party  of  Captain  Cleve- 
land, who  had  gone  in  pursuit.  Greer  lived  four  miles  above 
Old  Field  and  Calloway  two  miles  below.  It  is  said  that 
Greer  shot  one  of  the  captors  at  Riddle's  knob,  to  which 
point  Cleveland  had  been  taken,  and  that  the  rest  fled,  Cleve- 
land himself  dropping  behind  the  log  on  which  he  had  been 
seated  while  slowly  writing  passes  for  his  captors.  It  is  also 
claimed  that  Ben.  Greer  fired  the  shot  which  killed  Col.  Fer- 
guson at  Kings  Mountain.  ^^Roosevelt  says  Ferguson  was 
pierced  by  half  a  dozen  bullets.     (Vol.  iii,  170). 

The  Wolf's  Den.  Riddle's  knob  is  ten  miles  north  of 
Boone,  and  is  even  yet  a  "wild  and  secluded  spot,  being  very 
near  the  noted  Elk  Knob,  the  place  where  this  noted  Tory 
had  his  headquarters.  It  is  known  as  the  "Wolf's  Den,"  and 
is  the  place  where  the  early  settlers  caught  many  young 
wolves."  About  1857  Micajah  Tugman  found  Riddle's 
knife  in  the  crevices  of  the  Wolf's  Den.  It  was  of  peculiar 
design,  the  "jaws"  being  six  inches  long,  and  the  handle  was 
curved. ^  * 

Benjamin  Cleveland.  This  brave  man  was  born  in  Vir- 
ginia May  26,  1738.  When  thirty-one  years  of  age  he  came 
to  North  Carolina  to  live,  settling  in  Wilkes  county.  In  1776 
he  became  a  Whig.  He  was  himself  somewhat  cruel,  as  it  is 
related  of  him  that  "some  time  after  this  (his  capture  at  Old 
Field)  this  same  Riddle  and  his  son,  and  another  was  taken, 
and  brought  before  Cleveland,  and  he  hung  all  three  of  them 
near  the  Mulberry  Meeting  House,  now  Wilkesborough. "  ^  ^ 
Cleveland  weighed  over  three  hundred  pounds,  and  his  men 
called  him  "Old  Roundabout,"  and  themselves  "Cleveland's 
Bull  Dogs."  The  Tories,  however,  called  them  "Cleveland's 
Devils."  He  was  a  captain  in  Rutherford's  expedition  across 
the  mountains  to  punish  the  Cherokees  in  1776,  for  which 


REVOLUTIONARY  DAYS  103 

service  he  was  made  a  colonel,  and  as  such  rendered  great 
service  in  suppressing  Tory  bands  on  the  frontier.  He  raised 
a  regiment  of  four  hundred  men  in  Surry  and  Wilkes  counties 
and  with  them  took  part  in  Kings  Mountain  fight.  Before 
he  died  he  weighed  over  450  pounds,  but  was  cheerful  and 
witty  to  the  end,  which  came  in  October,  1806.'^ 

Dr.  Draper's  Account.  In  his  "Kings  Mountain  and  Its 
Heroes,"  Dr.  Draper  tells  us  (Ch.  19,  p.  437,  et  seq.)  that  the 
Old  Fields  belonged  to  Colonel  Cleveland,  and  served,  in 
peaceful  times,  as  a  grazing  region  for  his  stock,  and  there 
his  tenant,  Jesse  Duncan,  resided.  On  Saturday,  April  14, 
1881,  accompanied  only  by  a  negro  servant,  Cleveland  rode 
from  his  "Round  About"  plantation  on  the  Yadkin  to  the 
Old  Fields,  where  he  spent  the  night.  Captain  William 
Riddle,  a  son  of  Col.  James  Riddle  of  Surry  county,  both  of 
whom  were  Roj'alists,  was  at  that  time  approaching  Old 
Field  from  Virginia,  with  Captain  Ross,  a  Whig  captive,  and 
his  servant,  enroute  to  Ninety  Six,  in  South  Carolina.  Cap- 
tain Riddle's  party  of  six  or  eight  men,  reached  the  home  of 
Benjamin  Cutbirth,  some  four  miles  above  Old  Field,  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  day  that  Cleveland  arrived  at  Jesse  Dun- 
can's, and  abused  Cutbirth,  who  was  a  Whig  and  suffering 
from  wounds  he  had  but  recently  sustained  in  the  American 
cause.  Riddle,  however,  soon  left  Cutbirth's  and  went  on  to 
the  upper  end  of  Old  Fields,  where  Joseph  and  Timothy 
Perkins  resided,  about  one  mile  above  Duncan's.  Both  these 
men  were  absent  in  Tory  service  at  the  time;  but  Riddle 
learned  from  their  women  that  Cleveland  was  at  Duncan's 
"with  only  his  servant,  Duncan  and  one  or  two  of  the  Callo- 
way family."  Riddle,  however,  was  afraid  to  attack  Cleve- 
land openly,  and  determined  to  lure  him  into  an  ambush 
the  next  morning.  Accordingly,  that  night,  he  had  Cleve- 
land's horses  secretly  taken  from  Duncan's  to  a  laurel  thicket 
"just  above  the  Perkins  house,"  where  they  were  tied  and 
left.  But,  it  so  happened,  that  on  that  very  Saturday,  Rich- 
ard Calloway  and  his  brother-in-law,  John  Shirley,  went  down 
from  the  neighboring  residence  of  Thomas  Calloway,  to  see 
Col.  Cleveland,  where  they  remained  over  night.  On  the 
following  (Sunday)  morning,  discovering  that  his  horses  were 
missing,  Cleveland  and  Duncan,  each  with  a  pistol,  and  Cal- 
loway and  Shirley,  unarmed,  went  in  pursuit,  following  the 


104        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

tracks   of   the   stolen   horses,   just   as    Riddle    had   planned. 
"Reaching  the     Perkins  place,   one  of  the   Perkins  women, 
knowing  of  the  ambuscade,  secretly  desired  to  save  the  Colo- 
nel from  his  impending  fate,  and  detained  him  as  long  as  she 
could,  while  his  three  companions  went  on,  Cleveland  follow- 
ing some  httle  distance  behind."     She  also  followed,  retard- 
ing Cleveland  by  enquiries,  until  his  companions  had  crossed 
the  fence  that  adjoined  the  thicket,  where  they  were  fired 
upon   by    Riddle's   men   from   their   places   of   concealment. 
Calloway's  thigh  was  broken  by  the  shot  of  Zachariah  Wells, 
but  Duncan  and  Shirley  escaped.     Cleveland   "dodged  into 
the  house  with  several  Tories  at  his  heels."     There  he  sur- 
rendered on  condition  that  they  would  spare  his  life;  but 
when  Wells  arrived  he  swore  that  he  would  kill  Cleveland 
then  and  there,  and  would  have  done  so  had  not  the  latter 
"seized  Abigal  Walters  and  kept  her  between  him  and  his 
would-be  assassin."     Riddle,  however,  soon  came  upon  the 
scene  and  ordered  Wells  to  desist;  after  which,  "the  whole 
party    with    their    prisoner    and    his    servant    were    speedily 
mounted  and  hurried  up  New  river,"  traveling  "mostly  in 
its  bed  to  avoid  being  tracked,  in  case  of  pursuit."     Two 
boys,  of  fourteen  and  fifteen,  "Daniel  Cutbirth  and  a  youth 
named  Walters,"  had  resolved  to  waylay  Riddle  on  his  return 
to   Benjamin  Cutbirth's,   and   rescue   whatever   prisoners  he 
might  have  with  him;  but  they  were  deterred  from  their  pur- 
pose by  the  size  and  noise  of  Riddle's  party  as  they  passed 
their  place  of  concealment  that  Sunday  morning.     Riddle's 
party  got  dinner  at  Benjamin  Cutbirth's  where  one  of  Cut- 
birth's  daughters  was  abused  and  kicked  by  Riddle  because 
of   her   reluctance  in   serving   Riddle's   party.     After   dinner 
Riddle's  party  proceeded  up  the  bed  of  New  river  to  the 
mouth  of  Elk  creek,  where  the  new  and  promising  town  of 
Todd  now  flourishes  at  the  terminus  of  a  new  railroad  now 
building  from  Konarok,  Va.,  Cleveland  meanwhile  breaking 
off  overhanging  twigs  and  dropping  them  in  the  stream  as  a 
guide  to  his  friends  who,  he  knew,  would  soon  follow  in  pur- 
suit.    "From  the  head  of  the  south  fork   of  Elk,  they  as- 
cended up  the  mountains  in  what  has  since  been  knowTi  as 
Riddle's  Knob,  in  what  is  now  Watauga  county,  and  some 
fourteen    miles    from    the    place    of    Cleveland's    captivity," 
where   they    camped   for   the   night.     Meantime,    early   that 


REVOLUTIONARY  DAYS  105 

Sabbath  morning,  Joseph  Calloway  and  his  brother-in-law, 
Berry  Toney,  luul  called  at  Duncan's,  and  hearing  firing  in 
the  direction  of  Perkins's  home,  hastened  there;  but,  meeting 
Duncan  and  Shirley  in  rapid  flight,  they  learned  from  them 
that  Richard  Calloway  had  been  left  behind  for  dead  and 
that  Cleveland  was  either  dead  or  captured.  Duncan,  Shir- 
ley and  Toney  then  went  to  notify  the  people  of  the  scattered 
settlements  to  meet  that  afternoon  at  the  Old  Fields,  while 
Joseph  Calloway  rode  to  Captain  Rol)ert  Cleveland's  place 
on  Lewis  Fork  of  the  Yadkin  river,  a  dozen  miles  distant. 
His  brother,  William  Calloway,  started  forthwith  up  New 
river  and  soon  came  across  Benjamin  Career  and  Samuel 
McQueen,  who  readily  joined  them,  and  together  they  fol- 
lowed Riddle's  trail  till  night  overtook  them  ten  miles  above 
the  Old  Fields,  where  Calloway  and  McQueen  remained, 
while  Greer  returned  to  pilot  whatever  men  might  have 
gathered  to  engage  in  the  pursuit  of  the  Tories.  Greer 
soon  met  Robert  Cleveland  and  twenty  others  at  the  Old 
Fields,  and  all  started  at  once,  reaching  Calloway  and  Mc- 
Queen before  day  Monday  morning.  John  Baker  joined 
Calloway  and  McQueen  to  lead  the  advance  as  spies  or  ad- 
vance guards;  and,  soon  after  sunrise,  the  nine  men  who  were 
in  advance  of  the  others  fired  upon  Riddle's  party,  while 
Cleveland  tumbled  behind  the  log  on  which  he  was  slowly 
writing  passes  for  his  Tory  captors.  But  Wells  alone  was 
shot,  being  hit  as  he  scampered  away  by  William  Calloway, 
and  was  left  as  it  was  supposed  that  he  had  been  mortally 
wounded.  Riddle  and  his  wife  mounted  horses  and  escaped 
with  the  others  of  his  band.  "Cleveland's  servant,  who  had 
been  a  pack-horse  for  the  Tory  plunderers,"  was  rescued  with 
his  ma.ster.  Captain  Ross,  Riddle's  Virginia  prisoner,  was  also 
rescued.  Shortly  after  this  Riddle  captured  on  Kings  creek  at 
night  two  of  Cleveland's  noted  soldiers,  David  and  John  Wither- 
spoon,  who  resided  with  their  parents  on  Kings  creek,  and 
spirited  them  many  miles  away  in  the  mountain  region  on 
Watauga  river.  Here  they  escaped  death  by  taking  the  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  King  of  England,  and  were  released;  but  as 
soon  as  they  reached  their  home,  David  hastened  to  notify  Col. 
Ben.  Herndon,  several  miles  down  the  Yadkin,  who  with  a 
party  of  men,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Witherspoon  brothers, 
returned  and  captured  Riddle  and  two  of  his  noted  associates, 


106        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Reeves  and  Gross,  who  were  taken  to  Wilkesboro  and  "executed 
on  the  hill  adjoining  the  village  on  a  stately  oak.  . 
Mrs.  Riddle,"  who  seems  to  have  accompanied  her  husband  on 
his  wild  and  reckless  marauds,  "was  present  and  witnessed  his 
execution."  Wells  had  been  captured  and  hanged  by  Cleve- 
land a  short  time  before.     (P.  446.) 

David  and  John  Witherspoon.  Of  these  heroes  Dr. 
Draper  says  (p.  461),  "David  was  a  subordinate  officer — per- 
haps a  lieutenent —  in  Cleveland's  regiment  at  Kings  moun- 
tain, and  his  younger  brother  John  was  a  private."  They 
were  of  Scotch  origin,  but  natives  of  New  Jersey.  David  was 
born  in  1758  and  John  in  1760.  They  were  collateral  rela- 
tives of  John  Witherspoon,  president  of  Princeton  college,  and 
a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Each  afterwards 
represented  Wilkes  in  the  legislature.  David  died  in  May 
1828  while  on  a  visit  to  South  Carolina,  and  John  in  Wayne 
county,  Tenn.,  in  1839.  Captain  WiUiani  Harrison  Wither- 
spoon, of  Jefferson,  was  descended  from  John  Witherspoon, 
and  was  born  near  Kings  creek,  January  24,  1841.  He  was 
a  sergeant  major  of  the  1st  N.  C.  Infantry,  was  shot  in  the 
leg  at  Seven  Pines  in  1862,  and  in  the  forehead  at  Spottsyl- 
vania  Court  House,  May  12,  1864,  returning  for  duty  in  less 
than  two  months.  He  surrendered  with  Lee  at  Appomattox, 
after  serving  four  years  and  nine  days  in  the  Confederate 
army.  His  wife  was  born  Clarissa  Pennell  in  Wilkes  county. 
In  the  Spring  of  1865,  while  seven  of  Stonemen's  men — three 
negroes  and  four  white  men — were  trying  to  break  into  her 
father's  stable  near  Wilkesboro,  for  the  purpose  of  stealing 
her  father's  horses  and  mules,  she  warned  them  that  if  they 
persisted  she  would  shoot;  and  as  they  paid  her  no  heed,  she 
did  actually  shoot  and  kill  one  of  the  white  robbers,  and  the 
rest  fled.  Gen.  Stoneman,  when  he  heard  of  her  conduct, 
sent  her  a  guard  and  complimented  her  highly  for  her  courage 
and  determination. 

The  Perkins  Family.  J.  D.  Perkins,  Esq.,  an  attorney  at 
Kendrick,  Va.,  in  a  letter  to  his  brother,  L.  N.  Perkins,  at 
Boone,  N.  C,  of  date  December  1,  1913,  says  that  his  ances- 
tors Joseph  and  Timothy  Perkins  were  tax  gatherers  under 
the  colonial  government  of  Massachusetts  about  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Revolutionary  War,  but  removed  to  Old 
Fields,  Ashe  county  on  account  of  political  persecution.    They 


REVOLUTIONARY  DAYS  107 

remained  loyal  to  the  King  during  the  whole  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  and  Timothy  was  killed  somewhere  in  Ashe  in 
a  Tory  skirmish.  Timothy  left  several  sons  and  one  daugh- 
ter, Lucy,  J.  D.  Perkin's  great  grandmother,  who  married  a 
man  named  Young.  Joseph  also  left  sons  and  daughters.  *'I 
have  forgotten  the  names  of  most  of  our  great  grand  uncles," 
wrote  ,L  D.  Perkins  in  the  letter  above  mentioned,  "hut  I 
remember  to  have  heard  our  mother  tell  about  seeing  'Clranny 
Skritch,'  a  sister  to  our  great-great-grandfather,  and  who 
was  very  old  at  that  time,  and  living  with  one  of  her  Perkins 
relatives  up  on  Little  Wilson.  Our  mother  was  then  quite 
small  and  the  old  lady  (Granny  Skritch)  was  very  old  and 
confined  to  her  bed;  but  our  mother  was  impressed  with 
Granny  Skritch's  loyalty,  even  then,  to  King  George,  and  the 
manner  in  which  she  abused  the  Patriot  soldiers  in  her  talk." 

Other  Important  Facts.  Dr.  Draper  says  (p.  435),  "In 
the  summer  of  1780  he  (Cleveland)  was  constantly  employed 
m  surpressing  the  Tories — first  in  marching  against  those  as- 
sembled at  Ramsour's  mill,  reaching  them  shortly  after  their 
defeat;  then  in  chasing  Col.  (Samuel)  Bryan  from  the  State, 
and  finally  in  scouring  the  region  of  New  River  including  the 
Tory  rising  in  that  quarter,  capturing  and  hanging  some  of 
their  notorious  leaders  and  outlaws." 

Cleveland's  Character.  Dr.  Draper  tries  to  temper  the 
facts  of  Benjamin  Cleveland's  career  as  much  as  possible,  but 
that  this  hero  of  the  Revolutionary  War  was  inhumanly  cruel, 
cannot  be  disguised.  His  compelling  a  horse-thief,  socalled — 
for  he  had  not  been  tried — to  cut  off  his  own  ears  with  a 
case  knife  in  order  to  escape  death  by  hanging,  was  inexpres- 
sibly revolting.  (P.  447).  Cleveland  lost  his  "Round  About 
Farm"  "by  a  better  title"  at  the  close  of  the  war,  and  moved 
to  the  "fine  region  of  the  Tugalo  on  the  western  border  of 
South  Carolina"  and  "though  the  Indian  title  was  not  yet 
extinguished,"  he  resolved  to  be  among  the  early  squatters 
of  the  country,  and  "removed  to  his  new  home  in  the  forks 
of  the  Tugalo  river  and  Chauga  creek  in  the  present  county 
of  Oconee"  in  1785.  He  served  many  years  as  a  "judge  of 
the  Court  of  Old  Pendleton  county,  with  General  Pickens  and 
Col.  Robert  Anderson  as  his  associates,  .  .  .  'frequently 
taking  a  snooze  on  the  bench'  says  Governor  B.  F.  Perry, 
while  the  lawyers  were  making  long  and  prosy  speeches."    He 


108        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

was  defeated  for  the  legislature  in  1793  by  seven  votes. 
"He  had  scarcely  any  education,"  and  "was  despotic  in  his 
nature"  declares  Dr.  Draper;  but  "North  Carolina  deservedly 
commemorated  his  services  by  naming  a  county  after  him." 
Here  he  died  and  was  buried;  but  "no  monument — no  inscrip- 
tion— no  memorial  stone — point  out  his  silent  resting  place." 
(P.  453-4.) 

Ashe  a  Battle  Ground.  From  Robert  Love's  pension 
papers  it  appears  that  the  first  battle  in  which  he  took  part 
was  when  he  was  in  command  of  a  party  of  Americans  in 
1880  against  a  party  of  Tories  in  July  of  that  year.  This 
band  of  Tories  was  composed  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  and  they  were  routed  "up  New  River  at  the  Big  Glades, 
now  in  Ashe  county,  North  Carolina,  as  they  were  on  the  way 
to  join  Cornwallis."  "In  the  year  1780  this  declarent  was 
engaged  against  the  Torys  at  a  special  court  first  held  on 
Toms  creek  down  the  New  river,  and  afterwards  upon  Crip- 
ple creek;  then  up  New  river  .  .  .  then,  afterwards  at 
the  Moravian  Old  Town  .  .  .  making  an  examination 
up  to  near  the  Shallow  Ford  of  the  Yadkin  .  .  .  rout- 
ing two  parties  of  Tories  in  Guilford  county,  hanging  one  of 
the  party  who  fell  into  his  hands  up  the  New  River,  and 
another,  afterwards,  whom  they  captured  in  Guilford."  This 
activity  may  explain  the  presence  of  the  mysteriuos  battle 
ground  in  Alleghany  county.  (See  ch.  13,  "A  Forgotten  Bat- 
tlefield.") 

The  Big  Glades.  This  may  be  the  Old  Field,  and  it  is 
most  probable  that  this  is  the  spot  reached  and  lauded  by 
Bishop  Spangenberg  in  1752.  (See  ch.  3,  "In  Goshen's 
Land. ") 

But  whether  they  are  identical  with  that  locality  or  not, 
the  following  is  an  account  of  that  well-known  spot: 

Short  Story  of  an  Old  Place.  This  land  was  granted 
to  Luther  Perkins  by  grant  No.  599,  which  is  recorded  in  Ashe 
county  July  28,  1904,  Book  WW,  page  254.  But  the  grant  itself 
is  dated  November  30,  1805,  while  the  land  was  entered  in  May, 
1803.  This  tract  is  the  one  on  which  the  apple  tree  stands 
under  which  Cleveland  is  said  to  have  been  captured;  but  it  is 
probably  not  the  first  tract  nor  the  best,  which  was  conveyed 
by  Charles  McDowell,  a  son  of  Gen.  Charles  McDowell 
of    Revolutionary    fame,   to   Richard   Gentry    for   $1,000    in 


REVOLUTIONARY  DAYS  109 

1854.  There  seems  to  be  several  hundred  acres  in  that  bound- 
ary, beginning  on  a  Spanish  oak  in  the  line  of  Joseph  Perkins's 
Old  Field  Tract,  and  crossing  Gap  creek.  There  is  no  record  in 
Ashe  county,  of  how  Charles  McDowell  got  this  place,  though 
he  probably  inherited  it.  Richard  Gentry  divided  his  property 
into  three  parts,  two  in  land  and  one  in  slaves.  Adolphus 
Russeau,  who  married  one  of  Gentry's  daughters  got  the  land 
now  owned  by  Arthur  Phillips.  Nathan  Waugh  got  the  other 
tract,  while  James  Gentry,  a  son,  took  the  slaves.  It  was  on 
this  tract  that  the  first  100  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre  of  land 
in  Ashe  county  was  raised  by  Richard  Gentry.  He  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  family  of  whom  Dr.  Cox  said  in  his  "Foot  Prints," 
(p.  110):  "The  Gentry  family  have  been  distinguished  for 
their  principles  and  patriotic  love  of  constitutional  liberty  and 
justice."  Of  Hon.  Richard  Gentry  himself  he  said  (p.  116): 
"He  married  a  Miss  Harboard  and  his  residence  was  at  Old 
Field.  He  was  a  Baptist  preacher,  justice  of  the  peace  and 
clerk  of  the  Superior  Court  and  a  member  of  both  branches 
of  the  legislature." 

Sword-tilt  Between  Herndon  and  Beverly.  "The 
depredations  of  the  Tories  were  so  frequent,  and  their  conduct 
so  savage,  that  summary  punishment  was  demanded  by  the 
exigencies  of  the  times.  This  Cleveland  inflicted  without 
ceremony.  General  Lenoir  relates  a  circumstance  that  occur- 
red at  Mulberry  Meeting-house.  While  there,  on  some  pub- 
lic occasion,  the  rumor  was  that  mischief  was  going  on  by  the 
Tories.  Lenoir  went  to  his  horse,  tied  at  some  distance  from 
the  house,  and,  as  he  approached,  a  man  ran  off  from  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  horse.  Lenoir  hailed  him,  but  he  did  not  stop; 
he  pursued  him  and  found  that  he  had  stolen  one  of  the  stir- 
rups of  his  saddle.  He  carried  the  pilferer  to  Colonel  Cleve- 
land, who  ordered  him  to  place  his  two  thumbs  in  a  notch  for 
that  purpose  in  an  arbor  fork,  and  hold  them  there  while  he 
ordered  him  to  receive  fifteen  lashes.  This  was  his  peculiar 
maimer  of  inflicting  the  law,  and  gave  origin  to  the  phrase, 
*To  thumb  the  notch.'  The  punishment  on  the  offender 
above  was  well  inflicted  by  Captain  John  Beverly,  whose 
ardor  did  not  stop  at  the  ordered  number.  After  the  fifteen 
had  been  given,  Colonel  Herndon  ordered  him  to  stop,  but 
Beverly  continued  to  whip  the  wincing  culprit.  Colonel 
Herndon  drew  his  sword  and  struck  Beverly.     Captain  Bev- 


no         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

erly  drew  also,  and  they  had  a  tilt  which,  but  for  friends, 
would  have  terminated  fatally,"  ^'* 

Shad  Laws'  Oak.  There  is  a  tree  on  the  public  road  in 
Wilkes,  which  to  this  day  bears  the  name  of  "Shad  Laws'  Oak, " 
on  which  the  notches,  thumbed  by  said  Laws  under  the  sen- 
tence of  Cleveland,  are  distinctly  visible.  ^  ^ 

Sevier,  the  Harry  Percy  of  the  Revolution.  When 
"General  Charles  McDowell,  finding  his  force  too  weak  to 
stop  Ferguson,"  "crossed  the  mountains  to  the  Watauga 
settlements,  he  found  the  mountaineers  ready  to  unite 
against  the  hated  Ferguson.  .  .  .  These  hardy  men  set 
out  to  search  for  Ferguson  on  September  25  (1780).  They 
were  armed  with  short  Deckard  rifles,  and  were  expert  shots. 
They  knew  the  woods  as  wild  deer  do,  and  from  boyhood 
had  been  trained  in  the  Indian  ways  of  fighting.  They  fur- 
nished their  own  horses  and  carried  bags  of  parched  flour  for 
rations."  ^^ 

According  to  Dr.  Lyman  C.  Draper's  "Kings  Mountain 
and  Its  Heroes,"  page  176,  Sevier  followed  the  Gap  creek  from 
Mathew  Talbot's  Mill,  now  know^n  as  Clark's  Mill,  three 
miles  from  Sycamore  Shoals,  "to  its  head,  when  they  bore 
somewhat  to  the  left,  crossing  Little  Doe  river,  reaching  the 
noted  'Resting  Place,'  at  the  Shelving  Rock,  about  a  mile 
beyond  the  Crab  Orchard,  where,  after  a  march  of  some  twenty 
miles  that  day,  they  took  up  their  camp  for  the  night.  .  .  . 
Here  a  man  named  Miller  resided,  who  shod  several  of  the 
horses  of  the  party."  The  next  morning,  Wednesday,  the 
twenty-seventh  (of  September,  1880,)  .  .  .  they  reached 
the  base  of  the  Yellow  and  Roan  mountains  and  ascended  the 
mountain  by  following  the  well-knowoi  Bright's  Trace,  through 
a  gap  between  the  Yellow  mountain  on  the  north  and  the 
Roan  mountain  on  the  south.  The  sides  and  top  of  the  moun- 
tain were  "covered  shoe-mouth  deep  with  snow."  On  the 
100  acres  of  "beautiful  table  land"  on  top  they  paraded  and 
discharged  their  short  Deckard  rifles;  "and  such  was  the  rar- 
ity of  the  atmosphere,  that  there  was  little  or  no  report." 
Here  two  of  Sevier's  men  deserted.  They  were  James  Craw- 
ford and  Samuel  Chambers,  and  were  suspected  of  having 
gone  ahead  to  warn  Ferguson  of  Sevier's  approach.  Sevier 
did  not  camp  there,  however,  as  there  was  still  some  hours 
of  daylight  left  after  the  parade  and  refreshments,  but  "passed 


REVOLUTIONARY  DAYS  1 1 1 

on  a  couple  of  miles,  descending  the  eastern  slope  of  the  moun- 
tains into  Elk  Hollow,  a  slight  depression  between  the  Yellow 
and  Roan  mountains,  rather  than  a  gap;  and  here,  at  a  fine 
spring  flowing  into  Roaring  creek,  they  took  up  their  camp 
for  the  night.  Descending  Roaring  creek  on  the  28th  four 
miles  they  reached  its  confluence  with  the  North  Toe  river, 
and  a  mile  below  they  passed  Bright's  place,  now  Avery's;  and 
thence  down  the  Toe  to  the  noted  spring  on  the  Davenport 
place,  since  Tate's,  and  now  known  as  the  Childs  place,  a 
little  distance  west  of  the  stream." 

HAYWOOD    IN    THE   REVOLUTIONAIIY   WAR. 

"Long  before  white  people  had  come  into  the  mountain  country,  all 
the  land  now  included  in  Haywood  county  was  occupied  by  the  war- 
like Cherokecs.  As  the  western  frontier  of  civilization,  however,  ap- 
proached the  Indian  territory,  the  simple  natives  of  the  hills  retired 
farther  and  farther  into  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountains.  While  the 
Regulators  were  resisting  Tryon  at  Alamance  and  the  patriots  under 
Caswell  and  Moore  were  bayonetting  the  Tories  at  Moore's  Creek  Bridge, 
the  Cherokees  of  what  is  now  Haywood  county  were  smoking  their  pipes 
in  peace  under  the  shadows  of  Old  Bald  or  hunting  along  the  banks  of 
the  murmuring  Pigeon  and  its  tributaries. 

"When,  however,  the  tide  of  western  immigration  overflowed  the 
French  Broad  and  began  to  reach  the  foothills  of  the  Balsams  the  Cher- 
okees, ever  friendly  as  a  rule  to  the  white  man,  gave  up  their  lands  and 
removed  to  the  banks  of  the  Tuckaseigee,  thus  surrendering  to  their 
white  brothers  all  the  land  eastward  of  a  line  running  north  and  south 
between  the  present  town  of  Waynesville  and  the  Balsam  range  of  moun- 
tains. Throughout  the  period  of  the  early  settlement  of  Hajrwood  county 
and  until  the  present  the  most  friendly  relations  have  existed  between 
the  white  people  and  the  Cherokees. 

"Only  one  incident  is  given  by  tradition  which  shows  that  any  hos- 
tile feeling  existed  at  any  time.  It  is  related  that  a  few  Indians  from 
their  settlement  on  the  Tuckaseigee,  before  the  close  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  went  across  the  Smoky  mountains  into  Tennessee  and  stole 
several  horses  from  the  settlers  there.  A  posse  of  white  men  followed 
the  redskins,  who  came  across  the  Pigeon  on  their  way  home,  encamped 
for  the  night  on  Richland  near  the  present  site  of  the  Hardwood  factory 
in  Waynesville.  While  encamped  for  the  night,  their  white  pursuers  came 
up,  fired  into  them,  recaptured  the  horses,  and  began  their  joiu-ney  back 
to  Tennessee.  The  Indians,  taken  by  surprise,  scattered,  but  soon  recov- 
ered themselves  and  went  in  pursuit  of  the  white  men.  At  Twelve  Mile 
creek  they  came  upon  the  whites  encamped  for  the  night.  Indian  fashion 
they  made  an  attack,  and  in  the  fight  which  ensued  one  white  man  by  the 
name  of  Fine  waa  killed.  The  Indians,  however,  were  driven  off.  Before 
leaving  their  camp  next  morning  the  white  men  took  the  body  of  their 


1 12         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

dead  comrade,  broke  a  hole  in  the  ice  which  covered  the  creek,  and  put 
him  in  the  ice  cold  water  to  remain  until  they  could  return  for  the  body. 
A  big  snow  was  on  the  gi'ound  at  the  time,  and  it  was  bitter  cold.  From 
this  story  Twelve  Mile  creek  came  to  be  called  Fines  creek. 

"Haywood  county's  citizenship  has  always  been  at  the  front  in  times 
of  war.  From  the  best  information  obtainable  it  is  quite  certain  that 
most  of  the  earliest  settlers  had  been  in  the  Continental  army  and  fought 
through  the  entire  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  later  on  many  of  them  were 
in  the  war  of  1812.  Still  later  a  number  of  these  veterans  of  two  wars 
moved  to  the  great  and  boundless  West,  where  the  hazardous  life  might 
be  spent  in  fighting  savage  tribes  of  Indians. 

"As  best  it  can  be  learned,  only  seven  of  these  grand  old  patriots  died 
and  were  buried  within  the  confines  of  Haywood  county,  to-wit:  at 
Waynesville,  Colonel  William  Allen  and  Colonel  Robert  Love;  at  Canton, 
George  Hall,  James  Abel,  and  John  Messer;  at  upper  Fines  creek,  Hughey 
Rogers;  at  Lower  Fines  creek,  Cliristian  Messer.  There  were  doubtless 
others,  but  their  names  have  been  lost. 

"All  of  these  old  soldiers  were  ever  ready  to  fight  for  their  homes. 
They  came  in  almost  daily  contact  with  the  Cherokee  Indians,  once  a  great 
and  warlike  tribe  controlling  the  wilderness  from  the  glades  of  Florida  to 
the  Great  Lakes.  While  these  savages  were  friendly  to  the  settlers  it  was 
ever  regarded  as  not  a  remote  possibility  that  they  might  go  upon  the 
warpath  at  any  time.  Hence  our  forefathers  had  them  constantly  to 
watch  while  they  were  subduing  the  land."" 

NOTES. 

»N.  C.  Booklet,  Vol.  I,  No.  7,  p.  :5. 

^Dropped  Stitches,  2,  p.  17. 

'Asheville's  Centenary. 

^McDowell  entered  land  and  settled  his  children  near  Brevard. 

^Captain  W.  M.  Hodge's  statement  to  Col.  W.  L.  Bryan  of  Boone,  1912,  in  letter  from 
latter  to  J.  P.  A.,  November  26,  1912. 

'Thwaites,  p.  167. 

'N.  C    Booklet,  Vol.  I,  No.  7. 

'Wheeler's  History  of  North  Carolina,  p.  444. 

•He  was  probably  related  to  "Gentleman  George"  Perkins  who  had  piloted  Bishop  I. 
Spangenberg's  party  in  1752.     Col.  Rec,  Vol.  V,  pp.  1  to  14. 

'"This  tradition  is  also  preserved  in  the  family  of  Prof.  Isaac  G.  Greer,  professor  of 
history  in  the  Appalachian  Training  School,  Boone. 

"From  Col.  W.  L.  Bryan's  "Primitive  History  of  the  Mountain  Region,"  written  in 
1912  for  this  work. 

i^Wheeler's  History  of  North  Carolina,  p.  444. 

isN.  C.  Booklet,  Vol.  I,  No.  7,  p.  27. 

'^Wheeler's  History  of  North  Carolina,  p.  445. 

•'Ibid.,  citing  Mss.  of  General  Wm.  Lenoir. 

i«Hill,  p.  189. 

I'AUen,  p.  21. 


O 


> 
o 


OS 

o 


CHAPTER  VT 

THE  STATE  OF  FRANKLIN 

The  Act  of  Cession  of  Tennessee.  As  Congress  was 
heavily  in  debt  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  North 
Carolina,  in  1784,  "voted  to  give  Congress  the  twenty-nine 
million  acres  lying  between  the  Alleghany  mountains  and  the 
Mississippi  river.  "^  This  did  not  please  the  Watauga  sel- 
lers, and  a  few  months  later  the  legislature  of  North  Carolina 
withdrew  its  gift,  and  again  took  charge  of  its  western  land 
because  it  feared  the  land  would  not  be  used  to  pay  the  debts 
of  Congress.  These  North  Carolina  law  makers  also  "ordered 
judges  to  hold  court  in  the  western  counties,  arranged  to 
enroll  a  brigade  of  soldiers,  and  appointed  John  Sevier  to 
command  it."  - 

Franklin.  In  August,  1784,  a  convention  met  at  Jones- 
boro  and  formed  a  new  State,  with  a  constitution  providing 
that  lawyers,  doctors  and  preachers  should  never  be  mem- 
bers of  the  legislature;  but  the  people  rejected  it,  and  then 
adopted  the  constitution  of  North  Carolina  in  November, 
1785,  at  Greenville.  They  made  a  few  changes  in  the  North 
Carolina  constitution,  but  called  the  State  Franklin.  John 
Sevier  was  elected  governor  and  David  Campbell  judge  of  the 
Superior  court.  Greenville  was  made  the  capital.  The 
first  legislature  met  in  1785;  Landon  Carter  was  the  Speaker 
of  the  Senate,  and  Thomas  Talbot  clerk.  William  Gage  was 
Speaker  of  the  House,  and  Thomas  Chapman  clerk.  The  Con- 
vention made  treaties  with  the  Indians,  opened  courts, 
organized  new  counties,  and  fixed  taxes  and  officers'  salaries 
to  be  paid  in  money,  corn,  tobacco,  whiskey,  skins,  etc.,  includ- 
ing everything  in  common  use  among  the  people. ' 

Tennessee's  View  of  the  Act  of  Cession.  "The  set- 
tlers lived  and  their  public  affairs  were  conducted  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  County  Court  of  Pleas  and  Quarter  Ses- 
sions for  a  period  of  about  six  years,  in  a  quiet  and  orderly 
manner;  but  ever  since  that  IMay  day  of  1772  when  they 
organized  the  first  "free  and  independent  government," 
their  dream  had  been  of  a  new,  separate  and  independent 

(n3)       w.  n.  c. — 8 


1 14         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

commonwealth,  and  they  began  to  be  restless,  dissatisfied 
and  disaffected  toward  the  government  of  North  Carolina. 
Many  causes  seemed  to  conspire  to  increase  their  discontent. 
The  first  constitution  of  North  Carolina  had  made  provision 
for  a  future  State  within  her  limits,  on  the  western  side  of 
the  Alleghany  mountains.  The  mother  State  had  persistently 
refused,  on  the  plea  of  poverty,  to  establish  a  Superior  Court 
and  appoint  an  attorney  general  or  prosecuting  officer  for  the 
inhabitants  west  of  the  mountains.  In  1784,  many  claims 
for  compensation  for  military  services,  supplies,  etc.,  in  the 
campaigns  against  the  Indians,  were  presented  to  the  State 
government  from  the  settlements  west  of  the  AUeghanies. 
North  Carolina  was  impoverished;  and,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  these  claims  were  just,  reasonable  and  honest, 
it  was  suggested,  and  perhaps  believed,  'that  all  pretenses 
were  laid  hold  of  (by  the  settlers)  to  fabricate  demands  against 
the  government,  and  that  the  industry  and  property  of  those 
who  resided  on  the  east  side  of  the  mountains  were  become 
the  funds  appropriated  to  discharge  the  debts  contracted  by 
those  on  the  west. '  Thus  it  came  about  that,  in  May,  1784, 
North  Carolina,  in  order  to  relieve  herself  of  this  burden, 
ceded  to  the  United  States  her  territory  west  of  the  AUe- 
ghanies, provided  that  Congress  would  accept  it  within  two 
two  years.  At  a  subsequent  session,  an  act  was  passed  re- 
taining jurisdiction  and  sovereignity  over  the  territory  until 
it  should  have  been  accepted  by  Congress.  Immediately 
after  passing  the  act  of  cession.  North  Carolina  closed  the 
land  office  in  the  ceded  territory,  and  nullified  all  entries  of 
land  made  after  May  25,  1784. 

"The  passage  of  the  cession  act  stopped  the  delivery  of  a 
quantity  of  goods  which  North  Carolina  was  under  promise  to 
deliver  to  the  Cherokee  Indians,  as  compensation  for  their 
claim  to  certain  lands.  The  failure  to  deliver  these  goods 
naturally  exasperated  the  Cherokees,  and  caused  them  to 
commit  depredations,  from  which  the  western  settlers  were 
of  course  the  sufferers."     (McGhee's  History  of  Tennessee). 

"At  this  session  the  North  Carolina  Assembl3^  at  Hillsboro  laid  taxes, 
or  assessed  taxes  arid  empowered  Congress  to  collect  them,  and  vested 
in  Congress  power  to  levy  a  duty  on  foreign  merchandise. 

"The  general  opinion  among  the  settlers  west  of  the  AUeghanies  was 
that  the  territory  would  not  be  accepted  by  Congress       .      .      .     and 


STATE  OF  FRANKLIN  115 

that,  for  a  period  of  two  years,  the  people  in  that  territory,  being  under 
the  protection  neither  of  the  government  of  the  United  States  nor  of 
the  State  of  North  Carolina,  would  neither  receive  any  support  from 
abroad  nor  be  able  to  command  their  own  resources  at  homo — for  the 
North  Csirolina  act  had  subjected  them  to  the  payment  of  taxes  to  the 
United  States  government.  At  the  same  time,  there  was  no  relaxation 
of  Indian  hostilities.  Under  these  circumstances,  the  great  body  of 
people  west  of  the  AUeghanies  coneludetl  that  there  wa.s  but  one  thing 
left  for  them  to  do,  and  that  wtis  to  adopt  a  constitution  and  organize  a 
State  government  of  their  own.     This  they  proceeded  to  do." 

(McGhee's  History  of  Tennessee.) 

Sevier  and  North  Carolina.  In  this  condition  of  affairs 
the  State  of  Franklin  had  been  organized.  The  cession  act 
was  repealed  and  a  judge  sent  to  Tennessee  to  hold  court; 
but  there  were  two  rival  governments  attempting  to  exer- 
cise power  in  the  Watauga  settlement,  and  there  were,  in  con- 
sequence, frequent  clashes,  between  Col.  John  Tipton's  forces, 
representing  North  Carolina,  and  those  of  John  Sevier.  Accord- 
ing to  Roosevelt,  from  whose  history*  the  balance  of  this  ac- 
count has  been  taken,  the  desire  to  separate  from  the  Eastern 
States  was  strong  throughout  the  west  owing  to  the  unchecked 
ravages  of  the  Indians  and  the  refusal  of  the  right  to  the  set- 
tlers to  navigate  the  Mississippi.  The  reason  the  Watauga 
settlers  seized  upon  the  first  pretext  to  separate  from  the 
mother  State  was  because  most  of  them  were  originally  from 
Virginia,  and  in  settling  where  they  did,  supposed  they  were 
still  on  Virginia  soil.  Then,  too,  North  Carolina  had  a  weak 
government,  and  Virginia  was  far  more  accessible  to  the 
pioneers  than  the  Old  North  State.  While  Kentucky  had 
settled  up  after  the  Revolutionary  War  with  "men  who  were 
often  related  by  ties  of  kinship  to  the  leaders  of  the  Virginia 
legislatures  and  conventions,"  the  North  Carolina  settlers 
who  came  to  Watauga  "were  usually  of  the  type  of  those  who 
had  first  built  their  stockaded  hamlets  on  the  bank  of  the 
Watauga,  and  the  first  leaders  of  Watauga  continued  at  the 
head  of  affairs."  Many  of  these,  including  Robertson  and 
Sevier,  had  been  born  in  Virginia,  where  there  was  intense 
State  pride,  and  felt  little  loyalty  to  North  Carolina.  It  is, 
however,  but  just  to  say  that  James  Robertson  had  no  part 
in  this  attempt  to  set  up  a  separate  State  government,  he 
having  already  gone  to  the  French  Licks  where  he  had  estab- 
lished a  government  which  was  as  loyal  to  North  Carolina  as 


116         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

its  remoteness  admitted.  North  Carolina  herself  wished  to 
be  rid  of  the  frontiersmen,  because  it  was  poor  and  felt  the 
burden  of  the  debts  contracted  in  the  Indian  wars  of  the  border. 
Then,  too,  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State  courts  had  not  been 
extended  over  these  four  western  counties,  Davidson,  Wash- 
ington, Sullivan  and  Greene,  although  they  sent  representa- 
tives to  the  State  legislature  at  Hillsborough.  Consequently, 
those  counties  became  a  refuge  for  outlaws,  who  had  to  be 
dealt  with  by  the  settlers  without  the  sanction  of  law.  In 
June  1784  the  legislature  passed  an  act  ceding  all  the  western 
lands  to  the  Continental  Congress,  to  be  void  in  case  Con- 
gress did  not  accept  the  gift  within  two  years;  but  continuing 
its  sovereignty  and  jurisdiction  over  the  ceded  lands.  Even 
the  members  from  these  four  counties  then  in  the  legislature 
of  the  mother  State  voted  for  the  cession.  It  was  a  time  of 
transition  between  the  weakness  of  the  Confederation  and 
the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  1787;  but  North  Carolina 
did  not  propose  to  allow  this  new  State  to  set  up  for  itself 
without  her  formal  and  free  consent.  It  therefore  set  about 
reducing  the  recalcitrants  to  submission,  and  soon  the  last 
vestige  of  the  Sevier  government  had  become  extinct. 

Colonel  John  Tipton.  Although  this  gentleman  had  at 
first  favored  the  separation,  he  had  opposed  putting  the  act 
of  independence  into  force  till  North  CaroHna  could  be  given 
an  opportunity  to  rectify  the  wrongs  complained  of,  and  it 
was  he  who  became  the  leader  in  the  suppression  of  Sevier's 
government.  About  March,  1788,  a  writ  was  issued  by  North 
Carolina  courts  and  executed  against  Sevier's  estate,  the  sher- 
iff seizing  his  negroes,  and  taking  them  to  the  house  of  Col. 
Tipton  on  Sinking  creek  for  safe  keeping  .  .  .  Sevier, 
with  150  men  and  a  light  field-piece,  marched  to  retake  them, 
and  besieged  Tipton  and  from  thirty  to  forty  of  his  men  for 
a  couple  of  days,  during  which  two  or  three  men  were  killed 
or  wounded.  Then  the  county  lieutenant  of  Sullivan  with 
180  militia  came  to  Tipton's  rescue,  surprised  Sevier  at  dawn 
on  the  last  of  February,  1788,  killing  one  or  two  men  and 
taking  two  of  Sevier's  sons  prisoners.  Tipton  was  with  dif- 
ficulty dissuaded  from  hanging  them.  This  scrambling  fight 
marked  the  ignoble  end  of  the  State  of  Franklin.  Sevier  fled 
to  the  uttermost  part  of  the  frontier,  where  no  writs  ran,  and 
the  rough  settlers  were  devoted  to  him.     Here  he  speedily 


STATE  OF  FRANKLIN  117 


became  engaged  in  the  Indian  war,  during  wliicli  some  ma- 
rauding Indians  killed  eleven  women  and  children  of  the  fam- 
ily of  John  Kirk  on  Little  river,  seven  miles  south  of  Knox- 
ville  while  Kirk  and  his  eldest  son  were  absent. 

A  Blot  on  Sevier's  Escutcheon.  Later  on  young  Kirk 
joined  about  forty  men  led  by  Sevier  to  a  small  Cherokee 
town  opposite  Chilhowa.  These  Indians  were  well  known  to 
have  been  friendly  to  the  whites,  and  among  them  was  Old 
Tassel,  or  Corn  Tassel,  "who  for  years  had  been  foremost  in 
the  endeavor  to  keep  the  peace  and  to  prevent  raids  on  the 
settlers.  They  put  out  a  white  flag;  and  the  whites  then 
hoisted  one  themselves.  On  the  strength  of  this,  one  of  the 
Indians  crossed  the  river,  and  on  demand  of  the  whites  fer- 
ried them  over.  Sevier  put  the  Indians  in  a  hut,  and  then  a 
horrible  deed  of  infamy  was  perpetrated.  Among  Sevier's 
troops  was  young  John  Kirk,  whose  mother,  sisters  and  broth- 
ers had  been  so  foully  butchered  by  the  Cherokee,  Slim  Tom 
and  his  associates.  Young  Kirk's  brutal  soul  was  parched 
with  longing  for  revenge,  and  he  was,  both  in  mind  and  heart, 
too  nearly  kin  to  his  Indian  foes  greatly  to  care  whether  his 
vengeance  fell  on  the  wrong-doers  or  on  the  innocent.  He 
entered  the  hut  where  the  Cherokee  chiefs  were  confined,  and 
brained  them  with  his  tomahawk,  while  his  comrades  looked 
on  without  interfering.  Sevier's  friends  asserted  that  he  was 
absent;  but  this  is  no  excuse.  He  knew  well  the  fierce  blood- 
lust  of  his  followers,  and  it  was  criminal  negligence  to  leave 
to  their  mercy  the  friendly  Indians  who  had  trusted  to  his 
good  faith;  and,  moreover,  he  made  no  effort  to  punish  the 
murderer." 

The  Horror  of  the  Frontiersmen.  Such  was  the  indig- 
nation wnth  which  this  deed  was  received  by  the  better  class 
of  backwoodsmen  that  Sevier's  forces  melted  away,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  abandon  a  march  he  had  planned  against  the 
Chickamaugas.  The  Continental  Congress  passed  resolutions 
condemning  such  acts,  and  the  justices  of  the  court  of  Abbe- 
ville, S.  C,  with  Andrew  Pickens  at  their  head  "wrote  to  the 
people  living  on  Nollechucky,  French  Broad  and  Holstein" 
denouncing  in  unmeasured  terms  the  encroachments  and  out- 
rages of  which  Sevier  and  his  backwoodsmen  had  been  guilty. 
"The  governor  of  North  Carolina,  as  soon  as  he  heard  the 
news,  ordered  the  arrest  of  Sevier  and  his  associates  [for  trea- 


118         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

son]  doubtless  as  much  because  of  their  revolt  against  the 
State  as  because  of  the  atrocities  they  had  committed  against 
the  Indians.  .  .  .  The  Governor  of  the  State  had  given 
orders  to  seize  him  because  of  his  violation  of  the  laws  and 
treaties  in  committing  wanton  murder  on  friendly  Indians; 
and  a  warrant  to  arrest  him  for  high  treason  was  issued  by 
the  courts." 

Sevier  Is  Arrested  for  High  Treason.  Sevier  knew  of 
this  warrant,  and  during  the  summer  of  1788  led  his  bands  of 
wild  horsemen  on  forays  against  the  Cherokee  to^vns,  never 
fighting  a  pitched  battle,  but  by  hard  riding  taking  them  by 
surprise.  As  long  as  he  remained  on  the  frontier  he  was  in 
no  danger;  but  late  in  October,  1788,  he  ventured  back  to 
Jonesborough,  where  he  drank  freely  and  caroused  with  his 
friends.  He  soon  quarreled  with  one  of  Tipton's  side,  who 
denounced  him  for  the  murder  of  Corn  Tassel  and  the  other 
peaceful  chiefs.  "Finally  they  all  rode  away;  but  when  some 
miles  out  of  town  Sevier  got  into  a  quarrel  with  another  man; 
and  after  more  drinking  and  brawling,  he  went  to  pass  the 
night  at  a  house,  the  owner  of  which  was  his  friend.  Mean- 
time, one  of  the  men  with  whom  he  had  quarreled  informed 
Tipton  that  his  foe  was  within  his  grasp.  Tipton  gathered 
eight  or  ten  men  and  early  next  morning  surprised  Sevier  in 
his  lodgings.  Sevier  could  do  nothing  but  surrender,  and  Tip- 
ton put  him  in  irons,  and  sent  him  across  the  mountains  to 
Morganton  in  North  Carolina." 

Dr.  Ramsey's  Account  of  the  Arrest.  In  his  Aomals  of 
Tennessee  (p.  427)  this  writer  copies  Haywood's  History  of 
Tennessee  :  "The  pursuers  then  went  to  the  A\adow  Broom's, 
where  Sevier  was.  Tipton  and  the  party  with  him  rushed 
forward  to  the  door  of  common  entrance.  It  was  about  sun- 
rise. Mrs.  Brown  had  just  risen.  Seeing  a  party  with  arms 
at  that  early  hour,  well  acquainted  with  Colonel  Tipton,  prob- 
ably rightly  apprehending  the  cause  of  this  visit,  she  sat  her- 
self down  in  the  front  door  to  prevent  their  getting  into  the 
house,  which  caused  a  considerable  bustle  between  her  and 
Colonel  Tipton.  Sevier  had  slept  near  one  end  of  the  house 
and,  on  hearing  a  noise,  sprung  from  his  bed  and,  looking 
through  a  hole  in  the  door-side,  saw  Colonel  Love,  upon  which 
he  opened  the  door  and  held  out  his  hand,  saying  to  Colonel 


STATE  OF  FRANKLIN 


Love,  '1  surrender  to  you.'     Colonel  Love  led    him    to    tiie 
place  where  Tipton  and  Mrs.  Brown  were  contending  about 
a  passage  into  the  house.     Tipton,  upon  seeing  Sevier,  was 
greatly  enraged,  and  swore  that  he  would  hang  him.     Tipton 
held  a  pistol  in  his  hand,  sometimes  swearing  he  would  shoot 
him,  and  Sevier  was  really  afraid  that  he  would  put  his  threat 
into  execution.     Tipton  at  length  became  calm  and  ordered 
Sevier  to  get  his  horse,  for  that  he  would  carry  him  to  Jones- 
boro.     Sevier  pressed  Colonel  Love  to  go  with  him  to  Jones- 
boro,   which  the  latter  consented  to  do.     On    the    way    he 
requested  of  Colonel  Love  to  use  his  influence  that  he  might 
not  be  sent  over  the  mountains  into  North  Carolina.     Colonel 
Love  remonstrated  to  him  against  an  imprisonment  in  Jones- 
boro,  for,  said  he,  'Tipton  will  place  a  strong  guard  around 
you  there;  your  friends  will  attempt  a  rescue,  and  bloodshed 
wall   be   the   result'.     ...      As  soon   as  they   arrived   at 
Jonesboro,  Tipton  ordered  iron  hand-cuffs  to  be  put  on  him, 
which  was  accordingly  done.     He  then  carried  the  governor 
to  the  residence  of  Colonel  Love  and  that  of  the  widow  Pugh, 
whence  he  went  home,  leaving  Sevier  in  the  custody  of  the 
deputy  sheriff  and  two  other  men,  with  orders  to  carry  him 
to  Morganton,  and  lower  down,  if  he  thought  it  necessary. 
Colonel  Love  traveled  with  him  till  late  in  the  evening. 

"Before  Colonel  Love  had  left  the  guard,  they  had,  at  his 
request,  taken  off  the  irons  of  their  prisoner.  ...  A 
few  days  afterwards  James  and  John  Sevier,  sons  of  the  Gov- 
ernor, .  .  .  and  some  few  others  were  seen  by  Colonel 
Love  following  the  way  the  guard  had  gone.  .  .  .  The 
guard  proceeded  with  him  to  Morganton  where  they  deliv- 
ered him  to  William  Morrison,  the  then  high  Sheriff  of  Burke 
county.  .  .  .  General  McDowell  and  General  Joseph 
McDowell  .  .  .  both  followed  him  immediately  to 
Morganton  and  there  became  his  securities  for  a  few  days 
to  visit  friends.  He  returned  promptly.  The  sheriff  then, 
upon  his  own  responsibility,  let  him  have  a  few  days  more  to 
visit  friends  and  acquaintances.  ...  By  this  time  his 
two  sons  .  .  .  and  others,  came  into  Morganton  with- 
out any  knowledge  of  the  people  there,  who  they  were,  or 
what  their  business  was.  Court  was  .  .  .  sitting  in 
Morganton  and  they  were  with  the  people,  generally,  without 


120         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

suspicion.  At  night,  when  the  court  broke  up  and  the  people 
dispersed,  they,  with  the  Governor,  pushed  forward  towards 
the  mountains  with  the  greatest  rapidity,  and  before  morning 
arrived  at  them." 

Roosevelt  Repudiates  the  Sensational  Account.  In 
a  foot  note  on  page  226,  Vol.  iv,  Roosevelt  says:  "Ramsey 
first  copies  Haywood  and  gives  the  account  correctly.  He 
then  adds  a  picturesque  alternative  account — followed  by 
later  writers — in  which  Sevier  escapes  in  an  open  court  on  a 
celebrated  race  mare.  The  basis  for  this  last  account,  so  far 
as  it  has  any  basis  at  all,  lies  on  statements  made  nearly 
half  a  century  after  the  event,  and  entirely  unknown  to  Hay- 
wood. There  is  no  evidence  of  any  kind  as  to  its  truthfulness. 
It  must  be  set  aside  as  mere  fable."  The  late  Judge  A.  C. 
Avery,  in  1889,  published  in  the  Morganton  Weekly  Herald 
a  third  account,  to  the  effect  that  after  having  been  released 
on  bond  a  few  days  Sevier  surrendered  himself  to  the  sheriff 
of  Burke  and  went  to  jail;  that  afterwards,  when  his  case 
was  called  the  sheriff  started  with  him  to  the  court,  but  Se- 
vier's friends  managed  to  get  him  separated  from  the  sheriff 
and  to  open  a  way  for  him  to  his  horse  then  being  held  near 
by.  But  this,  too,  rests  upon  what  old  men  of  thirty  years 
prior  to  1889  said  their  fathers  had  told  them. 

Sevier's  Second  Treason  Against  the  State.  Miro 
in  New  Orleans  and  Gardoqui  in  Washington,  were  the  chief 
representatives  of  Spain  in  America  in  1778,  and  the  unrest 
"in  the  West  had  taken  the  form,  not  of  attempting  the 
capture  of  Louisiana  by  force,  but  of  obtaining  concessions 
from  the  Spaniards  in  return  for  favors  to  be  rendered  to 
them.  Clark  and  Robertson,  Morgan,  Brown  and  Innes, 
Wilkinson  and  Sebastian,  were  all  in  correspondence  with 
Gardoqui  and  Miro,  in  the  endeavor  to  come  to  some  profit- 
able agreement  with  them.  Sevier  now  joined  the  number. 
His  new-born  State  had  died;  he  was  being  prosecuted  for 
high  treason;  he  was  ready  to  go  to  any  lengths  against  North 
Carolina;  and  he  clutched  at  the  chance  of  help  from  the 
Spaniards.  At  the  time  North  Carolina  was  out  of  the  Union 
(not  having  yet  ratified  the  Constitution)  so  Sevier  committed 
no  offense  against  the  Federal  Government."  So,  when 
Gardoqui  heard  of  the  fight  between  Sevier's  and  Tipton's  men, 


STATE  OF  FRANKLIN  121 

he  sent  an  omissary  to  Sevier,  who  was  in  the  mood  to  grasp 
"a  helping  hand  stretched  out  from  no  matter  what  quarter." 
He  had  no  organized  government  back  of  liim,  but  he  was  in 
the  midst  of  his  successful  Cherokee  campaigns,  and  he  knew 
the  reckless  Indian  figiiters  would  gladly  follow  him  in  any 
movement,  if  he  had  a  chance  of  success.  He  felt  that  if  he 
were  given  money  and  arms,  and  the  promise  of  outside  assist- 
ance, he  could  yet  win  the  day.  He  jumped  at  Gardoqui's 
cautious  offers;  though  careful  not  to  promise  to  subject  him- 
self to  Spain,  and  doubtless  with  no  idea  of  playing  the  part 
of  Spanish  vassal  longer  than  the  needs  of  the  moment  required. 
In  July  he  wrote  to  Gardoqui,  eager  to  strike  a  bargain  with 
him,  and  in  September  sent  him  two  letters  by  the  hand  of 
his  son,  James  Sevier,  who  accompanied  White  [Gardoqui's 
emissary]  when  the  latter  made  his  return  journey  to  the 
Federal  Capital."  In  one  of  these  letters  he  assured  Gardo- 
qui "that  the  western  people  had  grown  to  know  that  their 
hopes  of  prosperity  rested  on  Spain,  and  that  the  principal 
people  of  Franklin  were  anxious  to  enter  into  an  alliance  with 
and  obtain  commercial  concessions  from,  the  Spaniards.  He 
importuned  Gardoqui  for  money,  and  for  military  aid,  assur- 
ing him  that  the  Spaniards  could  best  accomplish  their  ends 
by  furnishing  these  supplies  immediately,  especially  as  the 
struggle  over  the  adoption  of  the  Federal  Constitution  made 
the  time  opportune  for  revolt.  .  .  .  He  sent  them  to  New 
Orleans  that  Miro  might  hear  and  judge  their  plans,  neverthe- 
less nothing  came  of  the  project,  and  doubtless  only  a  few  peo- 
ple in  Franklin  ever  knew  that  it  existed.  As  for  Sevier, 
when  he  saw  that  he  was  baffled,  he  suddenly  became  a  Fed- 
eralist and  an  advocate  of  a  strong  central  government;  and 
this,  doubtless,  not  because  of  love  of  Federalism,  but  to 
show  his  hostility  to  North  Carolina,  which  had  at  first  refused 
to  enter  the  new  Union.  Thus  the  last  spark  of  independent 
life  flickered  out  in  Franklin  proper.  The  people  who  had  set- 
tled on  the  Indian  borders  were  left  without  government. 
North  Carolina  regarding  them  as  trespassers  on  the  Indian 
territory.  They  accordingly  met  and  organized  a  rude  gov- 
ernmental machine,  on  the  model  of  the  Commonwealth  of 
Franklin;  and  the  wild  little  State  existed  as  a  separate  and 


122         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

independent  republic  until"  the  new  Federal  government 
included  it  in  the  territory  south  of  the  Ohio."^ 

Washington  county  sent  Sevier  as  a  representative  to  the 
North  Carolina  legislature  in  1789,  and  late  in  that  session 
he  was  reluctantly  admitted.  He  was  also  a  member  of  the 
first  Congress  of  the  United  States  from  North  Carolina, 
March  4,  1789  to  March  3,  1791,  and  was  elected  the  first  gov- 
ernor of  Tennessee. 

Sevier  and  Tipton.  It  must  be  admitted  that  Sevier  had, 
upon  the  repeal  of  the  act  of  session  "counselled  his  fellow 
citizens  to  abandon  the  movement  for  a  new  State"  ^  and  after 
the  expiration  of  his  term  and  the  collapse  of  the  Franklin 
government  he  wrote  to  one  of  the  opposing  party,  not  per- 
sonally unfriendly  to  him,  that  he  had  been  dragged  into 
the  Franklin  government  by  the  people  of  the  county;  that 
he  wished  to  suspend  hostilities,  and  was  ready  to  abide  by  the 
decision  of  the  North  Carolina  legislature;  but  that  he  was 
determined  to  share  the  fate  of  those  who  had  stood  by  him, 
whatever  it  might  be.  "^  John  Tipton,  on  the  other  hand, 
while  favoring  the  formation  of  an  independent  State  at  the 
outset,  voted  against  putting  the  new  government  into  imme- 
diate operation,  presumably  because  he  hoped  that  when  the 
mother  State  realized  the  seriousness  of  the  defection  in  Wa- 
tauga, she  would  remedy  the  wrongs  of  which  the  frontiersmen 
had  complained.  In  this  he  was  right;  but  when  in  Novem- 
ber, 1785,  the  convention  met  at  Greenville  to  provide  a  per- 
manent constitution  for  the  new  State,  he  favored  the  adop- 
tion of  a  much  more  radical  charter  as  a  remedy  for  the  ills 
under  which  the  people  suffered  than  Sevier,  whose  influence 
secured  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  the  very  State 
from  which  the  western  people  had  withdrawn.  To  some 
this  document  favored  by  Tipton  seems  absurd,  but  it  had 
been  drawn  by  no  less  a  man  than  the  redoubtable  Sam  Hous- 
ton, afterwards  president  of  the  Republic  of  Texas. 

James  Robertson.  In  May,  1771,  James  Robertson,  his 
brother  Charles,  and  sixteen  families  from  Wake  county 
reached  Watauga,  preceding  Sevier  by  about  one  year.  Rob- 
ertson at  once  became  the  brains  of  the  settlement — its  balance 
wheel,  so  to  speak.  Robertson  and  Sevier  proved  themselves 
to    be,    "with  the   exception  of   George   Rogers   Clark,   the 


STATE  OF  FRANKLIN  |23 


greatest  of  the  first  generation  of  trans-Allegliany  Pioneers," 
for  they  were  the  fathers  of  the  first  self-governing  body  in 
America. 

For  there  on  the  banks  of  the  sparkling  Watauga 
Was  cradled  the  spirit  that  conquered  the  West— 

The  spirit  that,  soaring  o'er  mountain  and  prairie, 
E'en  on  the  Pacific  shore  paused  not  for  rest. 

In  1779-1780  he  founded  the  Cumberland  settlement  where 
Nashville  now  stands,  and  Roosevelt  gives  him  the  chief 
credit  for  the  tuition  under  which  those  frontiersmen  were 
governed  from  the  first, »  though  Richard  Henderson  was 
present,  counselling  and  aiding.  When,  however,  Hender- 
son's title  proved  null,  he  returned  home,  while  Robertson 
remained,  and  piloted  the  settlers  through  the  dangers  of 
that  early  day.  Thus,  though  he  had  no  share  in  Kings 
Mountain,  he  was  at  that  time  doing  a  work  quite  as  impor- 
tant as  fighting  the  British;  for  he  was  guiding  the  most  remote 
of  the  western  settlements  in  America  on  the  difficult  path 
of  self-government. 

Sevier's  Spring  at  Bakersville.  There  is  a  fine  spring 
at  Bakersville,  nearly  in  front  of  the  old  Penland  House,  now 
the  Young  hotel,  at  which  it  is  said  that  Sevier  and  his  party 
stopped  and  rested  after  leaving  Morganton.  About  1850  an 
old  sword  was  found  near  this  spring,  and  was  supposed  to 
have  been  lost  by  one  of  these  mountaineers.  They  reached 
Cathey's,  or  Cathoo's,  plantation  that  night,  after  coming  20 
miles  from  Elk  Hollow,  at  the  mouth  of  a  small  eastern  tribu- 
tary of  the  North  Toe  flowing  north  from  Gillespie's  gap,  and 
called  Grassy  creek.  Here  they  camped.  It  is  near  what  is 
now  Spruce  Pine  on  the  line  of  the  Carohna,  Clinchfield  and 
Ohio  Railroad.  "On  Friday  the  29th  they  passed  up  Grassy 
creek  and  through  Gillespie's  gap  in  the  Blue  Ridge,  where 
they  divided;  Campbell's  men,  at  least,  going  six  or  seven 
miles  south  to  Henry  Gillespie's,  and  a  little  below  to  Colonel 
William  Wofford's  Fort,  both  in  Turkey  Cove;  while  the  oth- 
ers pursued  the  old  trace  in  a  easterly  direction,  about  the 
same  distance,  to  the  North  Cove,  on  the  North  Fork  of  the 
Catawba,  where  they  camped  for  the  night  in  the  woods,  on 
the  bank  of  that  stream,  just  above  the  mouth  of  Honeycutt's 
creek." 


124         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Sycamore  Shoals  Monument.  Monuments  have  been 
placed  along  this  route  to  mark  it  permanently;  Sycamore 
Shoals,  Tennessee,  at  Elk  Hollow,  at  the  mouth  of  Grassy 
creek  near  Spruce  Pine,  and  at  the  junction  of  Honeycutt's 
creek  and  the  North  Fork,  near  a  station  on  the  C.  C.  &  O. 
Railroad  kno^\^l  as  Linville  Falls.  The  monument  at  Syca- 
more Shoals  is  beautiful,  and  was  erected  September  26,  1909, 
by  Bonny  Kate,  John  Sevier  and  Sycamore  Shoals  chapters, 
D.  A.  R.  Here  it  was  that  the  patriots  on  their  way  to 
Kings  Mountain  assembled  under  Sevier,  Shelby  and  Camp- 
bell, September  25,  1780.  On  the  southern  face  is  the  inscrip- 
tion: "The  Sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon."  Also  a 
statement  that  Fort  Watauga,  the  first  settlers'  fort  built 
west  of  the  AUeghanies,  was  erected  here  in  1770.  Also  a 
statement  that  ''Here  was  negotiated  the  Treaty  of  Sycamore 
Shoals  under  which  Transylvania  was  acquired  from  the  Cher- 
okees,  March  19,  1775." 

Robert  Love.  He  was  born  near  the  Tinkling  Spring 
Meeting  house,  Augusta  county,  Va.,  May  11,  1760.  His 
father  was  Samuel,  son  of  Ephraim  Love,  captain  of  the  Col- 
onial Horse;  and  his  mother  Dorcas,  second  daughter  of  James 
Bell,  to  whom  had  been  issued  on  the  formation  of  Augusta 
county,  October  30,  1745,  a  "commission  of  the  Peace. "^ 
Samuel  Love  and  Dorcas  Bell  were  married  July  3,  1759. 
Robert  Love  was  christened  by  Rev.  John  Craig,  who  was 
pastor  of  the  Tinkling  Spring  church  from  1740  to  1764.  * " 
It  was  at  this  old  church  that  the  eloquent  James  Waddell, 
afterwards  immortalized  by  Wm.  Wirt,  was  pastor  for  sev- 
eral years,  though  he  did  not  become  "The  Blind  Preacher" 
till  after  the  Revolutionary  War  and  he  had  removed  to  Gor- 
donsville,  his  blindness  having  been  caused  by  cataract.  Robert 
Love's  pension  papers  show  ^  ^  that  he  was  on  the  expedition  un- 
der Col.  Christie  in  1776  against  the  Cherokees;  that  he  was  at 
Fort  Henry  on  Long  Island  of  the  Holston  in  1777;  that  he  was 
stationed  in  1778  at  the  head  of  the  Clinch  and  Sandy  rivers 
(Fort  Robertson),  and  operated  against  the  Shawnees  from  April 
to  October;  that  from  1779  to  1780  he  was  engaged  against  the 
Tories  on  Tom's  creek,  New  River,  and  Cripple  creek,  at 
Moravian  Old  Town,  and  at  the  Shallow  ford  of  the  Yadkin, 
under  Col.  Wm.  Campbell;  that  in  1781  he  was  engaged  in 
Guilford  county  "and  the  adjoining  county"  against  Corn- 


STATE  OF  FRANKLIN  125 


wallis,  aiul  "was  in  a  severe  battle  with  his  unny  at  White- 
sell  mill  and  the  Rudy  ford  of  the  Haw  river,  under  Gen. 
Pickens;  that  from  this  place,  with  Capt.  Wm.  Doach,  he  was 
sent  back  "from  the  rendezvous  at  the  Lead  Mines  to  col- 
lect and  bring  more  men;"  that  in  1782  he  "was  again  sta- 
tioned out  on  the  frontiers  of  the  Clinch,  at  Fort  Robertson 
from  June  to  October."  He  was  living  in  Mont- 
gomery, now  Wythe  county,  Va.,  when  he  entered  the  service 
in  1776,  and  after  the  Revolutionary  War,  his  parents  being 
dead,  he  moved  with  Wm.  Gregory  and  his  family  to  Wash- 
ington county,  N.  C.  (now  Tennessee),  in  the  fall  of  1782. 
Having  moved  to  Greasy  Cove,  now  Erwin  Tenn.,  he  married 
Mary  Ann  Dillard,  daughter  of  Col.  Thomas  Dillard  of 
Pittsylvania  county,  Va.,  on  the  11th  day  of  September,  1783; 
and  on  the  5th  of  April,  1833,  he  made  application  for  a  pen- 
sion under  the  act  of  Congress  of  June  7,  1832,  attaching  his 
commission  signed  by  Ben.  Harrison,  governor  of  Virginia; 
but,  a  question  having  arisen  as  to  the  date  of  this  commis- 
sion Andrew  Jackson  wrote  from  The  Hermitage  on  October 
12,  1837,  to  the  effect  that  he  had  known  Col.  Love  since  the 
fall  of  1784,  and  that  there  "is  no  man  in  this  Union  who  has 
sustained  a  higher  reputation  for  integrity  than  Col.  Robert 
Love,  with  all  men  and  with  all  parties,  although  himself  a 
uniform  democratic  RepubUcan,  and  that  no  man  stands 
deservedly  higher  as  a  man  of  great  moral  worth  than  Col. 
Love  has  always  stood  in  the  estimation  of  all  who  knew  him. " 
Even  this  endorsement,  however,  did  not  serve  to  secure  the 
pension;  but  when  E.  H.  McClure  of  Haywood  filed  an  affi- 
davit to  the  effect  that  the  date  of  the  commission  was  1781 
or  1782,  official  red-tape  had  no  other  refuge,  and  granted  the 
pension.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  Greenville  convention  of 
the  State  of  Franklin,  December  14,  1784,  and  voted  to  adopt 
the  constitution  of  North  Carolina  in.stead  of  that  proposed 
by  Sam  Houston.  ^  -  In  1778  he  was  engaged  against  the  Chick- 
amauga  Indians  as  colonel  of  a  regiment  operating  near  White's 
fort. ' 3 

He  also  drew  a  pension  from  the  State  (Colonial  Records, 
Vol.  xxii,  p.  74).  He  and  John  Blair  represented  Washing- 
ton county  (formerly  the  State  of  Franklin)  in  the  North 
CaroUna  legislature  in  November,  1889  {Ibid.,  Vol.  xxi,  p. 
194).     Later  in  the  same  session  John  Sevier  appeared  and 


126         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

was  sworn  in  as  an  additional  representative  from  the  same 
county  {Ibid.,  pp.  584-85).  Love  was  also  a  justice  of  the 
peace  for  Washington  county  in  October,  1788.  {Ibid.,  Vol. 
.xxii,  p.  702);  and  the  journal  of  the  North  Carolina  State 
convention  for  the  ratification  of  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States  shows  that  Robert  Love,  Landon  Carter,  John 
Blair,  Wm.  Houston  and  Andrew  Green  were  delegates,  and 
that  Robert  Love  voted  for  its  adoption.  (Ibid.,  Vol.  xxii, 
pp.  36,  39,  47,  48). 

He  moved  to  Buncombe  county,  N.  C,  as  early  as  1792,  and 
represented  that  county  in  1793,  1794,  1795^*  in  the  State 
Senate.  According  to  the  affidavit  of  his  brother.  Gen.  Thos. 
Love,  Robert  Love  "was  an  elector  for  president  and  vice- 
president  when  Thomas  Jefferson  was  elected,  and  has  been 
successively  elected  ever  since,  down  to  (and  including)  the 
election  of  the  present  chief  magistrate,  Andrew  Jackson."  ^^ 
This  affidavit  is  dated  April  6,  1833.  In  a  letter  from  Robert 
Love  to  William  Welch,  dated  at  Raleigh,  December  4,  1828, 
he  says  that  all  the  electors  were  present  on  the  3d  "and  gave 
their  votes  in  a  very  dignified  manner  and  before  a  very  large 
concourse  of  people,"  the  State  House  being  crowded.  ^ ^  Fif- 
teen cannon  were  fired  "for  the  number  of  electoral  votes  and 
one  for  the  county  of  Haywood.,  and  for  the  zeal  she  appeared 
to  have  had  from  the  number  of  votes  for  the  Old  Hero's 
Ticket.  It  was  submitted  to  me  to  bring  forward  a  motion 
to  proceed  to  ballot  for  a  president  of  the  United  States 
and  of  course  you  may  be  well  assured  that  I 
cheerfully  nominated  Andrew  Jackson.  ...  I  was  much 
gratified  to  have  that  honor  and  respect  paid  me.  From  the 
most  authentic  accounts  .  .  .  Adams  will  not  get  a  vote 
south  of  the  Potomac  or  west  of  the  mountains.  Wonderful 
what  a  majority!  For  Jackson  178  and  Adams  only  83,  leav- 
ing Jackson  a  majority  of  95  votes.  So  much  for  a  bargain 
and  intrigue."  ^''  The  reason  for  firing  an  extra  gun  for  Hay- 
wood county  was  because  that  county  had  cast  a  solid  vote 
for  Robert  Love  as  elector  for  Andrew  Jackson,  such  staunch 
Whigs  as  William  Mitchell  Davidson  and  Joseph  Cathey  hav- 
ing induced  their  fellow  Whigs  to  refrain  from  voting  out  of 
regard  for  their  democratic  friend  and  neighbor,  Robert  Love. 
He  carried  the  vote  to  Washington  in  a  gig  that  year.     He 


STATE  OF  FRANKLIN  127 


named  the  town  of  Waynesville  for  his  friend  "iMiid"  Anthony 
Wayne,  with  wlioni  he  had  served  at  Long  Island  during  the 
Revolution. 

In  1821  he  was  one  of  the  commissioners  who  ran  the  bound- 
ary line  between  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee  from  Pigeon 
river  south.  On  the  14th  day  of  July,  1834,  he  was  kicked 
on  the  hip  by  a  horse  while  in  Green  county,  Tenn.,  and  so 
crippled  that  he  had  to  use  a  crutch  till  his  death.  * «  The  gig, 
too,  had  to  be  given  up  for  a  barouche,  drawn  by  two  horses 
and  driven  by  a  coachman.  His  cue,  his  blue  swallow-tailed 
coat,  and  knee  breeches  with  silver  knee-buckles  and  silk 
stockings  are  remembered  yet  by  a  few  of  the  older  people. 
He  died  at  Wa>Tiesville,  July  17,  1845,  "loved  by  his  friends 
and  feared  by  his  enemies. "  i  ^  He  was  largely  instrumental 
in  having  Haywood  county  established,  became  its  first  clerk, 
defeating  Feli.x  Walker  for  the  position;  and  in  1828,  he  wrote 
to  Wm.  Welch  (December  4)  from  Raleigh:  "The  bill  for 
erecting  a  new  county  out  of  the  western  part  of  Burke  and 
northeastern  part  of  Buncombe  after  severe  debate  fell  in 
the  house  of  commons,  on  its  second  reading  by  a  majority 
against  it  of  three  only.  The  bill  for  the  division  of  Haywood 
county  has  passed  the  senate  the  third  and  last  reading  by  a 
majority  of  seven;  and,  I  suppose,  tomorrow  it  will  be  taken 
up  in  the  house  of  commons  and  in  a  few  days  we  will  know 
its  fate.  I  do  not  like  the  division  line,  but  delicacy  closes 
my  mouth  for  fear  its  being  construed  that  interest  was  my 
motive."  ^^ 

He  left  an  estate  which  "at  one  time  was  one  of  the  largest 
estates  in  North  Carolina."  ^i  "He  acquired  great  wealth 
and  died  respected,  leaving  a  large  fortune  to  his  children." 
He  was  the  founder  of  Waynesville.  "Besides  the  sites  for  the 
pubUc  square,  court-house  and  jail,  land  for  the  cemetery 
and  several  churches  was  also  the  gift  of  Col.  Love."  Of 
him  and  his  brother  Thomas,  Col.  Allen  T.  Davidson  said: 22 
"These  two  men  were  certainly  above  the  average  of  men, 
and  did  much  to  plant  civilization  in  the  county  where  they 
lived,  and  would  have  been  men  of  mark  in  any  community. " 

Edmund  Sams.  In  "Asheville's  Centenary,"  Dr.  Sond- 
ley  tells  us  that  this  pioneer  was  "one  of  the  first  settlers  who 
came  from  Watauga,"  and  established  a  ferry  at  the  place 


128         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

where  the  French  Broad  is  now  crossed  by  Smith's  Bridge; 
had  been  in  early  life  an  Indian  fighter,  and  lived  on  the  west- 
ern side  of  the  French  Broad  at  the  old  Gaston  place.  He 
was  later  a  soldier  in  the  Revolution.  In  1824  his  son  Ben- 
oni  Sams  represented  Buncombe  in  the  House. 

General  Thomas  Love.  He  was  a  brother  of  Robert  Love, 
and  was  born  in  Agusta  county,  Va.,  November  15,  1765. 
The  date  of  his  death  is  not  accurately  known,  as  he  removed 
to  Maury  county,  Tcnn.,  about  1833.2  3  p^of.  W.  C.  Allen, 
in  his  "Centennial  of  Haywood  County",  says  (p.  55)  that 
he  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  and  served  under  Wash- 
ington," but  this  must  have  been  towards  the  close  of  that 
struggle,  as  he  could  not  have  been  quite  eleven  years  of  age 
on  the  4th  of  July,  1776.  ^  *  At  the  close  of  that  war,  however, 
"he  went  to  East  Tennessee  and  was  in  the  Sevier-Tipton 
war  when  the  abortive  State  of  Franklin  was  attempted. "  ^  ° 
Ramsey's  "Annals  of  Tennessee"  (p.  410)  records  the  fact 
that  on  one  occasion  one  of  Tipton's  men  had  captured  two 
of  Sevier's  sons,  and  would  have  hanged  them  if  Thomas 
Love  had  not  argued  him  out  of  his  purpose.  He  was  one  of 
Tipton's  followers,  but  he  showed  Tipton  the  unworthiness 
of  such  an  act.  "He  came  to  what  is  now  Haywood  county 
about  the  year  1790.  When  Buncombe  was  formed  in  1791 
he  became  active  in  the  affairs  of  the  new  county,"  continues 
Prof.  Allen.  In  1797  he  was  elected  to  the  house  of  commons 
from  Buncombe,  and  was  re-elected  till  1808,  when  Haywood 
was  formed,  largely  through  his  efforts.  There  is  a  tradition  ^  ^ 
that  in  1796  he  had  been  candidate  against  Philip  Hoodenpile 
who  represented  Buncombe  in  the  commons  that  year,  but 
was  defeated.  For  Hoodenpile  could  play  the  violin,  and  all 
of  Love's  wiles  were  powerless  to  keep  the  political  Eurydices 
from  following  after  this  fiddling  Orpheus.  But  Love  bided 
his  time,  and  when  the  campaign  of  1797  began  he  charged 
Hoodenpile  with  showing  contempt  for  the  common  herd  by 
playing  the  violin  before  them  with  his  left  hand;  whereas, 
when  he  played  before  "the  quality,"  as  Love  declared,  Hood- 
enpile always  performed  with  his  right  hand.  This  charge 
was  repeated  at  all  the  voting  places  of  the  county,  which 
bore  such  significant  names  as  Upper  and  Lower  Hog  Thief, 
Hardscrabble,  Pinch  Stomach,  etc.  Hoodenpile  who,  of 
course,   could  play  only  with  his  left   hand,   protested   and 


STATE  OF  FRANKLIN  129 

denied;  but  the  virus  of  class-feeling  had  been  aroused,  and 
Hoodenpile  went  down  in  defeat,  never  to  rise  again,  while 
Love  remained  in  Buncombe.  "From  the  new  county  of 
Haywood  General  Love  was  one  of  the  first  representatives, 
the  other  having  been  Thomas  Lenoir.  Love  was  continu- 
ously reelected  from  Haywood  till  1829,  with  the  exception 
of  the  year  181G.  Who  it  was  that  defeated  him  that  year 
does  not  appear,  though  John  Stevenson  and  Wm.  Welch  were 
elected  to  the  house  and  Hodge  Ilaborne  to  the  senate.  This 
Hodge  Raborne  was  a  man  of  influence  and  standing  in  Hay- 
wood county,  he  having  been  elected  to  the  senate  not  only 
in  1816,  but  also  from  1817  to  1823,  inclusive,  and  again  in 
1838;  but  whether  it  was  he  or  John  Stevenson  who  defeated 
Thomas  Love,  or  whether  he  ran  that  year  or  no,  cannot  now 
be  determined.  -  ^  William  Welch  was  a  nephew  by  marriage 
of  Thomas  Love,  and  it  is  not  likely  that  he  opposed  him. 
Gen.  Love  moved  to  Macon  county  in  1830,  where  his  wife 
died  and  is  buried  in  the  Methodist  church  yard  of  the  town 
of  Franklin.  He  was  one  of  the  commissioners  for  North 
Carolina  who  ran  the  line  between  this  State  and  South  Caro- 
lina in  1814.2^  "He  resided  in  Macon  for  several  years,  and 
then  removed  to  the  Western  District  of  Tennessee;  was 
elected  to  the  legislature  from  that  State,  and  was  made  pre- 
siding officer  of  the  senate.  He  was  a  man  of  very  fine  appear- 
ance, more  than  six  feet  high,  very  popular,  and  a  fine  elec- 
tioneer. Many  amusing  stories  are  told  of  him,  such  as 
carrying  garden  seeds  in  his  pocket,  and  distributing  them" 
with  his  wife's  special  regards  to  the  voter's  wife.  -  ^  His 
service  in  the  legislature  for  such  an  unprecedented  length  of 
time  was  due  more  to  his  genial  manner  and  electioneering 
•methods,  perhaps,  than  to  his  statesmanship;  though,  unless 
he  secured  what  the  voters  most  desired  he  would  most  prob- 
ably harve  been  retired  from  public  life.  He  never  was  so 
retired. 

A  Curious  Bit  of  History.  William  Blount,  a  native 
of  this  State  and  brother  of  John  Gray  Blount  to  whom  so  much 
land  had  been  granted,  was  territorial  governor  of  Tennessee 
until  it  became  a  State,  and  was  then  elected  one  of  its  first 
senators;  but  served  only  from  1796  to  1797.  He  was  charged 
in  the  United  States  senate  with  having  entered  into  a  con- 
spiracy to  take  Louisiana  and  Florida  from  Spain  and  give 

W.  N.  C.-9 


130         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

them  to  England  in  the  hope  that  England  would  prove  a  bet- 
ter neighbor  than  had  Spain,  which  had  restricted  the  use  of 
the  Mississippi.  Articles  of  impeachment  were  brought  against 
him  in  1797  by  the  House,  and  on  the  day  after  he  was  expelled 
by  the  Senate.  But  the  impeachment  trial  was  to  have  pro- 
ceeded, and  an  officer  was  sent  to  arrest  him.  But  Blount  refused 
to  go,  those  summoned  to  aid  the  officer  refused  to  do  so,  and  the 
trial  would  have  proceeded  without  him  in  December,  1798, 
if  Blount's  attorney  had  not  appeared  after  the  Senate  had 
formed  itself  into  a  court  and  filed  a  plea  that  Blount  had  not 
been  an  officer  of  the  United  States  when  the  offence  charged 
was  committed,  and  it  was  decided,  14  to  11,  that  the  Senate  had 
no  jurisdiction,  on  the  ground  that  a  senator  is  not  a  civil  officer 
of  the  United  States.  The  specific  charge  was  that  Blount  had 
made  an  attempt  to  carry  into  effect  a  hostile  expedition  in  favor 
of  the  British  against  the  Spanish  possessions  in  Florida  and 
Louisiana,  and  to  enlist  certain  Indian  tribes  in  the  same. '  ° 

NOTES. 
iHill.  p.  215. 
2Ibid. 

'Dropped  Stitches,  28;  McGee,  p.  80. 
<Roosevelt.  Vol.  IV,  ch.  4. 
'Ibid.,  231. 
nhlL,  182. 
'Ibid.,  211. 
sibid..  Vol.  Ill,  26. 

'VVaddell  (First  Edition),  20,  30,  33,  210,  at  aeq.     Ibid.  (Second  Edition),  288. 
'"Aujiusta  county  records. 
"Pension  office  files. 
isDropped  Stitches,  28. 
"Ramsey,  417,  427. 
i^VV.  C.  Allen's  "Centennial  of  Haywood  County,"  p.  52. 

1  ^Robert  Love's  Pension  Papers. 

'^Published  in  VVaynesville  Courier,  but  date  of  publication  not  known,  except  that  it 
was  about  1895,  probably. 

"This  refers  to  the  alleged  "puritan  and  blackleg  trade"  between  Adams  and  Clay 
four  years  before. 

inv.  C.  Allen's  " Centennial  of  Haywood  County,"  1908,  p.  51. 

"Ibid.,  p.  52. 

"Private  letter. 

21W.  C.  Allen's  "Centennial  of  Haywood  County,"  p.  52. 

22Col.  A.  T.  Davidson's  "Reminiscenses"  in  "The  Lyceum,"  January,  1891. 

2 'Prof.  Allen  says  that  he  died  about  1S30,  but  he  signed  an  affidavit  on  April  6,  1833, 
in  Robert  Love's  pension  matter. 

2<Although  but  a  boy,  he  was  a  private  in  the  Continental  Line.  Col.  Rec,  Vol.  XXII, 
73. 

2  5Allen,  55. 

restatement  of  Capt.  J.  M.  Gudger,  Sr. 

"Wheeler,  54,  206.  There  is  no  other  record  that  approaches  this.  Col.  A.  T.  David- 
son in  Lyceum,  January,  1891. 

2SRev.  Stat.  N.  C,  1837,  Vol.  II,  p.  87. 

29The  Lyceum,  p.  9,  January,  1891. 

'"Manual  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  by  Israel  Ward  Andrews,  pp.  199,  200. 


CHAPTER  VII 
GRANTS  AND  LITIGATION 

Public  Lands.  Immediately  upon  the  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence the  State  began  to  dispose  of  its  immense  tracts  of 
vacant  lands.  It  was  granted  at  first  in  640-acre  tracts  to 
each  loyal  citizen  with  one  hundred  additional  acres  to  his 
wife  and  each  child  at  five  cents  per  acre;  but  for  all  in  addi- 
tion to  that  amount,  ten  cents  per  acre  was  charged,  if  the 
additional  land  was  claimed  within  twelve  months  from  the 
end  of  the  session  of  the  legislature  of  1777.  ^  The  price  was 
expressed  in  pounds,  two  pounds  and  ten  shillings  standing 
for  the  lower  and  five  pounds  for  the  higher  price.  Ten  cents 
was  the  charge  for  all  lands  in  1818.  No  person  in  Washing- 
ton county,  however,  could  take  more  than  640  acres  and  100 
additional  for  wife  and  each  child,  ^  until  the  legislature  should 
provide  further;  but  the  county  was  ceded  as  part  of  Tennes- 
see before  this  restriction  was  removed.  When  the  State  ac- 
quired the  Cherokee  lands  it  reduced  the  price  per  acre  in 
1833  to  five  cents  per  acre  again;  but  it  was  afterwards 
restored  to  ten  cents,  where  it  remained  for  a  long  time. 
There  is  also  a  curious  proviso  in  the  act  of  1779  (ch.  140,  s. 
5)  to  the  effect  that  no  person  shall  be  entitled  "to  claim  any 
greater  quantity  of  land  than  640  acres  where  the  survey 
shall  be  bounded  in  any  part  by  vacant  lands,  or  more  than 
1,000  acres  between  the  lines  of  lands  already  surveyed  and 
laid  out  for  any  other  person."  Both  the  provision  for  the 
payment  of  five  pounds  for  all  in  excess  of  640  acres,  etc.,  in 
any  one  year,  and  this  last  proviso,  seem  to  have  been  dis- 
regarded from  the  first;  for  in  1796  the  State  granted  to  John 
Gray  Blount  over  one  million  acres  in  Buncombe  for  fifty 
shillings  a  hundred  acres.  Under  a  statute  allowing  swamp  lands 
to  be  granted  in  one  body  land  speculators  laid  their  entries 
adjoining  each  other  in  640-acre  tracts,  and  took  out  one 
grant  for  the  entire  boundary.'  These  large  tracts  usually 
excepted  a  considerable  acreage  from  the  boundary  granted, 
which  acreage  had  been  determined  by  the  secretary  of  state 

(131) 


132         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

from  the  surveys  made  upon  the  warrants;  but  unless  the 
grants  themselves  showed  upon  their  faces  the  number  of  acres 
of  each  tract  and  the  names  of  the  grantees  to  the  excepted 
lands,  the  grantees  could  not  show  title  by  proving  dehors 
that  their  land  lay  within  the  limits  of  the  granted  tract,  as 
such  excepted  acreage  merely  was  held  to  be  too  vague  to 
confer  title;  but  the  boundaries  of  these  excepted  tracts  could 
be  determined  by  the  Secretary  of  State  and  shown  by 
certified  copies  from  his  office.  ■* 

Cherokee  Lands.  Up  to  1826  all  lands  had  been  ranked 
alike;  but  with  the  acquisition  of  the  large  Cherokee  terri- 
tory, with  bottom,  second  bottom,  hill,  timber,  mountain  and 
cliff  lands,  a  classification  was  imperative.  So  in  that  year 
commissioners  were  appointed  to  ascertain  all  the  Cherokee 
lands  that  were  worth  more  than  fifty  cents  an  acre,  lay  them 
off  into  sections  containing  from  fifty  to  three  hundred  acres, 
and  to  note  the  quality  of  the  land,  stating  whether  it  was 
first,  second  or  third.  *  But  this  limited  classification  was 
soon  found  to  be  inadequate,  and  in  1836  commissioners  were 
required  to  ascertain  all  unsold  Cherokee  lands  as  would  sell 
for  20  cents  per  acre  and  over,  and  divide  them  into  sections 
or  districts  and  expose  them  for  public  sale;  lands  of  the  first 
quality  to  be  sold  for  four  dollars  per  acre;  lands  of  the  sec- 
ond quality  for  two  dollars  per  acre;  lands  of  the  third  quality 
for  one  dollar  per  acre;  lands  of  the  fourth  quality  for  fifty 
cents  per  acre  and  lands  of  the  fifth  quality  for  not  less  than 
twenty  cents  per  acre.  ®  The  surveyor  was  also  required  to 
note  in  his  field  book  the  mines,  mineral  springs,  mill  seats, 
and  principal  water-courses;  and  to  make  three  maps  before 
November  1,  1837,  one  of  which  was  to  be  deposited  in  the 
governor's  office,  the  second  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of 
state,  and  the  third  in  the  office  of  the  county  clerk  of  the 
county  of  Macon.  All  the  lands  worth  less  than  twenty 
cents  per  acre  were  denominated  vacant  and  unsurveyed 
lands,  but  they  could  be  entered  while  those  classified  could 
be  bought  only  at  auction. 

How  Lands  Were  to  be  Surveyed.  These  surveyed  and 
classified  tracts  were  to  be  bounded  by  natural  boundaries  or 
right  lines  running  east  and  west,  north  and  south,  and  to 
be  an  exact  square  or  oblong,  the  length  not  to  exceed  double 
the  breadth,  unless  where  such  lines  should  interfere  with  lands 


GRANTS  AND  LITIGATION  133 

already  granted  or  surveyed,  or  should  bound  on  navigable 
water,  in  which  last  case  the  water  should  form  one  side  of 
the  survey,  etc. 

Preferences.  Those  who  had  made  entries  under  the 
crown  or  Lord  Granville,  or,  who,  since  his  death  had  made 
improvements  on  the  lands  were  to  have  preference  in  enter- 
ing them.  ^ 

Indian  Rounds.^  In  1778  (ch.  132)  it  was  provided  that 
no  lands  within  the  Indian  boundaries  should  be  entered,  sur- 
vej'ed  or  granted,  and  those  boundaries  were  described  as 
starting  from  a  point  on  the  dividing  line  agreed  upon  between 
the  Cherokees  and  Virginia  where  the  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina  line  shall  cross  the  same  when  run;  thence  a  right  line 
to  the  north  bank  of  the  Holston  river,  at  the  mouth  of  Clouds 
creek,  which  was  the  second  creek  below  the  Warrior's  ford 
at  the  mouth  of  Carter's  valley;  thence  a  right  line  to  the 
highest  point  of  High  Rock  or  Chimney  Top;  thence  a  right 
line  to  the  mouth  of  Camp  or  McNamee's  creek  on  the  south 
bank  of  Nollechucky  river,  about  ten  miles  below  the  mouth 
of  Great  Limestone;  and  from  the  mouth  of  Camp  creek  a 
southeast  course  to  the  top  of  the  Great  Iron  mountain;  and 
thence  a  south  course  to  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  waters 
of  French  Broad  and  Nollechucky  rivers;  thence  a  south- 
westwardly  course  along  said  ridge  to  the  Blue  Ridge,  and 
thence  along  the  Blue  Ridge  to  the  South  Carolina  line.  This 
excluded  from  entry  and  grant  all  of  the  mountain  region 
west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  that  was  south  of  the  ridge  between 
the  French  Broad  and  the  Nollechucky  rivers;  but  opened 
a  territory  now  covered  by  the  counties  of  Alleghany,  Ashe, 
Watauga,  Avery,  Mitchell  and  a  part  of  Yancey;  and  a  good 
deal  of  the  northeastern  corner  of  what  is  now  Tennessee. 

Houses  of  Worship  on  Vacant  Lands.  ^  All  churches  on 
vacant  lands  were  given  outright  to  the  denominations  which 
had  built  them,  together  with  two  acres  adjoining. 

Officers  and  Soldiers  of  the  Continental  Line.  In 
1782  (ch.  173),  each  soldier  and  officer  of  the  Continental 
line,  then  in  service  and  who  continued  to  the  end  of  the 
war;  or  who  had  been  disabled  in  the  service  and  subse- 
quently all  who  had  served  two  years  honorably  and  had 
not  re-enlisted  or  had  been  dropped  on  reducing  the  forces, 
were  given  lands  as  follows  : 


134        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Privates  640  acres  each;  Non-commissioned  officers  1000 
acres  each;  Subalterns  2560  each;  Captains  3840  each;  Majors 
4800  each;  Lieut.-Colonels  7200  each;  Lieut.-Colonel  Com- 
manders 7200  each;  Colonels  7200  each;  Brigadiers  12000 
each;  Chaplains  7200  each;  Surgeons  4800  each;  and  Sur- 
geons Mates  2560  each.  Three  commissioners  and  a  guard 
of  100  men  were  authorized  to  lay  off  these  lands  without 
expense  to  the  soldiers. 

Lands  for  Soldiers  of  the  Continental  Line.  In  1783 
(ch.  186),  the  following  land  was  reserved  for  the  soldiers  and 
officers  of  the  Continental  line  for  three  years  :  Beginning  on 
the  Virginia  line  where  Cumberland  river  intersects  the  same; 
thence  south  fifty-five  miles;  thence  west  to  the  Tennessee 
river;  thence  down  the  Tennessee  river  to  the  Virginia  line; 
thence  with  the  Virginia  line  east  to  the  beginning."  This 
was  a  lordly  domain,  embracing  Nashville  and  the  Duck 
river  country  which  was  largely  settled  up  by  people  from 
Buncombe  county,  including  some  of  the  Davidsons  and 
General  Thomas  Love,  who  moved  there  about  1830.  For 
it  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  act  of  cession  of  the  Ten- 
nessee territory  it  was  expressly  provided  that  in  case  the 
lands  laid  off  for  "the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Continental 
line"  shall  not  "contain  a  sufficient  quantity  of  lands  for 
cultivation  to  make  good  the  quota  intended  by  law  for  each, 
such  officer  or  soldier  who  shall  fall  short  of  his  proportion 
shall  make  up  the  deficiency  out  of  the  lands  of  the  ceded 
territory."  But,  while  preference  was  given  to  the  soldiers 
in  these  lands,  they  were  not  restricted  to  them,  but  could 
enter  and  get  grants  for  any  other  land  that  was  open  for 
such  purposes. 

The  Forehandedness  of  Certain  Officers.  From  Hart's 
"Formation  of  the  Union,"  Sec.  51,  we  learn  that  although 
Congress  had  provided  bounty  lands  for  the  soldiers  of  the 
Revolution,  our  officers  demanded  something  better  for  them- 
selves; and,  to  appease  them.  Congress,  on  the  26th  of  April, 
1778,  had  voted  them  half  pay  for  life,  as  an  essential  measure 
for  keeping  the  army  together.  This  caused  great  dissatis- 
faction; but  on  the  10th  of  March,  1783,  the  so-called  "New- 
burgh  Address"  appeared.  This  anonymous  document  urged 
the  officers  of  the  army  not  to  separate  until  Congress  had 
done  justice  to  them;  and  on  the  22d  of  March  following, 


GRANTS  AND  LITIGATION  135 

Washington  used  liis  influence  to  induce  Congress  to  grant 
the  officers  full  piiy  for  the  ensuing  five  years.  This  was 
done;  but  as  the  treasury  was  empty,  certificates  of  indebt- 
edness were  issued  in  lieu  of  cash.  These  certificates  bore 
interest.  But  in  June,  1783,  300  mutineers  surrounded  the 
place  of  meeting  of  Congress,  and  demanded  a  settlement  of 
the  back  pay;  and  the  executive  council  of  Pennsylvania 
declined  to  disperse  them.  This  caused  Congress  to  leave 
Philadelphia  forever. 

Revolutionary  Pensions.  ^ "  On  August  26,  1776,  Con- 
gress promised,  by  a  resolution,  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of 
the  army  and  navy  who  might  be  disabled  in  the  service,  a 
pension,  to  continue  during  the  continuance  of  their  disa- 
bilities; and  on  June  7,  1785,  recommended  that  the  several 
States  should  make  provision  for  the  army,  navy  and  militia 
pensioners  resident  within  them,  to  be  reimbursed  by  Congress. 
On  September  29,  an  act  was  passed  providing  that  the  mili- 
tary pensions  which  had  been  granted  and  paid  by  the  States, 
respectively,  in  pursuance  of  the  foregoing  acts,  to  invalids 
who  were  wounded  and  disabled  during  the  late  war,  should 
be  paid  by  the  United  States  from  the  fourth  day  of  March, 

1789,  for  the  space  of  one  year;  and  the  act  of  March  26, 

1790,  appropriated  $96,000.72  for  paying  pensions  which  may 
become  due  to  invalids.  The  act  of  April  30,  1790,  provides 
for  one-half  pay  pensions  to  soldiers  of  the  regular  army  dis- 
abled while  in  line  of  duty;  and  the  act  of  July  16,  1790,  pro- 
vides that  the  military  pensions  which  have  been  granted  and 
paid  by  the  States  respectively  shall  be  continued  and  paid 
by  the  United  States  from  the  fourth  of  March,  1790,  for 
the  space  of  one  year. 

The  first  general  act  providing  for  the  pensioning  of  all 
disabled  in  the  actual  service  of  the  United  States  during  the 
Revolutionary  War  was  the  act  approved  March  10,  1806, 
which  was  to  remain  in  force  but  six  years,  but  was  subse- 
quently extended  and  kept  in  force  by  acts  of  April  25,  1812, 
May  15,  1820,  February  4,  1822,  and  May  24,  1828. '  ^ 

Land  Speculation.  Immediately  after  the  formation  of 
Buncombe  the  rush  began,  and  large  grants  were  issued  to 
Stokely  Donelson,  W^aightstill  Avery,  William  Cathcart,  David 
Alhson  and  John  Gray  Blount,  besides  many  others.  The 
Flowery  Garden  tract  on  Pigeon  was  regarded  as  of  the  finest 


136        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

quality  of  land,  and  was  granted  to  one  of  the  McDowells. 
As  the  boundaries  of  the  Cherokees  were  moved  westward 
the  same  greed  for  land  continued,  and  many  large  boundaries 
were  entered,  Robert  and  James  R.  Love  of  Waynesville  hav- 
ing obtained  tracts — those  belonging  to  the  Love  speculation 
in  1865  containing  in  Haywood  two  hundred  thousand,  in 
Jackson  fifty  thousand,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
thousand  acres,  in  two  tracts  in  Swain;  a  total  of  375,000 
acres  in  all. 

Enlargement  of  the  Western  Boundary.  '  ^  In  1783 
(eh.  185)  the  western  boundary  was  enlarged  so  as  to  take 
in  all  lands  south  of  the  Virginia  line  and  west  of  the  Ten- 
nessee river  to  the  Mississippi,  then  down  that  stream  to 
the  35th  parallel  of  north  latitude;  thence  due  east  to  the 
Appalachian  mountains,  and  thence  with  them  to  the  ridge 
between  the  French  Broad  and  the  Nollechucky  [sic]  river, 
and  with  that  line  till  it  strikes  the  line  of  the  Indian  Hunt- 
ing grounds,  set  forth  in  chapter  132  of  the  laws  of  1778. 
This,  however,  was  superceded  by  the  Act  of  Cession,  1789, 
ch.  299,  accepted  by  Congress,  April  2,  1790,  Vol.  II,  p.  85, 
note  on  p.  455. 

Entries  West  of  the  Mississippi  Void.  ^  ^  It  would  seem 
that  some  of  our  enterprising  citizens  had  been  entering  lands 
west  of  the  Mississippi  river  at  some  time  prior  to  1783,  for 
there  is  an  act  of  that  year  (ch.  185)  which  declares  that  all 
entries  of  land  heretofore  made,  or  grants  already  obtained, 
or  which  may  be  hereafter  obtained  in  consequence  of  the 
aforesaid  entries  of  land,  to  the  westward  of  the  line  last  above 
described  in  this  act  .  .  .  are  hereby  declared  to  be 
null  and  void.     .      .      .  " 

Entries  of  Indian  Lands  Void.  ^  "*  Section  5  of  the  act  of 
1783  (ch.  185)  reserves  certain  of  the  lands  to  the  Indians, 
which  embrace  part  of  the  enlarged  western  boundary,  with 
the  Pigeon  river  as  the  eastern  boundary,  including  the  ridge 
between  its  waters  and  those  of  the  Tuckaseegee  river  to  the 
South  Carolina  line.  All  entries  of  such  lands  were  void  and 
all  hunting  and  ranging  of  stock  thereon  were  prohibited. 
But  all  other  lands  not  reserved  to  the  Indians  were  subject 
to  entry;  but  at  the  price  of  five  pounds  per  hundred  acres. 

Entry  Taker's  Office  Closed  in  1784.  ^  ^  By  chapter  196 
of  the  laws  of  1784  North  Carolina  passed  an  act  to  remove 


GRANTS  AND  LITIGATION  137 


all  doubts  as  to  the  ceded  territory  of  Tennessee  by  expressly 
retaining  jurisdiction  over  it  till  Congress  should  accept  it; 
but  until  Congress  did  accept  it  it  was  considered  "just  and 
right  that  no  further  entries  of  lands  within  the  territory 
aforesaid  should  be  allowed  until  the  Congress  [should]  refuse 
the  cession."  Therefore,  it  closed  the  entry  taker's  office  and 
declared  void  all  entries  made  subsequent  to  the  25th  of  May, 
1784,  John  Armstrong  having  been  the  entry-taker;  except 
"such  entries  of  lands  as  shall  be  made  by  the  commissioners, 
agents  and  surveyors  who  extended  the  lines  allotted  to  the 
Continental  officers  and  soldiers,  and  the  guards  and  hunters, 
chain-carriers  and  markers"  who  had  allotted  the  lands  to  the 
soldiers.  This,  however,  applied  only  to  the  ceded  territory 
of  Tennessee. 

Grants  to  John  Gray  Blount  and  David  Allison.     Two 
of  the  largest  grants  of  land  West  of  the  Blue  Ridge  were  to 
John  Gray  Blount  of  Beaufort,  North  Carolina,  and  David 
Allison.     The  grant  to  Blount  called  for  "320,640  acres  and 
is  dated  November  29,  1796. '  ^     It  began  in  the  Swannanoa 
gap  and  ran  to  Flat  creek,  and  thence  to  Swannanoa  river 
and  to  its  mouth;  thence  down  the  French  Broad  to  the 
Painted  Rock;  thence  to  the  Bald  mountain,  thence  to  NoUe- 
chucky  river,  or  Toe,  thence  to  Crabtree  creek,  and  thence 
to  the  beginning.     The  grant  to  David  Allison  is  for  250,240 
acres  and  is  dated  November  29,  1796. » ^  i «     This  land  lies  on 
Hominy  creek,   IMill's  and  Davidson's  rivers,  Scott's  creek, 
Big  Pigeon  and  down  it  to  Twelve-Mile  creek  to  the  French 
Broad  and  to  the  beginning.     These  lands  were  sold  Septem- 
ber 19,   1798,  by  James  Hughey,  Sheriff  of  Buncombe,   for 
the  taxes  of  1796,  and  were  purchased  by  John  Strother  of 
Beaufort  for  £115,  15  shillings,  and  the  Sheriff  gave  him  a 
deed   dated   September  29,    1798.^*     Strother  sold   some   of 
these  lands  and  made  deeds  to  them,  and  in  each  deed  he 
recited  this  Sheriff's  deed  as  his  source  of  title.  -  ^    Strother 
was  the  friend  and  agent  of  John  Gray  Blount,  and  it  is  not 
clearly  known  why  this  large  body  of  land  was  suffered  to  go 
on  sale  for  the  non-payment  of  taxes,  only  to  be  bought  in 
by  the  man  whose  duty  it  had  been,  presumably,  to  see  that 
the  taxes  were  paid.     But  it  is  certain  that,  on  the  22d  of 
November,  1806,  Strother  made  his  last  will  (describing  him- 
self as  of  Buncombe  county)  and  devised  all  of  the  lands  he 


138        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

had  received  through  Sheriff  Hughey's  deed  as  formerly  be- 
longing to  John  Gray  Blount  to  that  gentleman,  describing 
him  as  his  "beloved  friend."  This  will  was  admitted  to  pro- 
bate in  Davidson  County,  Tennessee,  March  1,  1816,  and 
later  on  in  Haywood  and  Madison  counties.  North  Carolina. 
It  was  executed  according  to  North  Carolina  laws  of  that 
date;  but  only  one  of  the  two  subscribing  witnesses  to  it  was 
examined  and  he  omitted  to  state  that  he  had  subscribed  his 
name  in  the  presence  of  the  other  subscribing  witness.  Chap- 
ter 52  of  the  Private  Laws  of  1885  validated  this  defective 
probate.  The  constitutionality  of  the  act  was  questioned  nev- 
ertheless, in  Vanderbilt  v.  Johnston  (141  N.  C,  p.  370)  but 
upheld  by  the  Supreme  Court  on  the  ground  that  only  the 
heirs  of  Blount  or  Strother  could  object  to  the  probate. 

Love  Speculation.  After  the  death  of  Strother,  Robert 
Love  became  the  agent  of  the  executors  of  J.  G.  Blount  for 
the  sale  of  these  lands,  ^  ^  but,  on  the  10th  of  December,  1834, 
these  executors  conveyed  what  was  left  of  the  Blount  lands 
to  Robert  and  James  R.  Love  of  Haywood  county  for  S3,000. 
This  deed,  however,  was  not  recorded  till  October  5,  1842,  it 
having  been  probated  by  the  late  R.  M.  Henry,  a  subscribing 
witness,  before  Richmond  M.  Pearson,  October  2,  1839,  who 
for  years  was  the  Chief  Justice  of  this  State.  ^  ^ 

The  Cathcart  Grants.  Other  large  tracts  were  granted  to 
WilHam  Cathcart  in  July,  1796,  33,280  at  the  head  of  Jona- 
than's creek,  and  covering  Oconalufty  and  Tuckaseegee  river; 
49,920,  on  Tuckaseegee  river  and  Cane  creek,  "passing  Wain's 
sugar  house  in  a  sugar  tree  cove, "^'  and  a  like  acreage  on 
Scott's  and  Cane  creeks.  Much  of  this  lay  west  of  the  divide 
between  the  headwaters  of  Pigeon  river  and  those  of  Tucka- 
seegee river  in  what  is  now  Jackson,  and  which  was  not  sub- 
ject to  entry  and  grant  in  July,  1796,  because  it  had  been 
reserved  to  the  Cherokee  Indians  by  North  Carolina  by  an 
act  of  1783.  (Sec.  2347,  Code  of  N.  C.)  The  State  being 
the  sovereign,  the  fee  in  such  lands  reverted  to  it  whenever 
a  new  treaty  with  the  Indians  removed  their  boundary  fur- 
ther west;  which  had  happened  by  the  treaty  of  Holston  made 
in  July,  1791,  and  that  of  Tellico,  made  afterwards.  If  Cath- 
cart had  taken  out  a  new  grant  to  this  part  of  the  land  after 
that  treaty  his  title  thereto  would  have  been  good.  But  he 
did  not. 


James  Rohert  Love. 


GRANTS  AND  LITIGATION  139 

Latimer  v.  Poteet.  The  question  as  to  the  validity  of  the 
Cathcart  grant  to  land  west  of  that  divide  came  up  in  Lati- 
mer V.  Poteet  (14  Peters  U.  S.  Reports,  p.  4),  in  which  it  was 
decided  that  while  there  may  have  been  doubt  as  to  the  loca- 
tion of  the  eastern  lino  of  the  Cherokees — subsequently  known 
as  the  Meigs  and  Freeman  line — the  parties  to  that  treaty 
had  the  right  to  determine  disputes  as  to  its  location  anrl 
remove  uncertainties  and  defects,  and  that  private  rights  could 
not  be  interposed  to  prevent  the  exercise  of  that  power;  which 
was  tantamount  to  saying  that  Cathcart's  title  to  that  part 
of  the  land  was  null. 

Brown  v.  Brown.  -  *  But,  as  land  grew  more  valuable 
on  account  of  the  timber  on  it,  the  same  question  was  brought 
up  in  the  State  court  when  a  grant  was  taken  to  a  part  of  the 
land  which  had  been  granted  to  David  Allison  in  November, 
1796,  and  lay  west  of  the  reservation  divide  between  Pigeon 
and  Tuckaseegee.  This  land  had  been  sold  by  the  heirs  of 
Robert  Love,  who  held  under  the  deed  from  Sheriff  Hughey 
of  September  29,  1798.  On  the  trial  of  the  case  in  the  Supe- 
rior court,  the  judge  held  that  the  last  grant  was  valid  and  that 
the  original  grant  to  Allison  in  1796  was  invalid.  On  appeal 
great  consternation  was  caused  in  the  fall  of  1888  by  the 
decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  (in  Brown  v.  Brown,  103  N.  C, 
213)  to  the  effect  that  all  grants  of  land  extending  west  of  the 
"dividing  ridge  between  the  waters  of  Pigeon  river  and  Tuck- 
aseegee river  to  the  southern  boundary  of  this  State,  were 
utterly  void"  (Code  N.  C,  sections  2346-47)  because  when 
granted  they  were  "within  the  boundary  prescribed  of  the  lands 
set  apart  to  and  for  the  Cherokee  Indians."  It  was  further 
held  "that  the  treaty  of  Holston,  concluded  on  the  2d  day  of 
July,  1791,  between  the  United  States  and  the  Cherokee 
Indians,  did  not  extinguish  the  title  and  right  of  those  Indians 
to  the  territory  embracing  the  lands  embraced  by  the  grant 
in  question" — that  to  David  Allison,  of  date  29th  November, 
1796.  Immediately  there  was  a  rush  to  enter  and  secure  grants 
to  all  lands  to  which  grants  had  been  issued  west  of  the  divid- 
ing ridge  between  the  Pigeon  and  the  Tuckaseegee.  Where 
would  the  effect  of  that  decision  reach?  No  one  knew.  But, 
on  a  petition  for  a  rehearing.  Chief  Justice  Merrimon  discov- 
ered "among  a  vast  number  of  very  old  uncurrent  statutes" 
one  (Acts  1784,  1  Pot.  Rev.,  ch.  202)  that  required  surveyors 


140        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

in  the  "eastern  part  of  the  State"  to  survey  lands  that  any 
person  or  persons  "have  entered  or  may  hereafter  enter"; 
which  was  afterwards  extended  (Acts  1794,  1  Pot.  Rev.,  ch. 
422;  Haywood's  Manual,  p.  188)  to  apply  to  "all  lands  in  this 
State  lying  to  the  eastward  of  the  line  of  the  ceded  territory," 
which  was  construed  to  mean  "all  the  lands  of  this  State  not 
specially  devoted  to  some  particular  purpose,  and  the  impli- 
cation intended  was,  that  they  should  be  subject  to  entry  and 
survey  just  as  were  the  lands  mentioned  in  the  statutes 
amended, "  it  having  been  the  purpose  to  embrace  "  the  lands  so 
acquired  from  the  Cherokee  Indians."  Hence,  the  words, 
"lying  to  the  eastward  of  the  line  of  ceded  territory";  this 
was  the  line  separating  this  State  from  Tennessee  which  had 
been  ceded  to  the  United  States  in  1789;  while  the  land  ac- 
quired from  the  Indians  by  the  treaty  of  Holston  "lay  imme- 
diately to  the  eastward  of  a  part  of  that  line."  In  the  lan- 
guage of  the  chief  justice,  "it  is  fortunate  that  it  has  been 
discovered,  as  it  rendered  the  land  subject  to  entry  and  makes 
valid  and  sustains  the  grant  in  question,  under  which,  no 
doubt,  many  excellent  people  derive  title  to  their  land." 
Upon  the  rehearing  (106  N.  C,  451)  the  Supreme  Court  held 
that  by  an  act  of  1777  it  was  made  lawful  for  any  citizen  of 
the  State  "to  enter  any  lands  not  granted  before  the  fourth 
of  July,  1776,  which  have  accrued  or  shall  accrue  to  this  State 
by  treaty  or  conquest";  and  that  the  title  of  the  Indians  to 
all  lands  east  of  the  Holston  treaty  line  were  extinguished. 
This  line  had  been  fixed  by  the  Meigs  and  Freeman  survey, 
which  location  the  State  could  not  without  breach  of  faith 
question;  and  the  land  in  controversy,  while  lying  west  of  the 
reservation  of  1784,  was  east  of  the  Meigs  and  Freeman  sur- 
vey.    This  settled  the  dispute. 

Waightstill  Avery  Grants.  About  1785  Hon.  Waight- 
still  Avery  of  Burke  took  out  "hundreds  of  grants,"  gener- 
ally for  640-acre  tracts,  covering  almost  the  entire  valley  of 
North  Toe  river,  from  its  source  to  somewhere  below  Toe- 
cane,  there  being,  here  and  there,  along  the  valley,  some 
older  grant  wedged  in  between  his  tracts.  He  took  out  grants 
also  for  lands  on  most  all  of  the  tributaries  of  the  North  Toe, 
including  the  lower  part  of  Squirrel  creek,  of  Roaring  creek, 
of  Henson's  creek  and  of  Three-Mile  creek  ^^  and  also  along 
the  lower  valley  of  South  Toe  and  of  Linville  river,  down  to 


GRANTS  AND  LITIGATION  141 

the  Falls,  and  the  upper  valley  of  Pigeon  in  Haywood  county 
and  of  Mills  river  in  Henderson  and  Transylvania.  . 
William  Cathcart  took  out  in  1795  two  large  grants,  one 
known  as  the  "99,000 -Acre  Tract,"  and  the  other  as  the 
"59,000 -Acre  Tract,"  which  two  large  boundaries  covered 
practically  all  of  Mitchell  county  and  of  Avery  county,  except 
some  tracts  along  the  Blue  Ridge.  .  .  ."-^  They  also 
covered  about  all  that  had  been  previously  granted  to  Waight- 
still  Avery.  For  the  litigation  that  subsequently  ensued  see 
"Cranberry  Mine"  under  chapter  on  "Mines  and  Mining." 
Many  grants  were  also  made  to  William  Lenoir  and  others. 

Cherokee  Lands.  By  the  act  of  1819  -  ^  no  portion  of 
the  lands  recently  acquired  from  the  Cherokees  was  required 
to  be  surveyed  except  such  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the  commis- 
sioners appointed  for  that  purpose,  would  sell  for  fifty  cents 
per  acre  and  over,  while  the  rest  was  reserved  for  future  dis- 
position to  be  made  by  a  subsequent  legislature,  and  the  act 
of  1826  required  such  lands  to  be  classified  into  three  tracts, 
as  we  have  already  seen.  This  was  to  be  sold  at  auction, 
and  in  the  meantime,  no  land  not  subject  to  survey — that  is 
not  worth  fifty  cents  an  acre  or  more — was  subject  to  entry. 
But  by  the  act  of  1835  ^  ^  all  such  lands  as  were  not  worth 
fifty  cents  an  acre  were  made  subject  to  entry.  Under  the 
law  of  1836^^  the  Cherokee  lands  were  required  to  be  laid 
off  into  districts,  which  were  to  be  numbered,  and  divided  into 
tracts  of  from  fifty  to  four  hundred  acres  each,  the  first  class 
of  which  was  to  be  sold  at  auction  for  not  less  than  $4  per  acre, 
the  second  class  for  not  less  than  S2,  the  third  class  for  not 
less  than  SI,  the  fourth  class  for  not  less  than  fifty  cents,  and 
the  fifth  class  for  not  less  than  25  cents  per  acre.  All  the  rest 
of  the  Cherokee  lands  which  were  not  considered  by  the  com- 
missioners to  be  worth  at  auction  more  than  20  cents  per 
acre  were  subject  to  entry.  The  surveyors  were  to  note  all 
the  mines,  mill  sites,  etc.,  on  each  tract,  and  three  maps  were 
to  be  made,  showing  the  lands  surveyed  and  the  "vacant 
and  unsurveyed  lands,"  one  of  which  was  to  be  deposited  in  the 
ofl&ce  of  the  governor,  another  in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of 
state  at  Raleigh,  ancf  the  third  in  the  office  of  the  register  of 
deeds  in  Franklin,  Macon  county. 

Act  for  the  Relief  of  Purchasers  of  Lands.  Under 
this  act  of  1836  several  purchasers  found  that  they  could  not 


142        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

pay  for  the  lands  bid  in  by  them  at  the  auction  sales,  and  in 
1844-45  another  act  was  passed  providing  that  such  persons 
might  surrender  such  lands,  after  which  the  lands  were  to  be 
reassessed  by  connnissioners,  when  they  could  be  repur- 
chased by  the  former  bidders  at  the  new  valuation  by  giving 
bonds  with  good  security,  if  they  so  desired,  and  if  not,  then 
they  could  be  sold  at  the  new  valuation  to  anyone.  This 
law  also  provided  for  the  sale  of  such  lands  as  had  not  been 
sold  at  all  under  the  first  appraisment  of  their  value,  and  for 
the  relief  of  such  poor  and  homeless  people  as  had  settled  on 
the  less  valuable  lands  and  had  made  improvements  thereon 
in  the  hope  of  ])eing  able  to  pay  for  them  at  some  future  time 
and  had  been  unable  to  do  so,  as  well  as  for  insolvent  people 
who  had  been  unable  to  pay  for  lands  they  had  bought.  New 
valuations  were  to  be  made  and  certificates  given  to  such 
persons,  which  certificates  gave  them  preemption  rights  for 
the  purchase  of  such  lands  upon  giving  good  bonds  for  the 
payment  of  the  purchase  price.  Much  of  the  best  lands  were 
subsequently  held  under  these  "Occupation  Tracts,"  they  hav- 
ing the  refusal  of  the  lands  they  had  settled  on  and  improved. 
Floating  Entries.  Such  entries  were  those  which  stated 
in  the  entry  that  land  beginning  on  a  natural  object  in  a  cer- 
tain district  had  been  entered,  but,  without  further  descrip- 
tion, they  were  void  against  enterers  whose  surveys  covered  it. 

NOTES. 

'Potter's  Revisal,  p.  275. 

2Ibii.,  p.  280. 

^Melton  V.  Munday  (64  N.  C.  Rep.,  p.  295);  Waugh  v.  Richardson,  8  Ired.  Law  (30  N.  C, 
p.  470). 

^Potter's  Revisal,  p.  463. 

'2  Vol.  Rev.  St.  1837,  p.  201. 

•Ibid.,  pp.  210-11. 

'Potter's  Revisal,  p.  280. 

'Ibid.,  p.  355. 

'Potter's  Revisal,  p.  356. 

>  "Potter's  Revisal,  p.  442. 

"From  "Dropped  Stitches,"  pp.  71-72. 

'^Potter's  Revisal,  p.  435. 

i3Ibid.,  p.  456. 

"Ibid.,  p.  436. 

'^Potter's  Revisal,  p.  457. 

isRook  No.  4,  p.  230. 

I'Book  2,  p.  458. 

1^3,534  acres  already  granted  are  excepted  from  this  boundary. 

I 'Book  4,  p.  230. 

2 The  lands  embraced  in  this  sale  aggregated  one  million  and  seventy-four  thousand 
acres.     The  tax  title  stood  all  tests.     Love  v.  Wilbourn,  5  Ired.,  N.  C.  Rep.,  p.  344. 

2iWill  book  E,  p.  42. 

22Book  22,  p.  88. 

23Book  22,  p.  393. 

^''Daniel  Webster  represented  the  defendant  in  this  case,  and  Chief  Justice  Roger  B. 
Taney  filed  a  dissenting  opinion. 

2»So  called  because  it  is  almost  exactly  three  miles  in  length. 

26From  letter  of  December  5,  1912,  from  Hon.  A.  C.  Avery  to  J.  P.  A. 

s'Rev.  St.  1837,  Vol.  II,  p.  190. 

2  8Ibid.,  p.  209. 

29Ibid.,  p.  210. 

Note  :    For  Forge  Bounty  grants  see  ch.  293,  laws  1788,  Potter's  Revisal,  p.  592. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
COUNTY  HISTORY 

Buncombe  County.  ^     In  1781  or  1782  settlers  from  the 
blockhouse  at  Old  Fort,  McDowell  county  as  it  is  now,  crossed 
the  mountains  to  the  head  of  the  Swannanoa  river,  and  became 
trespassers  on  the  Cherokee  territory,  the  Blue  Ridge  at  that 
time  being  the  boundary  line.     Samuel  Davidson,  his  wife  and 
child  were  among  the  first.     They  brought  a  female  negro 
slave  with  them,  and  settled  a  short  distance  east  of  Gudger's 
ford  of  Swannanoa  river,  and  near  what  is  now  Azalea.     He 
was  soon  afterwards  killed  by  Indians,  and  his  wife  and  child 
and  slave  hurried  through  the  mountains  back  to  Old  Fort. 
An  expedition  to   avenge  his  death  set  out,   with  the  late 
IMajor  Ben.  Burgin,  who  died  at  Old  Fort  in  November,  1874, 
at  the  age  of  ninety-five,  among  the  number  and  conquered 
the   Indians  at  the  mouth  of  Rock   House  creek.     By  this 
time,   however,  several  other  settlements  had  been  effected 
on  the  Swannanoa  from  its  head  to  its  mouth  by  the  Alex- 
anders, Davidsons,  Smiths  and  others,  the  earliest  being  about 
the  mouth  of  Bee  Tree  creek,  a  little  above  this  being  the 
Edmundson  field,  the  first  cleared  in  Buncombe.      Soon  an- 
other company  passed  through  Bull  gap  and  settled  on  upper 
Reems  creek,  while  still  others  came  in  by  way  of  what  is 
now  Yancey  county  and  settled  on  lower  Reems  and  Flat 
creeks.     Some  of  the  people  who  had  been  with  Sevier  at 
Watauga  settlement,  settled  on  the  French  Broad  above  the 
mouth   of  Swannanoa,   and  on   Hominy   creek.     Some  from 
South  Carolina  settled  still  higher  on  the  French  Broad. 

The  Cheery  Name  of  Buncombe.  ^  The  Swannanoa  was 
now  recognized  as  the  dividing  line  between  Burke  and  Ruth- 
erford counties,  from  portions  of  which  counties  Buncombe 
was  subsequently  formed,  and  named  for  Edward  Buncombe, 
who  had  been  a  colonel  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  ^  In  1791 
David  Vance  and  William  Davidson,  the  former  representing 
Burke  and  the  latter  Rutherford,  agreed  upon  the  formation  of  a 
new  county  from  portions  of  both  these  counties  west  of  the 
Blue  Ridge,  its  western  boundary  to  be  the  Tennessee  line. 


(143) 


144        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

First  Court  at  the  Gum  .Spring.  *  In  April,  1792,  at  the 
residence  of  Col.  William  Davidson  on  the  south  bank  of  the 
Swannanoa,  half  a  mile  above  its  mouth,  subsequently  called 
the  Gum  Spring  place,  Buncombe  county  was  organized,  pur- 
suant to  the  act  which  had  been  ratified  January  14,  1792. 
On  December  31,  1792,  another  act  recited  that  the  com- 
missioners provided  for  in  the  first  act  had  failed  to  fix  "the 
center  and  agree  where  public  buildings"  should  be  erected, 
and  appointed  Joshua  Inglish,  Archibald  Neill,  James  Wilson, 
Augustin  Shote,  George  Baker  and  John  Dillard  of  Buncombe, 
and  Wm.  Morrison  of  Burke,  commissioners  in  place  of  Phil- 
lip Hoodenpile,  William  Brittain,  Wm.  Whitson,  James  Brit- 
tain  and  Lemuel  Clayton,  who  had  failed  to  agree,  to  select 
a  county  seat.  There  was  rivalry  for  this  position,  many 
contending  for  the  "Steam  Saw  Mill  Place  on  the  road  after- 
wards known  as  the  Buncombe  Turnpike  Road  about  three 
miles  south  of  Asheville,  where  Dr.  J.  F.  E.  Hardy  resided 
at  the  time  of  his  death,"  says  Dr.  Sondley  in  his  Ashe- 
ville's  Centenary.  They  selected  the  present  site,  which 
at  first  was  called  INIorristo^vTi.  As  the  Superior  court 
was  at  this  time  held  at  Morganton,  five  men  from  Buncombe 
were  required  to  serve  there  as  jurors,  for  the  July  term, 
1792.  These  were  Matthew  Patton,  Wm.  Davidson,  David 
Vance,  Lambert  Clayton  and  James  Brittain.  The  first 
court  house  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  street  upon  the  public 
square  at  the  head  of  what  is  now  Patton  avenue,  and  was  of  logs. 
The  first  county  court  held  there  was  on  the  third  Monday  in 
July,  1793.  In  January,  1796,  commissioners  were  appointed 
to  lay  off  a  plan  for  public  buildings;  but  in  April,  1802,  the 
grand  jury  complained  that  the  county  had  no  title  to  the 
land  on  which  the  jail,  etc.,  stood,  and  in  April,  1805,  steps 
were  taken  to  secure  land  for  a  public  square.  In  April, 
1807,  the  county  trustee,  or  treasurer,  was  ordered  to  pay 
Robert  Love  one  pound  for  registering  five  deeds  made  by 
individuals  for  a  public  square.  .  .  .  The  next  court 
house  was  made  of  brick,  a  little  further  east,  in  the  erection 
of  which  the  late  Nicholas  W.  Woodfin,  while  a  poor  boy, 
carried  brick  and  mortar.  This  gave  way  to  a  handsome 
brick  building  fronting  on  Main  street,  which  was  destroyed 
by  fire  on  the  26th  day  of  January,  1865.  Some  years  later 
a  small  one -story  brick  structure  was  built  nearly  in  front 


COUNTY  I IISTORY  145 

of  ^^'.  O.  Wolf's  storeroom,  the  late  Rev.  B.  H.  jMerrimon 
having  been  the  contractor.  In  1876  this  gave  way  to  a 
larger  building  with  three  stories,  J.  A.  Tennent  being  the 
architect.  In  the  erection  of  this  a  workman  fell  from  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  tower  to  the  ground  and  was  killed. 
His  name  has  been  forgotten.  The  first  jail  was  succeeded 
by  a  brick  building  now  a  part  of  the  Library  building;  but 
a  new  jail  was  built  afterwards  on  the  site  of  the  present 
city  hall,  its  site  being  sold  to  the  city  when  the  Eagle  street 
jail  was  built  some  years  afterwards.  The  first  jail  was  a 
very  poor  .structure,  every  sheriff  from  1799  to  1811  com- 
plaining of  its  insufficiency.  In  1867  the  county  began  to 
sell  off  portions  of  the  public  square  on  the  north  and  south 
sides,  thus  reducing  it  to  its  present  dimensions. 

MoRRiSTOWN.  John  Burton's  grant  was  "by  private  con- 
tract laid  out  .  .  .  for  a  town  called  Morristo\vn,  the 
county  town  of  Buncombe  count}',  into  42  lots,  containing, 
with  the  exception  of  the  two  at  the  southern  end,  one-half 
an  acre  each,  lying  on  both  sides  of  a  street  33  feet  wide," 
which  runs  where  the  southern  part  of  North  Main  street 
and  the  northern  part  of  South  IMain  street  now  are.  ^  There 
were  two  cross  streets  across  the  public  square.  "Nobody 
seems  to  know  why  the  name  of  Morristown  was  bestowed 
upon  the  place  .  .  .  but  there  is  a  seemingly  authentic 
tradition  that  it  was  named  for  Robert  Morris,  who  success- 
fully financed  the  American  Revolution,  yet  himself  died  a 
bankrupt."^  About  this  time  he  o\vned  large  bodies  of  land 
in  Western  North  Carolina;  indeed  it  is  shown  in  the  record 
of  one  case  in  the  Federal  Court  here  (Asheville)  that  Robert 
Tate  of  York  county,  Pennsylvania,  and  William  Tate,  of 
Burke  county,  N.  C,  conveyed  to  him  in  one  deed  198  tracts 
of  land,  only  one  tract  of  which,  containing  70,400  acres  and 
lying  in  what  are  now  Yancey,  Burke,  and  McDowell  coun- 
ties, was  involved  in  that  litigation.  The  State  grant  for 
these  lands  was  issued  to  Robert  and  William  Tate  on  May 
30,  1795,  and  they  conveyed  the  same  lands  to  Morris  on 
August  15  of  the  same  year.  "The  Tates  were  evidently  the 
agents  of  ^Morris.  .  .  .  Morris  was  one  of  the  heroes  of 
the  Revolution,  and  ...  it  is  small  wonder  that  .  . 
the  people  .  .  .  should  name  it  for  him."  His  will 
(dated  in  1804)  was  probated  in  McDowell  county  on  Aj^ril 

W.  X.C. 10 


146         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

21,  1891.  In  November  1797,  the  village  was  incorporated 
by  the  legislature  as  Asheville  in  honor  of  Samuel  Ashe  of 
New  Hanover,  governor. 

Old  Asheville.  On  Thanksgiving  Day,  1895,  Miss  Anna 
C.  Aston,  Miss  Frances  L.  Patton  and  other  ladies  published 
a  "Woman's  Edition"  of  the  Asheville  Daily  Citizen.  It  con- 
tained much  valuable  and  important  information  of  that 
city.  But  in  February,  1898,  Foster  A.  Sondley,  Esq.,  a  de- 
scendant of  the  Fosters  and  Alexanders  of  Buncombe  county, 
and  a  leading  member  of  the  Asheville  Bar,  published  a  his- 
torical sketch  of  Buncombe  county  and  Asheville,  contain- 
ing practically  all  that  could  then  be  ascertained  concerning 
the  early  history  of  this  section.  Hon.  Theo.  F.  Davidson 
and  the  late  Albert  T.  Summey  also  contributed  their  recol- 
lections. There  was  a  woodcut  reproduction  of  an  oil  paint- 
ing of  Asheville  by  F.  S.  Duncanson,  which  was  taken  from 
Beaucatcher,  and  it  appears  that  there  were  not  more  than 
twenty  five  residences  in  1850  that  were  visible  from  that 
commanding  eminence,  all  the  buildings,  including  outhouses, 
not  exceeding  forty,  and  they  were  between  Atkin,  Market 
and  Church  streets.  The  painting  itself,  now  owned  by  Mrs. 
Martha  B.  Patton,  shows  five  brick  buildings,  the  old  Pres- 
byterian church,  on  the  site  of  the  present  one,  with  the  cupola 
on  its  eastern  end,  because  the  street  ran  there;  the  little  old 
Episcopal  church,  on  the  site  of  the  burned  Trinity;  the  old 
jail,  standing  where  the  city  hall  now  stands;  Ravenscroft 
school,  and  the  Rowley  house,  now  occupied  by  the  Drhumor 
building.  The  old  jail  was  three  stories  high.  The  other 
buildings  were  white  wooden  structures,  and  included  the 
central  portion  of  the  old  Eagle  hotel  and  the  old  Buck  hotel. 
Mr.  Ernest  Israel  also  has  a  similar  picture. 

Dr.  J.  S.  T.  Baird's  facile  pen  has  given  us  an  equally  vivid 
picture  of  Asheville  in  his  "Historical  Sketches  of  Early 
Days,"  pubhshed  in  the  Asheville  Saturday  Register  during 
January,  February  and  March,  1905,  as  it  appeared  in  1840. 
He  records  the  facts  that  the  white  population  then  did  not 
exceed  300,  and  the  total  number  of  slaves,  o^vned  by  eight  or 
nine  persons,  did  not  exceed  200.  In  the  400  acres  embracing 
the  northeastern  section  of  the  city,  between  the  angle  formed 
by  North  Main  and  Woodfin  streets,  he  recalled  but  two 
dwelhngs,  those  of  Hon.  N.   W.  Woodfin  and  Rev.   David 


COUNTY  HISTORY  147 

McAnally,  both  on  Woodfin  street.  There  was  an  old  tan- 
nery anil  a  little  school  house  near  the  heginning  of  what  is 
now  Merrimon  avenue,  the  school  having  Ix'en  taught  by 
Miss  Katy  Parks,  who  afterwards  became  Mrs.  Katy  Bell, 
mother  of  Rev.  George  Bell  of  Haw  Creek.  This  400-acre 
boundary,  now  so  thickly  settled,  was  then  owned  by  James 
W.  Patton,  James  M.  Smith.  Samuel  Chunn,  N.  W.  Wood- 
fin  and  Israel  Baird.  There  was  a  thirty-acre  field  where 
Doubleday  now  is,  and  was  called  the  "old  gallows  field," 
because  Sneed  and  Henry  had  been  hanged  there  about  1835. 
Standing  south  of  Woodfin  and  East  of  North  and  South  Main 
streets  to  the  southern  lioundary,  there  were  but  eight  resi- 
dences, not  including  negro  and  outhouses. 

Southwest  Asheville.  Just  north  of  Aston  street  was 
the  brick  store  of  Patton  &  Osborne,  and  later  Patton  & 
Summey,  adjoining  which  was  the  tailor  shop  of  "Uncle" 
Manuel,  one  of  James  W.  Patton's  slaves.  Then  came  a 
white  house  which  was  kept  for  guests  when  there  was  an 
overflow  crowd  at  the  Eagle  hotel.  Between  this  house  and 
the  Daylight  .store,  J.  M.  Smith  some  years  later  erected  a  two- 
story  building  for  the  use  of  Dr.  T.  C.  Lester,  a  physician  who 
came  from  South  Carolina  and  settled  here  about  1845.  He 
kept  a  sort  of  drug  store,  the  first  of  its  kind  in  Asheville. 
The  negroes  called  it  a  shot-i-carry-pop,  in  their  effort  to  call 
it  an  apothecary  shop.  Hilliard  Hall  now  stands  where  it 
stood.  Just  above  was  the  residence  and  place  of  business  of 
James  B.  Mears,  now  the  Daylight  store.  Then  came  Drake 
Jarrett's  place — better  known  as  the  Coche^  place  "where 
for  many  years  the  little  short-legged  'monsieur'  and  his 
'madam'  dealt  out  that  which  Solomon  says  biteth  like  a 
serpent  and  stingeth  like  an  adder."  Thus  was  reached  what 
was  the  Chunn  property,  which,  beginning  at  the  lower  side 
of  T.  C.  Smith's  drug  store,  ran  straight  back  to  Church 
street.  Samuel  Chunn  had  lived  in  a  large  brick  house  which 
fronted  north,  and  which  was  later  replaced  by  a  building 
used  as  a  banking  house,  known  as  the  Bank  building.  This 
was  about  1845.*  The  Asheville  l)ranch  of  the  Bank  of  Cape 
Fear  occupied  it  till  the  Civil  War  period.  The  residence  of 
A.  B.  Chunn  stood  on  the  corner  now  occupied  by  Pat  Mcln- 
tyre's  grocery  store.  An  old  stable  stood  at  the  corner  of 
Patton  and  Lexington  avenues. 


148         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Church  Street.  The  grounds  of  the  Methodist  church 
extended  from  Patton  avenue  and  Church  street  to  the  Aston 
property  and  several  rods  back,  forming  an  oblong  plat  of 
several  acres.  On  the  corner  of  Patton  avenue  and  Church 
street  stood  a  large  brick  building  used  as  a  boarding  house 
in  connection  with  the  school  for  girls  which  was  taught  for 
many  years  in  the  basement  of  the  Methodist  church.  The 
late  William  Johnston  afterwards  bought  and  occupied  this 
building  as  a  residence.  The  land  south  of  the  Methodist 
church  was  used  as*  a  cemetery  till  long  after  the  Civil  War. 

The  Presbyterian  church  of  that  day  stood  nearly  where 
the  one  of  this  day  stands,  opposite  that  of  the  Methodist 
church,  and  its  cemetery  extended  down  to  Aston  street. 
Near  where  Asheland  and  Patton  avenues  join  the  late  James 
M.  Smith  had  a  large  barn,  which  stood  in  a  ten-acre  field. 

Northwest  Asheville.  In  the  angle  formed  by  North  IVIain 
street  and  Patton  avenue,  in  1840,  there  were  not  many  houses. 
Beginning  at  the  north  end,  Mrs.  Cassada — "Granny  Cassie" — 
occupied  a  one-room  house  which  stood  where  the  Rankin  tan 
house  afterwards  stood.  She  baked  and  sold  ginger  cakes, 
and  brewed  cider.  Coming  up  North  Main  street  was  a 
house  built  by  Israel  Baird  in  1839,  now  known  as  the  Brandt 
property.  Israel  Baird  had  lived  two  and  a  half  miles  north 
of  Asheville  at  what  is  now  the  Way  place,  but  about  1838 
he  bought  40  acres,  commencing  at  the  junction  of  North 
Main  street  and  Merrimon  avenue,  running  west  to  the  pres- 
ent auditorium,  thence  to  Starnes  avenue  and  thence  back 
to  North  Main  street.  The  only  other  building  within  this 
area  was  the  wooden  store  and  shoe-shop  opposite  the  old 
Buck  hotel,  now  occupied  by  the  Langren  hotel,  and  the 
barns,  stables,  sheds  and  cribs  of  J.  M.  Smith,  which  cov- 
ered a  large  portion  of  the  lot  lying  between  West  College 
street.  Walnut  and  Water  streets.  From  the  foregoing  it  is 
evident  that  the  artist  Duncanson  did  not  get  all  the  houses 
into  his  oil  painting  of  1850. 

East  and  South  Asheville.  In  these  sections  of  the  town 
the  land  was  owned  by  James  M.  Smith,  J'ames  W.  Patton, 
Montraville  Patton,  Dr.  J.  F.  E.  Hardy,  Mrs.  Morrison  and 
Thomas  L.  Gaston,  principally.  The  old  Buck  Hotel,  a  small 
frame  building  near  it,  what  was  known  as  the  Dunlap  store, 
the  court  house,  the  jail,  the  office  of  the  Highland  Messenger 


COUNTY  HISTORY  149 

on  what  is  now  North  Pack  Square,  east  of  the  Gazette  News 
office,  were  then  tlie  oldest  houses  in  towai.  The  old  jail  stood 
where  the  new  Legal  building  now  stands;  the  court  house 
stood  where  Vance's  monument  stands,  with  the  whipping 
post  and  stocks  innnediately  in  its  rear.  Mrs.  Rose  Morri- 
sons' residence  occupied  the  site  now  covered  by  the  present 
court  house,  while  the  store  of  Montraville  Patton  occupied 
the  corner  now  used  by  the  Holt  Furniture  Company.  Lower 
down  on  South  Main  street  lived  William  Coleman  in  a  brick 
building  in  a  part  of  which  the  post-office  was  kept.  Later  on 
Col.  R.  W.  PuUiam  lived  there  and  Rankin  and  Pulliam  did 
a  large  mercantile  business.  Just  below  this,  embowered  in 
green  vines  and  fragrant  flowers,  was  the  stylish  wooden 
dwelling  occupied  for  years  by  Dr.  J.  F.  E.  Hardy,  and  was 
later  to  fall  into  such  disrepute  as  to  be  called  "Greasy  Cor- 
ner." This,  however,  was  about  1890  after  the  handsome 
old  residence  had  for  years  been  used  as  a  negro  hotel  and 
restaurant.     On  it  now  stands  the  large  Thrash  Building. 

Eagle  Hotel.  Just  below  Eagle  street  stood  and  still 
stands  the  building  then  and  for  years  afterwards  known  far 
and  wide  as  the  Eagle  hotel,  then  owned  by  James  Patton 
and  later  by  his  son  James  W.  Patton.  There  were  a  large 
blacksmith  shop  just  below  this  hotel,  where  Sycamore  street 
now  leaves  South  Main,  and  a  tannery  on  the  branch  back 
of  and  below  this.  Joshua  Roberts  lived  on  the  hill  where 
Mrs.  Buchanan  lived  until  her  recent  death,  and  it  was  the 
last  house  on  that  side  of  the  street. 

Large  Land  Owners.  In  the  angle  formed  by  Patton 
avenue  and  South  Main  street,  according  to  Dr.  Baird,  the 
lands  were  owned  principally  by  James  M.  Smith,  Col.  James 
M.  Alexander,  James  W.  Patton,  and  Samuel  Chunn,  but 
James  B.  Mears  and  Drake  Jarrett  owned  from  T.  C.  Smith's 
drug  store  dowTi  to  and  including  Mears'  Daylight  store.  The 
Methodist  and  Presbyterian  churches  owTied  and  occupied 
the  land  now  used  by  them  for  their  present  places  of  wor- 
ship. Within  this  area  were  eleven  residences,  two  stores, 
two  churches,  two  stables,  one  tanyard  and  one  barn.  At 
the  corporate  line  on  South  Main  street,  at  the  forks  of  the 
road,  lived  Standapher  Rhodes,  and  north  of  him  was  the 
blacksmith  shop  of  Williamson  Warlick  whose  sign  read : 
"Williamson  WarUck  Axes,"   his  axes  being  especially  fine. 


150         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

He  died  and  was  succeeded  there  by  Elias  Triplett.  Two 
hundred  yards  north  was  the  home  of  Rev.  William  Mor- 
rison, a  Presbyterian  minister  and  the  father  of  Mr.  Theo- 
dore S.  Morrison.  J.  M.  Alexander  afterwards  lived  in  this 
house.  Then  came  a  tannery  of  J.  M.  Smith's,  while  David 
Halford  occupied  a  residence  at  the  corner  of  South  Main 
and  Southside  avenue,  known  as  the  Goodlake  curve  because 
of  the  reverse  curve  of  the  street  railway  tracks  at  that  point. 
There  was  a  frame  house  about  halfway  between  the  Hal- 
ford  house  and  Mrs.  M.  E.  Hilliard's  residence.  Mrs.  Hil- 
liard's  home  site  was  formerly  occupied  by  a  large  two-story 
frame  house  which  stood  upon  the  street,  and  was  occupied 
at  one  time  by  Col.  J.  M.  Alexander  before  he  removed  to 
"Alexander's,"  ten  miles  down  the  French  Broad  river.  Then 
John  Osborne  occupied  the  Alexnader  (Hilliard)  house  for  a 
long  time,  to  be  followed  by  Isaac  McDunn,  a  tailor.  It  was 
finally  bought  by  the  late  Dr.  W.  L.  Hilliard,  and  occupied 
as  a  residence.  From  his  house  to  Aston  street  there  was  no 
dwelling,  though  a  large  stable  belonging  to  the  Eagle  hotel 
stood  where  now  stands  the  Swannanoa-Berkeley  Hotel. 

George  Swain.  He  was  born  in  Roxborough,  Mass.,  June 
17,  1763,  and  on  September  1,  1784,  he  left  Providence,  R.  I., 
for  Charleston,  S.  C;  but  as  a  storm  had  required  that  much 
of  the  cargo  be  thrown  over  board,  Swain  arrived  at  Charles- 
ton penniless.  He  walked  to  Augusta,  Ga.,  where  he  lived  a 
year,  and  then  removed  to  Wilkes,  afterwards  Oglethorpe 
county,  where  he  engaged  in  hat-making,  and  was  a  member 
of  the  legislature  of  Georgia  five  years,  and  of  the  Constitu- 
tional convention  held  at  Louisville  about  1795,  in  which  year 
he  moved  to  Buncombe  county  and  settled  in  or  near  Ashe- 
ville,  soon  afterward  marrying  Carolina  Lowrie,  a  sister  of 
Joel  Lane,  founder  of  the  city  of  Raleigh,  and  of  Jesse  Lane, 
father  of  Gen.  Joseph  Lane,  Democratic  candidate  for  Vice- 
President  in  1860.  She  was  the  widow  of  a  man  who  had 
been  killed  by  the  Indians.  In  the  early  part  of  his  residence 
George  Lane  lived  at  the  head  of  Beaverdam  creek,  where  the 
late  Rev.  Thomas  Stradley  afterwards  resided  and  died,  and 
where,  on  January  4,  1801,  David  Lowrie  Swain,  afterwards 
judge,  governor  and  president  of  the  University,  was  born. 
Here  the  future  statesman  saw  the  first  wagon  ever  in 
Buncombe  brought   up  the  washed  out  bed   of  Beaverdam 


COUNTY  HISTORY  151 

creek  in  default  of  a  road.  At  this  sight,  "he  incontinently 
took  to  his  heels  and  rallied  only  when  safely  entrenched 
behind  his  father's  house,  a  log  double  cabin."  "About  1805 
a  post-route  was  established  on  the  recently  constructed  road 
through  Buncombe  county.  ...  In  1806,  the  post- 
office  at  Asheville  was  made  the  distributing  office  for  Georgia, 
Tennessee  and  the  two  Carolinas,  and  George  Swain  became 
postmaster,"  the  commission  issuing  in  1807.  He  was  a  rul- 
ing elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  He  u-sed  to  say  his 
father  was  a  Presbyterian  and  an  Arminian,  and  his  mother 
was  a  Methodist  and  a  Calvinist.  He  was  a  trustee  of  the 
Newton  academy.  He  afterwards  carried  on  the  hatter's  bus- 
iness in  the  house  now  called  the  Bacchus  J.  Smith  place  in 
Grove  Park,  where  his  son-in-law,  William  Coleman,  succeeded 
him  as  a  hatter.  For  some  time  before  his  death  he  was 
insane.     He  died  December  24,  1829. 

Samuel  Chunn.  In  1806  he  was  chairman  of  the  Bun- 
combe county  court,  having  been  a  tanner  for  years,  his  tan- 
yard  being  where  Merrimon  avenue  crosses  Glenn's  creek.  In 
1807  he  w^as  jailer,  and  from  him  Churm's  Cove  took  its  name. 
He  died  in  1855,  on  the  bank  of  the  French  Broad  in  Madison 
county  at  what  is  known  as  the  Chunn  place,  where  he  had 
resided  in  his  old  age. 

William  Welch.  He  was  at  one  time  a  member  of  the 
Buncombe  county  court,  and  in  January,  1805,  was  coroner. 
He  was  interested  in  lands  on  what  are  now  Haywood  and 
Depot  streets.  He  afterwards  removed  to  Waynesville  and 
married  Mary  Ann,  a  daughter  of  Robert  Love.  In  1829  he 
was  a  senator  from  Haywood  county,  a  member  of  the  con- 
stitutional convention  of  1835  and  for  many  years  clerk  of 
the  court.  He  wsls  born  April  8,  1796,  and  died  February  6, 
1865. 

Colonel  William  Davidson.  He  was  a  son  of  John  Da- 
vidson and  first  cousin  of  Gen.  Wm.  Davidson,  who  succeeded 
Griffith  Rutherford  in  the  generalship  when  the  latter  was 
captured  at  Camden.  Gen.  Davidson  was  killed  February  1, 
1781,  at  Cowan's  ford  of  Catawba  river.  Col.  Davidson  was  a 
brother  of  the  Samuel  Davidson  who  was  killed  by  the  Indians 
in  1781-2  at  the  head  of  the  Swannanoa  river,  and  was  the 
first  representative  of  Buncombe  county  in  the  State  Senate, 
taking  a  prominent  part  in  the  preparations  made  by  the 


152         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

North  Carolinians  for  the  Battle  of  Kings  Mountain.  He  was 
the  father  of  William  Mitchell  Davidson  of  Haywood  county, 
whose  son,  Col.  Allen  T.  Davidson,  was  a  prominent  lawyer 
and  represented  this  section  in  the  Confederate  Congress. 

William  Mitchell  Davidson.  He  was  born  January  2, 
1780,  and  died  at  Rock  Island  Ferry,  on  the  Brazos  river, 
Washington  county,  Texas,  May  31,  1846,  and  was  buried 
in  the  Horse  Shoe  Bend  of  that  stream  in  the  private  burying 
ground  of  Amos  Gates.  On  January  10,  1804,  he  married 
Ehzabeth  Vance  (who  was  born  on  Reem's  creek.  Buncombe 
county.  North  Carolina,  March  23,  1787),  the  ceremony  being 
performed  by  the  Rev.  Geo.  Ne^^on.  She  died  at  the  home  of 
her  son,  Col.  Allen  Turner  Davidson,  on  Valley  river,  Cher- 
okee county,  April  15,  1861.  They  settled  on  a  beautiful 
farm  on  Jonathan's  creek,  in  Haywood  county,  where  they 
remained  until  October  24,  1844,  when  the  family  went  to 
Santa  Anna,  III.,  where  they  remained  until  the  first  of  March, 
1845,  when  they  again  set  out  for  Texas.  They  settled  on 
Wilson's  creek  of  Collin  county  in  April.  From  there  they 
moved  to  Rock  Island  Ferry,  where  Mr.  Davidson  died.  The 
family  then  returned  to  North  Carolina — April,  1847.  One 
cause  of  his  removal  to  Texas  was  an  unfortunate  mercantile 
venture  which  he  had  made  with  his  sons,  W.  E.,  H.  H.,  an 
A.  T.,  at  Waynesville,  in  1842.  The  story  of  the  adventures 
of  this  family  to  and  from  Texas  at  that  early  day,  as  preserved 
in  a  manuscript  written  by  John  M.  Davidson,  one  of  W.  M. 
Davidson's  sons,  reads  more  like  a  romance  than  a  sober 
recital  of  real  facts.     (See  Appendix.) 

Isaac  B.  Sawyer.  Was  born  on  Tuskeegee  creek  in  Macon, 
now  Swain,  county  in  1810.  James  W.  Patton,  John  Burgin 
and  'Squire  Sawyer  were,  for  years,  the  three  magistrates 
composing  the  Buncombe  county  court.  He  was  the  first 
mayor  of  Asheville  and  was  clerk  and  master  for  many  years 
before  the  Civil  War  and  until  the  adoption  of  the  Code. 
He  was  the  father  of  Captain  James  P.  Sawyer,  who  for  years 
was  the  president  of  the  Battery  Park  bank,  a  successful 
merchant  and  a  public  spirited  and  enterprising  citizen. 
Isaac  B.  Sawyer  died  in  1880. 

James  Mitchell  Alexander.  He  was  born  on  Bee  Tree 
creek.  Buncombe  county.  May  22,  1793.  His  grandfather, 
John  Alexander,  of  Scotch-Irish  descent,  was  a  native  of  Rowan 


COUNTY  HISTORY  153 

county,  whoro  lie  married  Huchel  Daviilson,  a  sister  of  Wil- 
liam ami  Samuel  Davidson,  and  resitled  in  Lincoln  county, 
during  the  Revolutionary  war.  They  were  afterwards  among 
the  first  settlers  of  Bvmcombe,  but  moved  to  Harper's  river, 
Tenn.  His  son,  James  Alexander  was  born  in  Rowan,  Decem- 
ber 23,  175().  He  fought  on  the  American  side  at  Kings 
Mountain,  and  Cornwallis's  camp  chest,  captured  by  him,  was 
in  Buncombe  in  1898  when  "Asheville's  Centenary"  was  writ- 
ten by  F,  A.  Sondley,  Esq.  March  19,  1782,  he  married  in 
York  district,  South  Carolina,  Miss  Rhoda  Cunningham, 
who  had  been  born  in  Pennsylvania,  October  13,  1763.  They 
then  moved  to  Buncombe  with  their  father  and  uncle  and 
settled  on  Bee  Tree,  where  he  died  in  the  Presbyterian  faith. 
James  Mitchell  Alexander  was  their  son,  and  on  September 
8,  1814,  he  married  Nancy  Foster,  oldest  child  of  Thomas 
Foster,  who  was  born  November  17,  1797.  In  1816  he  removed 
to  Asheville  and  bought  and  improved  the  Hilliard  property 
on  South  Main  street.  He  was  a  saddler,  and  at  this  house 
he  lived  till  1828,  carrying  on  his  trade  and  keeping  hotel. 
In  1828,  upon  the  completion  of  the  Buncombe  turnpike,  he 
bought  and  improved  the  place  on  the  right  l)ank  of  the  French 
Broad,  ten  miles  from  Asheville,  afterwards  famous  as  Alex- 
ander's hotel,  also  carrying  on  a  mercantile  business  there. 
In  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  turned  over  this  business  to  his 
son,  the  late  Alfred  M.  Alexander,  and  one  of  his  sons-in-law, 
the  late  Rev.  J.  S.  Burnett,  and  improved  the  place  three 
miles  nearer  Asheville  called  Montrealla,  where  he  died  June 
11,  1858.     His  wife  died  January  14,  1862. 

Andrew  Erwin.  He  is  the  man  to  whom  Bishop  Asbury 
referred  as  "chief  man."  He  was  born  in  Virginia  about  1773 
and  died  near  the  War  Trace  in  Bedford  county,  Tenn.,  in 
1833.  When  seventeen  years  old  he  entered  the  employment 
of  the  late  James  Patton,  afterwards  becoming  his  partner  as 
inn-keeper  and  merchant  at  Wilkesborough.  In  1800-01 
he  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons  from  Wilkes. 
He  was  Asheville's  first  postmaster.  In  1814  he  moved  to 
Augusta,  Ga. 

Thomas  Foster.  He  was  born  in  Virginia  October  14, 
1774.  In  1776  his  father,  William  Foster  came  with  his 
family  and  settled  midway  between  the  road  leading  to  the 
Swannanoa  river  by  way  of  Fernihurst  from  Asheville.     He 


154         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

married  Miss  Orra  Sams,  whose  father,  Edmund  Sams,  was 
one  of  the  settlers  from  Watauga.  After  his  marriage  Thomas 
Foster  settled  on  the  bank  of  Sweeten's  creek,  afterwards 
called  Foster's  Mill  creek,  the  first  which  enters  Swannanoa 
from  the  south  above  the  present  iron  bridge  on  the  Hender- 
sonville  road.  He  was  a  member  of  the  House  of  Commons 
from  Buncombe  from  1809  to  1814,  both  inclusive,  and  repre- 
sented that  county  in  the  State  senate  in  1817  and  1819. 
He  died  December  24  (incorrectly  on  tombstone  December 
14),  1858.  He  was  a  farmer  and  accumulated  a  considerable 
property.  A  large  family  of  children  survived  him.  His 
wife  died  August  27,  1853.  He  is  mentioned  in  Wheeler's 
History  of  North  Carolina,  Bennett's  Chronology  of  North 
Carolina  and  Bishop  Asbury's  journal. 

Weaverville,  Buncombe  County.  The  greater  part  of 
the  early  settlers  of  this  country  was  made  up  of  men  and  wom- 
en seeking  rehgious  liberty.  This  motive  no  less  prompted 
the  immigrants  from  Northern  Europe  than  the  great  body  of 
Scotch-Irish  that  emigrated  to  this  country  from  Scotland 
and  Ireland.  In  Pennsylvania  and  do'^Ti  through  the  valley 
of  the  Shenandoah  we  find  the  Dutch  of  Holland  and  the 
Scotch-Irish,  living  side  by  side  dominated  by  a  single  purpose. 

One  of  the  pioneers  in  Buncombe  county  came  from  the 
valley  of  Virginia  from  this  large  Dutch  settlement  into  what 
is  now  Buncombe  county,  and  was  the  ancester  of  the  large 
family  of  Weavers  now  living  in  that  section. 

Previous  to  1790  John  Weaver  and  wife,  Elizabeth,  with 
their  infant  son  (Jacob),  came  from  Virginia  via  the  Watauga 
in  Tennessee,  crossing  the  Ball  mountain  in  what  is  now  Yan- 
cey county,  and  settled  on  Reems  creek,  near  the  present 
town  of  Weaverville.  From  the  first  census  of  the  United 
States  1790  (see  page  110)  it  appears  that  John  Weaver  was 
a  resident  of  Burke  county,  which  then  included  what  is  now 
Buncombe  county.  His  family  then  consisted  of  wife,  tw^o 
daughters  and  one  son  under  sixteen  years  of  age.  From  this 
it  is  evident  that  he  reached  North  Carolina  sometime  between 
1786  and  1790.  In  the  office  of  Register  of  Deeds  for  Bun- 
combe county,  in  Book  No.  1  at  page  100,  is  recorded  a  deed 
from  John  McDowell  of  Burke  county,  conveying  to  John 
Weaver  of  Buncombe  county  320  acres  of  land;  consideration 
100  pounds;  description,  "On  both  sides  of  Reems  creek  and 


COUNTY  HISTORY  155 


on  both  sides  of  the  path  leading  from  (Jreen  river  to  Nola- 
chuckee."  This  is  interesting  inasmuch  as  it  seems  to  locate 
the  old  Indian  trail  from  the  east  to  the  lands  west  of  Unakas. 
There  is  little  doubt  that  this  young  pioneer  brought  his 
young  wife  and  infant  son  from  the  Watauga  over  this  trail 
in  quest  of  a  permanent  home. 

John  Weaver  was  born  December,  17G3,  and  died  December, 
1830.     In  his  will,  probated  April  Session,   1831,  was  found 
the   following  names:  wife,    Elizabeth;  daughters,   Susannah, 
Christiana,   Mary,   Elizabeth,   Matilda  and   Catherine;  sons| 
Jacob,  James,  John  (better  known  as  Jack),  Christopher  G., 
and  Michael  Montreville.     From  this  family  of  six  daughters 
and  five  sons  sprang  the  largest  number  of  descendants,  or  most 
numerous   group   of   related    families   in    Buncombe    county, 
springing   from    one    ancestor.     Some   of   the   oldest   related 
families  living  in  Buncombe  county  have  their  origin  in  more 
than  one  ancestor;  for  instance,  the  Baird  family  sprang  from 
two   brothers,   Zebulon   and   Bedent;   the   Alexander   family, 
from  James  Alexander,   followed  by  a  brother,   nephew  and 
other  kinsmen;  the  Davidson  family,  from  Samuel  and  Wil- 
liam.    These  last  named  pioneers  entered  Buncombe  county 
from  the  east  through   the   Swannanoa  gap.     John  Weaver, 
as  stated  above,  came  from  Virginia  and  entered  this  county 
from  the  northern  section  and  what  is  now  Yancey  county. 
His  oldest  son,  Jacob,  married  Elizabeth  Siler  of  Macon  county. 
From  this  union  were  born  four  sons  and  three  daughters, 
John  S.,  Jesse  R.,  William  W.,  and  James  Thomas,  Elizabeth^ 
Saphronia  and  Mary.     All  these  children  of  Jacob  Weaver 
married  and  became  the  heads  of  families  living  in  Buncombe 
county.     Their  descendants  constitute  the  large  majority  of 
Weavers   and   Weaver  relations  now   living  in  this   county. 
John  S.  Weaver  first  married  Mary  Miller  of  Bolivar,  Ten- 
nessee; she  died  in  1867  and  his  second  wife  was  Mary  Mc- 
Dowell of  Macon  county,  daughter  of  Silas  McDowell.     Jesse 
R.   Weaver  married  Julia  Coulter  of  Greenville,  Tennessee. 
William  Weimer  Weaver  married  Evalin  Smith  of  Buncombe 
county,  daugiiter  of  Samuel  Smith.     James  Thomas  Weaver 
married   Hester  Ann   Trotter  of  Macon   county.     Elizabeth 
Weaver  married   Burdie   Gash.     Saphronia   Weaver   married 
Jamison  McElroy.     Mary  Weaver  married  Robert  V.  Black- 


156         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

stock.  Nearly  all  of  the  living  descendants  of  these  families 
now  live  in  Buncombe  county,  except  the  McElroy  family, 
which  moved  to  Arkansas  shortly  after  the  Civil  War. 

The  next  child  of  the  pioneer,  John  Weaver,  was  Susannah, 
who  married  a  Mr.  McCarson;  from  these  are  descendants 
living  in  this  and  adjacent  counties. 

The  second  daughter,  Christiana,  married  Samuel  Vance, 
uncle  of  Z.  B.  Vance,  who  later  moved  to  Bedford  county, 
Tennessee.  The  third  daughter,  Mary,  married  Henry 
Addington  of  Macon  county,  where  many  descendants  from 
this  union  still  live.  The  fourth  daughter,  Catherine,  mar- 
ried Andrew  Pickens  from  South  Carolina,  who  settled  in 
Buncombe  county.  Rev.  R.  V.  Pickens,  Tarpley  Pickens, 
Christly  Pickens,  Mrs.  Eliza  Gill,  and  Mrs.  Martha  Carter, 
who  became  the  heads  of  large  families  in  this  county,  were 
sons  and  daughters  of  Andrew  and  Catherine  Pickens.  The 
fifth  daughter,  Elizabeth,  married  Robert  Patton  Wells. 
From  this  union  were  many  sons  and  daughters,  some  of 
whom,  known  to  the  writer  and  living  in  Buncombe  county,  were 
Robert  C.  Wells,  W.  F.  Wells,  Saphronia,  who  married  Capt. 
R.  P.  Moore,  Jane,  who  married  Dr.  Micheaux,  and  Matilda,  who 
married  Mathias  Faubion  of  Tennessee.  The  sixth  daughter 
of  John  Weaver,  Matilda,  married  Jefferson  H.  Garrison. 
From  this  union  were  born  sons  and  daughters  in  this  and 
adjacent  counties.  Two  sons,  William  and  John,  were  gal- 
lant soldiers  in  the  Civil  War. 

Referring  to  the  sons  of  John  Weaver,  other  than  Jacob, 
who  has  already  been  referred  to,  James  first  married  a  Miss 
Barnard.  Their  daughter,  Christiana,  married  William  R. 
Baird,  and  these  were  the  parents  of  Capt.  I.  V.  Baird,  Wil- 
liam Baird,  Zebulon  Baird,  Dr.  Elisha  Baird,  John  R.  Baird, 
Misses  Mollie  and  Catherine  Baird,  all  now  living  in  Bun- 
combe county,  except  Dr.  Elisha  and  John  R.  Baird,  who 
died  within  the  last  ten  years.  James  Weaver's  second  mar- 
riage was  to  Mrs.  Gilliland.  Children  were  born  to  James 
Weaver  by  both  of  these  unions,  but  they  moved  in  early  life 
to  Tennessee  and  Missouri. 

James  Weaver  first  represented  Buncombe  county  in  the  low- 
er house  of  the  legislature  in  1825,  serving  with  David  L.  Swain. 
He  was  subsequently  re-elected  to  this  office  in  1830,  1832, 
1833  and  1834,  serving  with  William  Orr,  John  Clayton  and 


COUNTY  HISTORY  157 


Joseph  Henry  resepectivcly.  l.utcr  he  moved  to  Cocke 
county,  Tennessee,  died  July  28,  1854,  and  was  buried  on  the 
old  homestead,  at  the  place  known  as  Weaver  Bend,  just  Ix'low 
Paint  Rock.  Subsequently,  one  of  his  daughters  removed 
his  remains  and  re-interred  them  at  Knoxville,  Tenn.  Over- 
looking this  grave,  and  on  the  very  apex  of  a  high,  steep  moun- 
tain, at  Weaver  Bend,  is  a  small  white  cross  set  in  a  rock, 
by  whose  hands  no  one  knows.  It  can  be  seen  from  the  car 
window  as  the  train  moves  through  the  river  gorge  500  feet 
below.  It  is  a  tradition  that  some  Jesuits  placed  a  few  of 
these  crosses  on  conspicuous  promontories  through  the  Smoky 
mountains  long  before  any  of  the  settlements  had  been  made 
by  white  men.  However,  this  may  be,  this  little  emblem 
has  rested  on  this  western  "Horeb"  for  possibly  two  cen- 
turies, looking  out  and  towards  the  rolling  rivers  and  alluvial 
valleys  of  East  Tennessee,  which  to  the  early  settlers  was  a 
real  land  of  promise  flowing  with  milk  and  honey. 

John,  or  Jack,  Weaver  married  and  lived  on  the  French 
Broad  river  just  above  the  mouth  of  Reems  creek.  Some  of 
his  descendants  are  still  living  in  this  county;  of  those  who 
moved  elsewhere  little  is  now  known. 

Chri-stopher  G.  Weaver  married  a  Miss  Lowry  and  lived 
on  Flat  creek  three  miles  north  of  Weaverville.  He  died  in 
early  life  and  has  no  descendants  now  living  in  Buncombe 
county. 

Montreville  Michael  Weaver  was  the  youngest  son  of  John 
Weaver.  He  was  born  August  10,  1808,  married  Jane  Baird. 
To  this  union  was  born  four  sons  and  five  daughters.  The  sons 
were  Fulton,  who  died  unmarried,  and  Capt.  W.  E.  Weaver,  who 
married  Miss  Hannah  Baird  and  is  now  living  at  Weaverville, 
N.  C.  The  third  son,  John,  married  Miss  Garrison,  neither 
of  whom  is  now  living.  Dr.  Henry  Bascomb  Weaver  mar- 
ried Miss  Hattie  Penland,  daughter  of  Robert  Penland  of 
Mitchell  county,  N.  C.  Dr.  Weaver  is  now  living  in  Ashe- 
ville,  a  practicing  physician  who  possesses  the  confidence 
and  esteem  of  those  who  know  him.  The  daughters  of  Mon- 
treville Weaver:  Mary  Ann,  married  Dr.  J.  A.  Reagan; 
Martha,  married  Dr.  J.  W.  \'andiver;  Margarette,  married 
Capt.  Wylie  Parker;  Catherine,  married  Dr.  I.  A.  Harris; 
Ehza,  married  D.  H.  Reagan;  all  of  whom  have  many  descend- 
ants living  in  Buncombe  county.     Montreville   Weaver,   the 


158         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

last  surviving  child  of  the  family  of  John  Weaver,  died  in 
September,  1882. 

Among  these  people  are  many  strong  men  and  women  who 
have  left  their  impress  upon  the  communities  in  which  they 
lived  and  have  largely  contributed  to  the  upbuilding  of  the 
country.  John  Weaver  the  First  left  the  information  with 
his  children  that  his  father  was  a  Holland  gentleman.  Other 
information  obtainable  indicates  that  his  father  came  from 
Holland  to  Pennsylvania,  and  in  company  with  other  brothers 
and  kinsmen  of  the  same  name  settled  near  Lancaster,  Penn- 
sylvania, later  migrating  across  Maryland  into  the  valley  of 
the  Shenandoah  in  Virginia.  The  name  of  Weaver  appears 
frequently  in  the  public  records  about  Lancaster,  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  in  Virginia.  From  the  report  of  Mr.  H.  J.  Ecke- 
rode,  the  Archivist  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  it  appears  that 
there  were  two  men  by  the  name  of  John  Weaver  in  the  Re- 
olutionary  War  from  Virginia.  One  of  these  men  was  from 
Augusta  county.  In  the  same  report  also  appear  the  fol- 
lowing Weavers  :  Aaron  Weaver,  Princess  Ann  county,  Till- 
man Weaver,  Captain  of  Fauquier  Militia.  From  the  Penn- 
sylvania Archives,  Third  Series,  Vol.  23,  appear  the  names 
of  Captain  Martin  Weaver  and  Captain  Jacob  Weaver  of 
Fifth  and  Seventh  Companies  of  the  Tenth  Pennsylvania 
Regiment  (see  pages  314  and  383),  The  commissions  of 
these  men  bear  date  July  1,  1777,  and  January  13,  1777, 
respectively.  Other  Weavers  who  figured  in  the  Revolution- 
ary history  of  Pennsylvania  are  George,  Dolshen,  Daltzer, 
Daniel,  Henry,  Adam,  Jacob  and  Joshua.  In  fact  this  name 
appears  in  some  muster  roll  of  United  States  forces  in  every 
conflict  in  which  the  country  has  been  engaged,  beginning 
with  the  subjugation  of  the  savage  tribes,  through  all  the 
wars  with  England  and  down  to  the  Spanish-American  war 
of  recent  date. 

It  is  easy  to  believe  that  these  Dutch  people  found  con- 
genial friends  and  neighbors  in  the  Scotch-Irish  people  that 
were  thro^m  together  in  the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah.  They 
were  all  dominated  by  a  single  purpose,  to  hew  out  for  them- 
selves and  their  posterity  a  civil  and  ecclesiastic  system,  free 
from  the  domination  of  king  or  pope.  There  is  no  doubt  but 
that  the  ancestors  of  these  Dutch  people  were  the  loyal  sup- 
porters  of  Wilham,   Duke   of  Nassau,    called   "WilUam   the 


COUNTY  HISTORY  159 


Silent' '  who  broke  the  power  of  CathoHe  Spain  over  the  Neth- 
erUuuIs  in  his  defeat  of  PhiUp  the  Second  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  Sixteenth  Century. 

Ashe  County.  The  act  to  establish  the  county  of  Ashe  is 
one  of  the  shortest  on  record.  It  was  passed  in  1799  (Laws 
of  N.  C,  p.  98)  and  provides  that  "all  that  part  of  the  county 
of  Wilkes  lying;  west  of  the  extreme  height  of  the  Appalacliian 
mountains  shall  be,  and  the  same  is  hereby  erected  into  a 
separate  and  distinct  county  by  the  name  of  Ashe,"  followed 
later  by  an  act  to  establish  permanently  the  dividing  line 
between  Ashe  and  Buncombe  counties,  the  same  to  begin  at 
"the  Yadkin  spring,  and  thence  along  the  extreme  height  of 
the  Blue  ridge  to  the  head  spring  of  Flat  Top  fork  of  Elk 
creek,  thence  do\\Ti  the  meanders  of  said  creek  to  the  Ten- 
nessee line." 

The  first  record  of  the  county  court  of  Ashe  is  at  the  May 
term,  1806,  with  Alexander  Smith,  John  McBride  and  Charles 
Tolliver,  esquires,  present.  The  following  were  the  jurors  : 
Sidniah  Maxwell,  foreman,  James  Sturgill,  Allen  Woodruff, 
Samuel  Griffith,  Seth  Osborn,  George  Koons,  John  Green, 
James  Dickson,  Levi  Pennington,  Benjamin  Hubbard,  Charles 
Kelly,  James  Murphy,  Wm.  Harris,  Alex.  Lethern,  Sciras 
Fairchilds.  Edward  King  was  appointed  constable  to  attend 
the  grand  jury.  Elisha  Collins  was  excused  from  road  duty 
"by  reason  of  infirmity."  At  the  February  Term,  1807, 
James  Cash  recorded  his  "mark"  for  stock,  being  a  crop  and 
sHt  and  under  keel  on  the  right  ear;  and  Elijah  Calloway 
and  Mathias  Harmon  were  qualified  as  justices  of  the  peace. 
The  jury  appointed  to  "view  the  road  from  Daniel  Harper's 
into  the  Elk  spur  road"  made  report  that  it  "was  no  road." 

From  the  Old  Court  Records.  If  there  was  a  term  of 
the  Superior  Court  held  in  Ashe  county  prior  to  the  March 
term,  1807,  there  is  no  record  of  it.  On  the  9th  day  of  March 
of  that  year,  however,  Francis  Locke  presided  as  judge,  and 
appointed  John  McMillan  clerk,  with  bond  of  £2,000.  Thomas 
McGimsey  was  appointed  clerk  and  master,  but  resigned  at 
the  September  Term,  1807.  The  grand  jurors  were  Nathan 
Horton,  foreman,  James  Bunyard,  David  Earnest,  John  Brown, 
Eli  Cleveland,  Joseph  Couch,  John  Koons,  Jonathan  Baker, 
Elijah  Pope,  Jesse  Ray,  Samuel  C.  Cox,  John  Holman,  Joshua 
Cox,    Elijah    Calloway,    John    Judd,    Alex.    Johnson,    Morris 


160         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Baker,  Wm.  Weaver.  Henry  Hardin,  constable,  was  sworn  to 
attend  the  jury.  Only  two  cases  were  tried,  the  first  of  which 
was  John  Cox  v.  Isaac  H.  Rohinett  and  Nathan  Gordon, 
debt,  judgment  for  £596,  14-6d  and  costs.  At  the  Septem- 
ber term,  1807,  Judge  Spruce  McCay  presided  and  fined  the 
delinquent  jurors  £10  each,  but  afterAvards  released  them. 
Six  cases  were  tried.  Judge  Francis  Locke  returned  for  the 
Spring  Term,  1808,  and  Judge  Samuel  Lowrie  followed  him 
at  the  Fall  term.  At  the  September  term,  1810,  on  motion 
of  Robert  H.  Burton,  who  was  to  become  judge  and  preside 
at  a  future  term,  Samuel  Cox,  sheriff,  was  amerced,  ?im,  for 
not  returning  execution  in  the  case  of  Robert  Nail  v.  Jno. 
Burton  and  others.  At  the  March  term,  1811,  Peter  Hart 
was  committed  to  jail  for  24  hours  and  fined  40  shillings  for 
making  a  noise  and  contempt  of  court,  and  Gideon  Lewis  and 
John  Northern  were  fined  20  shillings  each  for  not  answering 
when  their  names  were  called.  Judge  Henderson  presided  at 
the  March  term,  1812,  when  John  A.  Johnson  resigned  his 
appointment  as  clerk  and  master.  John  Hall  presided  at  the 
September  term,  while  at  the  March  term,  1813,  the  jury 
acquitted  Wm.  Pennington  of  rape.  At  this  term  Waugh 
&  Findlay  recovered  judgment  for  $55.063>2  against  Elizabeth 
Humphries,  but  judgment  was  arrested  and  a  new  trial  or- 
dered. Duncan  Cameron  presided  at  the  March  term,  1814, 
while  at  the  September  term,  1815,  the  jury  found  that  Wm. 
Lambeth,  indicted  for  malicious  mischief  (Betty  Young  pros- 
scutrix)  had  taken  "a  mare  from  his  cornfield  to  a  secret 
place  and  stabbed  her  to  prevent  a  repetition  of  injuring  his 
crop,  but  were  unable  to  say  whether  he  was  guilty  or  not 
and  the  judge,  Hon.  Leonard  Henderson,  ordered  that  a  tran- 
script of  the  bill  of  indictment  and  verdict  be  sent  to  the 
Conference  court.  At  the  September  term,  1817,  Judge  Low- 
ery  did  not  get  to  court  on  Monday,  but  arrived  the  follow- 
ing Tuesday,  and  ordered  Thomas  Calloway,  county  surveyor, 
to  survey  the  land  in  dispute  between  Thomas  McGimsey 
and  Elisha  Blevins.  There  is  a  grant  to  Gideon  Lewis  to  200 
acres  on  Spring  branch,  entered  September  16,  1802,  of  date 
November  27,  1806,  and  a  grant  to  Reuben  Farthing  for  200 
acres  on  Beaver  Dams,  entered  July  4,  1829,  of  date  Decem- 
ber 5,  1831.  Benjamin  Cutbirth  conveyed  100  acres  on  South 
Fork  of  New  river  to  Andrew  Ferguson,   the  execution  of 


COUNTY  HISTORY  161 

which  cKh'cI  was  proven  by  the  oath  of  Joseph  Couch  at  the 
May  term,  1800,  of  the  county  court. 

Second  Jail  West  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  The  first  jail 
stood  behind  what  is  now  the  Jeft'erson  Barj^ain  store,  con- 
ducted by  Dr.  J,  C.  Testerman,  from  which  some  of  the  logs 
were  removed  to  and  made  into  the  old  stable  in  east  Jefferson, 
where  they  are  still  visible.  The  next  jail  was  of  brick  and 
stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  jail  on  Helton  road,  and  was 
built,  probably,  about  1833.  It  was  burned  in  the  spring  of 
1805  by  men  in  the  uniform  of  the  United  States  army.  A  pris- 
oner set  the  jail  on  fire  about  1887  and  Felix  Barr  repaired  it. 

Jefferson.  A  tract  of  fifty  acres  was  deeded  to  Ashe 
county  on  which  the  town  of  Jefferson  was  built  early  in  the 
18th  century;  but  the  records  of  the  grantor  and  grantee  are 
lost.  A  map  in  the  possession  of  G.  L.  Park,  Esq.,  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  made  about  1800.  It  was  made  by  J. 
Harper  and  shows  the  location  of  all  lots,  the  court  house  and 
the  crossing  of  the  Helton  road.  The  first  court  house  was 
of  logs  and  stood  at  the  intersection  of  this  road  and  the  road 
running  east  and  west,  and  now  known  as  Main  street.  The 
next  court  house  was  of  brick,  and  stood  flush  with  Main 
street,  in  front  of  the  present  structure,  and  was  built  about 
1832  or  1833,  according  to  statement  of  Edmund  C.  Bartlett 
to  Felix  Barr,  who  also  remembers  seeing  the  date  on  a  tin 
gutter,  the  tin  w^ork  having  been  done  by  Lyle  &  Wilcox  of 
Grayson  county,  Va.  The  present  court  house  was  built 
in  1904,  the  old  road  for  Helton  still  going  by  it,  but  passing 
on  both  sides  now,  in  narrow  alleys  or  lanes,  but  coming  to- 
gether again  before  crossing  the  gap  of  the  Phoenix  mountain, 
nearly  two  miles  to  the  north.  There  is  a  conflict  of  opinion 
as  to  where  the  first  court  was  held,  some  claiming  that  it  was 
in  an  old  log  church  in  the  meadow  immediately  in  front  of 
the  present  court  house  and  known  as  the  McEwen  meadow, 
and  others  that  it  was  held  in  an  old  Baptist  church  half  a 
mile  from  Jefferson  on  the  Beaver  creek  road,  near  which  a 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smithdeal  kept  a  tavern  and  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  road.  The  three  rows  of  black-heart  cherry  trees  on 
the  main  street  give  not  only  shade  but  an  air  of  distinction 
not  noticeable  in  newer  towns,  while  the  colonial  style  of 
several  of  the  houses  indicates  a  degree  of  refinement  among 
the  earlier  inhabitants  sadly  missing  from  many  places  of  equal 
w.  N.C. — u 


162         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

antiquity.  Like  Charleston,  S.  C,  Jefferson  has  the  air  of 
having  been  finished  years  ago;  but  as  the  Methodist  Conference 
has  appropriated  S20,000  and  the  citizens  of  Ashe  $10,000 
to  build  a  school  and  college,  and  Mrs.  Eula  J.  Neal,  widow 
of  the  late  J.  Z.  Neal  has  conveyed  eight  or  ten  acres  of  choice 
land  for  that  purpose,  and  as  a  railroad  from  Virginia  is  ex- 
pected soon,  Jefferson  is  looking  to  the  future  with  pride  in 
her  past  and  a  determination  to  achieve  greater  and  greater 
results.  Before  the  coming  of  railroads  Asheville  was  no 
larger  than  Jefferson  is  now,  nor  had  it  any  greater  evidences 
of  culture  and  education  than  is  here  indicated  by  the  citi- 
zenship of  Jefferson.  The  large  numbers  of  negroes  in  and 
around  Jefferson  indicate  that  the  former  residents  were  men 
of  wealth  and  leisure.  In  1901,  the  legislature  incorporated 
the  Wilkesboro  and  Jefferson  Turnpike  company^,  and  five 
years  later  a  finely  graded  road  was  completed  between  those 
two  places.  By  the  terms  of  this  act  the  State  furnished 
the  convicts  while  the  stockholders  furnished  the  provisions 
and  paid  the  expenses.  This  road  has  been  of  greater  help 
to  North  Wilkesboro  than  to  Jefferson;  but  if  the  town  of  Jef- 
ferson and  the  county  of  Ashe  would  secure  trackage  rights 
over  the  narrow  gauge  road  now  operated  for  lumber  exclu- 
sively between  Laurel  Bloomery,  Tenn.,  and  Hemlock,  N.  C, 
and  then  secure  convicts  to  complete  the  line  to  Jefferson,  under 
the  same  terms  as  were  granted  for  the  building  of  the  turn- 
pike, and  operate  it  by  electricity,  it  need  not  wait  for  the 
pleasure  of  lumber  companies  to  construct  a  standard  gauge 
road  at  their  convenience 

Old  Buildings.  The  building  now  known  as  Jefferson 
Inn  was  built  in  two  parts  by  the  late  George  Bower.  The 
part  used  by  the  Bank  of  Ashe  was  built  first,  but  the  date  can- 
not be  determined  definitely,  and  the  eastern  part  some  years 
later.  The  frame  building  next  to  the  east  was  George  Bow- 
er's store,  in  which  the  postoffice  was  kept,  and  holes  in  the 
partitions  are  still  visible  which  had  been  used  for  posting 
letters.  James  Gentry  was  killed  one  snowy  Christmas 
night  about  the  year  1876,  in  front  of  this  building  while 
Mont.  Hardin  was  keeping  hotel.  Douglas  Dixon  was  tried 
for  the  murder,  but  was  acquitted.  It  was  in  this  building 
also  that  Judge  Robert  R.  Heath,  sick  and  delirious,  inflicted 
a  wound  upon  himself  from  which  he  afterwards  died  (May 


COUNTY  HISTORY  163 

26,  1871).  The  hand-forgod  hinp;os  and  window  fastenings 
indicate  that  tlie  building  is  old. 

Waugh  and  Bautliott  Houses.  But  what  is  still  known 
as  the  Bartlett  liouse,  east  of  the  present  postoffice,  is  prob- 
ably the  oldest  house  in  town.  It  was  occupied  by  Sheriff 
E.  C.  Bartlett,  grandfather  of  the  Professors  Dougherty  of 
Boone.  Another  old  building  is  that  still  known  as  the  Waugh 
house,  notwithstanding  its  modern  appearance.  It  is  now 
a  part  of  the  ]\Iasonic  building,  apparently,  but  its  main 
body,  like  the  Bartlett  house,  is  of  logs.  In  it  Waugh,  Poe 
and  Murchison  sold  goods  in  the  first  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  Certain  it  is  that  to  this  firm  there  were  grants 
and  deeds  to  land  at  a  very  early  date,  and  the  first  map  of 
Jeft'erson  was  made  by  J.  Harper  for  Wm.  P.  Waugh,  the 
senior  member  of  this  firm;  Mathias  Poe,  the  third  member 
is  said  to  have  lived  in  Tennessee;  but  Col.  Murchison  for 
years  occupied  the  large  old  residence  which  still  stands  on 
the  hill  at  the  eastern  end  of  town. 

Early  Residents  of  Jefferson,  Ashe  County.  Nathan 
H.  Waugh  moved  to  Jefferson  from  Monroe  county,  Tenn., 
in  1845.  He  was  born  April  24,  1822.  Among  those  living 
in  Jefferson  in  1845  were  Col.  George  Bower,  Rev.  Dr.  Wagg, 
a  Methodist  preacher,  and  the  Rev.  William  Milam,  also  a 
Methodist  preacher,  and  the  jailer;  also  Sheriff  E.  C.  Bart- 
lett, CjTus  Wilcox,  a  tinner,  George  Houck,  blacksmith,  whose 
daughter  married  Cyrus  Grubb  of  the  Bend  of  New  river; 
and  Wm.  Wyatt.  Daniel  Burkett,  who  lives  one  mile  South 
of  Jefferson  and  whose  daughter  married  Rev.  Dr.  J.  H. 
Weaver  of  the  Methodist  Church,  South.  William  Willen,  an 
Englishman  and  a  ditcher,  lived  one  mile  east  of  Jeft'erson  on 
the  farm  now  owned  by  D.  P.  Waugh.  Mrs.  Lucy  A  Carson 
moved  to  Jefferson  in  1870,  and  remembers  as  residents  at 
that  time  S.  C.  Waugh,  Wiley  P.  Thomas,  Mrs.  America 
Bower,  Dr.  L.  C.  Gentry,  Rev.  James  Wagg,  J.  E.  and  N.  A. 
Foster,  E.  C.  Bartlett.  The  Fosters  delivered  salt  to  Ashe 
county  during  the  Civil  War.  Mrs.  Milam  owned  a  residence 
opposite  J.  E.  and  N.  A.  Foster's,  but  gave  the  lot  to  Adam 
Roberts,  colored,  who  subsequently  sold  it  and  built  the  brick 
house  on  the  hill  to  the  south  of  town.  The  Carson  house, 
brick,  was  built  in  1845,  Geo.  Bower  giving  John  M.  Carson, 


164         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

his  brother-in-law,  the  lot  on  which  it  stands.  Captain  Joseph 
W.  Todd  built  the  house  to  the  west  of  the  Carson  resi- 
dence in  1870,  and  the  Henry  Rollins  house  had  been  built 
long  before  that  time.  The  Negro  mountain  was  so  called 
because  a  runaway  negro,  during  or  before  the  Revolutionary 
War,  escaped  and  hid  in  a  cave  on  the  mountain  till  his  hid- 
ing place  was  discovered  and  he  was  recaptured  and  returned 
to  his  master  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  The  Mulatto  mountain 
is  said  to  have  taken  its  name  from  the  color  of  the  soil,  but 
no  plausible  reason  w^as  given  for  the  names  applied  to  the 
Paddy  and  Phoenix  mountains. 

Aras  B.  Cox.  Aras  B.  Cox  was  born  in  Floyd  county, 
Va.,  January  25,  1816,  and  married  Phoebe  Edwards,  Febru- 
ary 23,  1845.  They  settled  in  Ashe  county.  In  1849  he  was 
elected  clerk  of  the  Superior  Court,  and  also  in  1853.  He 
sold  his  farm  in  Alleghany  county,  and  bought  one  seven 
miles  from  Jefferson.  He  was  in  the  Confederate  War.  He 
was  a  distinguished  physician  and  the  author  of  "Footprints 
on  the  Sands  of  Time,"  pubhshed  at  Sparta,  N.  C,  in  August, 
1900.     He  died  soon  after. 

Colonel  George  Bower.  So  higly  regarded  was  Col. 
Bowser  for  his  wisdom  and  sagacity  that  he  was  almost  uni- 
versally called  "Double  Headed  Bower,"  or  "Two  Headed 
Bower."  He  was  born  in  Ashe  county,  January  8,  1788.  His 
father  was  John  Bower,  whose  -will  as  recorded  in  Ashe  county 
disposed  of  considerable  property.  ^  George  was  a  merchant, 
farmer,  live-stock  raiser  and  hotellist  at  Jefferson.  He  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Bryant  first,  and  after  her  death  Miss  America 
Russeau.  He  was  elected  State  Senator  when  Andrew  Jack- 
son was  elected  president  both  times.  ^  He  became  one  of 
the  bondsmen  of  John  McMillan  as  clerk  of  the  Superior 
Court  as  early  as  the  September  term,  1813.  ^  °  At  sub- 
sequent terms  he  was  appointed  clerk  and  master  and  gave 
bond  as  such.  ^  ^  He  owned  a  large  number  of  slaves  and 
many  State  bonds.  He  was  drowned  in  the  Yadkin  river, 
October  7,  1861.  His  will  was  probated  in  1899,  Book 
E,  p.  387.  His  widow  married  Robert  R.  Heath,  w^ho  was 
born  in  New  Hampshire  October  25,  1806,  and  died  at  Jef- 
ferson, May  26,  1871.  "He  was  an  able  lawyer  and  an  up- 
right judge,"  is  engraved   on  his   tomb.      Mrs.   Heath   then 


COUNTY  HISTORY  I65 


married  Alston  Davis.  She  was  born  February  2G,  181G,  and 
died  May  25,  1903.  Her  will  was  probated  in  1903,  Book  E, 
p.  524. 

A  Tragic  Death.  In  October,  1801,  George  Bower  fol- 
lowed a  runaway  slave  to  the  ford  of  the  Yatikin  river.  He 
was  in  his  carriage,  and  the  negro  driver  told  him  the  river 
was  too  swollen  to  admit  of  fording  it  at  that  time.  Col. 
Bower,  insisting,  however,  the  colored  man  drove  in.  The  cur- 
rent took  the  carriage  with  its  single  occupant  far  beyond  the 
bank.  Col.  Bower  was  drowned,  but  the  driver  and  horses 
escaped. 

Stephen  Thomas.  This  gentleman  was  a  progressive  and 
valuable  citizen  of  Creston,  having  kept  a  store  and  tavern 
there.  He  was  born  in  May,  1796,  and  died  in  May,  1864. 
His  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Timothy  Perkins.  He  reared 
a  splendid  family. '  - 

David  Worth.  He  was  descended  from  William  Worth,  who 
emigrated  from  England  in  the  reign  of  Charles  the  Second. 
His  father  had  ouTied  considerable  property  under  the  Com- 
monwealth, but  at  the  Restoration  it  had  been  confiscated,  and 
his  family  scattered  in  search  of  safety.  William  had  a  son, 
Joseph,  born  in  Massachusetts,  and  Joseph's  son  Daniel,  mar- 
ried Sarah  Husey.  Daniel  Worth  was  a  son  of  Joseph  and 
was  born  in  Guilford  county,  October  15,  1810.  Daniel  Worth 
was  the  father  of  David  Worth,  who  came  to  Creston  about 
1828,  and  died  December  10,  1888.  He  was  a  tanner  by 
trade.  He  also  was  a  most  valuable  citizen  and  highly  re- 
spected. He  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Thomas,  daughter  of 
Stephen  Thomas.  She  was  born  January  18,  1821,  and  died 
October  22,  1895.  ^^ 

Zachariah  Baker.  He  lived  at  Creston  and  was  a  suc- 
cessful farmer  and  stock  raiser.  His  wife  was  Miss  Zilphea 
Dickson.  They  reared  a  large  family  of  influential  and  suc- 
cessful citizens.  One  of  his  .sons,  John,  married  Delilah  Eller, 
and  the  other,  Marshall,  married  Marv  Eller,  a  daughter  of 
Luke  Eller.  ^  * 

The  Graybeals.  They  are  said  to  be  of  Dutch  ancestry, 
are  generally  thrifty  and  successful  folk,  and  own  much  real 
estate  and  live  stock.  They  are  honest,  frugal  and  among 
the  best  citizens  of  Ashe. 


166         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Jacob,  Henry  and  John  Eller.  They  were  sons  of  Chris- 
tian Eller,  once  a  resident  of  the  Jersey  Settlement  in  David- 
son county.  The  two  former  came  to  Ashe  and  settled  on 
the  North  Fork  of  New  river,  reared  large  families,  and  were 
successful,  useful,  respected  citizens.  Their  sons  were  Peter, 
Luke,  William,  John,  David  and  Jacob.  John  settled  on  the 
South  Fork  and  later  moved  to  Wilkes.  His  sons  were  Sim- 
eon, David,  Absalom,  John  and  Peter,  who  reared  large  fam- 
ilies which  are  scattered  over  Western  North  Carolina,  Ten- 
nessee, Virginia,  Iowa  and  Nebraska.  ^  ^ 

Some  Early  Settlers  of  Ashe.  ^^  "These  noble,  self- 
sacrificing  men  and  women  of  the  early  times  endangered 
their  lives  and  braved  many  hardships  in  the  wild  Indian 
coutry  to  open  the  way  to  happy  homes,  schools,  churches 
and  the  blessings  of  our  present  civilization.  Some  of  these 
were  Henry  Poe,  Martin  Gambill,  Thomas  Sutherland,  Tim- 
othy Perkins,  Captain  John  Cox,  Henry  Hardin,  Canada 
Richardson,  James  Douglas,  Daniel  Dickson  and  Elijah  Cal- 
loway. Besides  these  were  many  others  whose  names  awaken 
much  unwritten  history  :  Miller,  Blevins,  Ham,  Reeves, 
Woodin,  Barr,  Baker,  Eller,  Goodman,  Ray,  Burkett,  Gray- 
beal,  Houck,  Kilby,  Ashley,  Jones,  Gentry,  Smith,  Plummer, 
Lewis,  Sutherland,  McMillan,  Colvard,  Barker,  Senter,  Max- 
well, Calhoun,  Sapp,  Thomas,  Worth,  Oliver  and  others." 

Haywood  County,^''  "In  the  legislature  of  1808,  Gen- 
eral Thomas  Love,  whose  home  was  near  where  the  'Brown' 
house  now  stands  back  of  the  McAfee  cottage  in  Waynesville, 
and  who  was  that  year  representative  from  Buncombe  county 
in  the  General  Assembly,  introduced  a  bill  having  for  its  pur- 
pose to  organize  a  county  out  of  that  portion  of  Buncombe 
west  of  its  present  western  and  southwestern  boundary  and 
extending  to  the  Tennessee  line,  including  all  the  territory  in 
the  present  counties  of  Haywood,  Macon,  Jackson,  Swain, 
Graham,  Clay,  and  Cherokee.  The  bill  met  with  favor,  was 
passed,  ratified  and  became  a  law  December  23,  1808. 

"On  Richland  creek,  about  the  year  1800,  the  neucleus  of  a 
village  had  been  formed  on  the  beautiful  ridge  between  its 
limpid  waters  and  those  of  Raccoon  creek.  The  ridge  is  less 
than  a  mile  wide  and  attracted  settlers  on  account  of  the  pic- 
turesque mountains  on  either  side  and  the  delightfulness  of  the 
climate.     At  that  early  time  a  considerable  population  was 


COUNTY  HISTORY  167 


already  there.  Several  men,  who  were  well  known  in  the  State 
and  who  afterwards  became  prominent  in  jiublic  affairs,  had 
built  homes  ui)on  that  nature  favored  spot  and  were  living 
there.  Sueh  men  as  General  Thomas  Love,  Colonel  Robert 
Love,  Colonel  William  Allen,  John  Welch,  and  others  of  Rev- 
olutionary fame  were  leaders  in  that  community.  Without 
changing  his  residence  General  Thomas  Love  was  a  member 
of  the  State  Legislature,  with  two  or  three  years  intermission, 
from  1797  to  1828,  for  nine  years  as  a  member  from  Buncombe 
county  and  the  remainder  of  the  time  from  Haywood.  Most 
of  the  time  he  was  in  the  House  of  Commons  but  for  six  years 
he  was  also  in  the  Senate.  Colonel  Robert  Love  served  three 
years  in  the  senate  from  Buncombe  county,  from  1793  to  1795. 
William  Allen  and  John  Welch  were  veterans  of  the  Revolu- 
tion and  men  of  considerable  influence  in  that  community. 
"As  already  stated  that  law  was  ratified  on  December  23, 

1808,  but  it  did  not  become  operative  until  early  in  the  year 

1809.  On  the  fourth  Monday  in  jVIarch  of  that  year  the 
justices  of  the  peace  in  the  territory  defined  by  the  act  erect- 
ing the  county  met  at  Mount  Prospect  in  the  first  court  of 
pleas  and  quarter  sessions  ever  held  in  the  limits  of  Haywood 
county.  The  followang  justices  were  present  at  that  meeting: 
Thomas  Love,  John  Fergus,  John  Dobson,  Robert  Phillips, 
Abraham  Eaton,  Hugh  Davidson,  Holliman  Battle,  John  Mc- 
Farland,  Phillip  T.  Burfoot,  William  Deaver,  Archibald 
McHenry,  and  Benjamin  Odell. 

"One  of  the  first  things  the  court  thus  constituted  did  was 
to  elect  oflacers  for  the  new  county.  There  were  several  can- 
didates for  the  different  positions,  but  after  several  ballots 
were  taken  the  following  were  declared  duly  elected:  Clerk 
of  the  court,  Robert  Love;  Sheriff,  William  Allen;  register 
of  deeds,  Phillip  T.  Burfoot;  constable  of  the  county,  Samuel 
HoUingsworth;  entry  taker,  Thomas  St.  Clair;  treasurer,  Rob- 
ert Phillips;  stray  master,  Adam  Killian;  comptroller,  Abra- 
ham Eaton;  coroner,  Nathan  Thompson;  solicitor,  Archi- 
bald Ruffin;  standard  keeper,  David  McFarland. 

"Thus  officered  the  county  of  Haywood  began  its  career. 
The  officers  entered  at  once  upon  their  respective  duties,  and 
the  county  became  a  reality.  The  first  entry  in  the  register's 
book  bears  date  of  March  29th,  1809,  signed  by  Philip  T. 


168         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Burfoot,  and  the  first  in  the  clerk's  l)ook  is  the  same  date  by 
Robert  Love. 

"Until  the  court  house  and  jail  could  be  built  the  county 
officials  met  at  private  residences  at  Mount  Prospect  and 
prisoners  were  carried  to  jail  in  Asheville.  Such  proceedings 
were  inconvenient  and  the  commissioners  appointed  by  the 
legislature,  therefore,  made  haste  to  locate  and  erect  the 
public  buildings.  It  was  expected  that  they  would  be  ready 
to  make  their  report  to  the  court  of  pleas  and  quarter  sessions 
as  to  the  location  of  the  county  seat  at  the  March  session. 
Instead,  however,  they  asked  at  that  session  to  be  indulged 
until  the  June  term,  and  that  request  was  granted. 

"On  Monday,  June  26,  1809,  the  court  met  at  the  home  of 
John  Howell.  The  old  record  names  the  following  justices 
as  being  present:  Thomas  Love,  Philip  Burfoot,  Hugh  Da- 
vidson, John  McFarland,  Abraham  Eaton,  John  Dobson,  Wil- 
liam Deaver,  Archibald  McHenry,  and  John  Fergus.  At  this 
meeting  the  commissioners  named  in  the  act  of  the  legislature 
erecting  the  county  made  their  report,  in  which  they  declared 
that  it  was  unanimously  agreed  to  locate  the  public  buildings 
somewhere  on  the  ridge  between  Richland  and  Raccoon  creeks 
at  or  near  the  point  then  called  Mount  Prospect.  As  the 
commissioners  were  clothed  with  full  power  to  act,  it  required 
no  vote  of  the  justices,  but  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the 
report  was  cheerfully  endorsed  by  a  majority  of  the  justices 
present. 

"At  this  June  term  of  the  court,  the  first  for  the  trial  of 
causes,  the  following  composed  the  grand  jury:  John  Welch 
foreman,  William  Welch,  John  Fullbright,  John  Robinson, 
Edward  Sharteer,  Isaac  Wilkins,  Elijah  Deaver,  David 
McFarland,  Wilham  Burns,  Joseph  Chambers,  Thomas  St.  Clair, 
John  Shook,  Wilham  Cathey,  Jacob  Shock,  and  John  St. 
Clair.  The  following  grand  jurors  for  the  next  term  of  the 
Superior  court  that  was  to  be  held  in  Asheville  in  September: 
HoUiman  Battle,  Hugh  Davidson,  Abraham  Eaton,  Thomas 
Lenoir,  Wilham  Deaver,  John  McFarland,  John  McClure, 
Fehx  Walker,  Jacob  McFarland,  Robert  Love,  Edward  Hyatt 
and  Daniel  Fleming.  This  was  done  because  of  the  fact  that 
no  Superior  court  was  held  in  Haywood  for  several  years  after 
the  formation  of  the  county;  but  all  cases  that  were  appealed 
from  the  court  of  pleas  and  quarter  sessions  came  up  by  law 


COUNTY  HISTORY  169 


in  the  Superior  court  of  Buncombe  county  at  Ashevillo.  For 
this  court  Haywood  county  was  hound  by  law  to  send  to 
Asheville  six  grand  jurors  and  as  many  more  as  desired. 
Y<  "At  the  June  term  inspectors  of  election,  that  was  to  take 
place  in  August,  were  also  selected.  There  were  then  two 
voting  precincts,  and  this  election  was  the  first  ever  hold  in 
the  county.  For  the  precinct  of  Mount  Prospect  the  follow- 
ing inspectors  were  appointed:  George  Cathey,  WiUiam 
Deaver,  John  Fergus,  and  Hugh  Davidson.  For  the  precinct 
of  Soco,  Benjamin  Parks,  Robert  Reed,  and  Robert  Turner 
were  appointed. 

"In  the  location  of  the  public  buildings  at  Mount  Prospect, 
there  was  laid  the  foundation  of  the  present  little  city  of 
Waynesville.  Tradition  says  and  truthfully,  no  doubt,  that 
the  name  was  suggested  by  Colonel  Robert  Love  in  honor  of 
General  Anthony  Wayne,  under  whom  Colonel  Love  served 
in  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  name  suited  the  community 
and  people,  and  the  village  soon  came  to  be  known  by  it.  In 
the  record  of  the  court  of  pleas  and  quarter  sessions  the  name 
of  Waynesville  occurs  first  in  181L 

"Some  unexpected  condition  prevented  the  immediate 
erection  of  the  public  buildings.  The  plans  were  all  laid  in 
1809,  but  sufficient  money  from  taxation  as  provided  for  in 
the  act  establishing  the  county  had  not  been  secured  by  the 
end  of  that  year.  It  was,  therefore,  late  in  the  year  1811 
before  sufficient  funds  were  in  hand  to  begin  the  erection  of 
the  courthouse.  During  the  year  1812  the  work  began  and 
was  completed  by  the  end  of  the  year.  Mark  Colman  is  said 
to  have  been  the  first  man  to  dig  up  a  stump  in  laying  the 
foundation  for  that  building.  On  December  21,  1812,  the 
first  court  was  held  in  this  first  court  house." 

Haywood's  Six  Daughters.  Formerly  belonging  to  Hay- 
wood were  Macon,  Cherokee,  Jackson,  Swain,  Clay  and  Gra- 
ham counties.  Of  many  of  the  pioneer  residents  of  these 
counties  when  they  were  a  part  of  Haywood  Col.  Allen  T. 
Davidson  speaks  in  The  Lyceum  for  January,  1891.  Among 
them  were  David  Nelson  and  Jonathan  McPeters,  Jonathans 
creek  having  been  named  for  the  latter.  David  Nelson  was 
the  uncle  of  Col.  Wm.  H.  Thomas,  and  died  at  87  highly 
respected  and  greatly  lamented.  "He  was  of  fine  physical 
form,   honest,   brave   and   hospitable."       "Then   there   were 


170         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Joshua  Allison,  George  Owens,  John  and  Reuben  Moody, 
brothers,  all  sturdy,  hardy,  well-to-do  men  and  good  citi- 
zens, who,  with  Samuel  Leatherwood  constituted  my  father's 
near  neighbors."  "Joseph  Chambers  of  this  neighborhood 
moved  to  Georgia  about  the  opening  of  the  Carroll  county 
gold  mine,  say,  about  1831-32.  He  was  a  man  of  more  than 
ordinary  character,  led  in  public  affairs  and  reared  an  elegant 
family.  His  daughters  were  splendid  ladies  and  married  well. 
His  wife  was  a  sister  of  John  and  Reuben  Moody."  John 
Leatherwood  was  well  kno\\Ti  for  his  "thrift  and  industry, 
fine  hounds,  fine  cattle  and  good  old-time  apple  brandy;  a 
good  citizen  who  lived  to  a  good  old  age.  James  McKee, 
father  of  James  L.  McKee  of  Asheville,  lived  on  this  creek, 
was  sheriff  of  Haywood  for  many  years,  and  died  at  an 
advanced  age  at  Asheville.  Near  him  lived  Felix  Walker. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  suavity  of  manner,  a  fine 
electioneer,  insomuch  that  he  was  called  "Old  Oil  Jug."  He 
w^ent,  after  his  defeat  for  Congress  in  1824  by  Dr.  Robert 
Vance,  to  Mississippi,  where  he  died  about  1835.  The  manu- 
facture and  sale  of  gensing  was  begun  on  Jonathans  creek  by 
Dr.  Hailen  of  Philadelphia,  who  employed  Nimron  S.  Jarrett 
and  Bacchus  J.  Smith,  late  of  Buncombe  county,  to  conduct 
the  business.  It  was  abundant  then  and  very  profitable,  the 
green  root  being  worth  about  seven  cents  a  pound.  A  branch 
of  this  business  was  established  on  Caney  river  in  Yancey 
county.  I  well  remember  seeing  great  companies  of  moun- 
taineers coming  along  the  mountain  passes  (there  were  no 
roads  then  only  as  we  blazed  them)  with  packed  horses  and 
oxen  going  to  the  "factory,"  as  we  called  it;  and  it  was  a 
great  rendezvous  for  the  people,  where  all  the  then  sports  of 
the  day  were  engaged  in  such  games  as  pitching  quoits,  run- 
ning foot-races,  shooting  matches,  wrestling,  and,  sometimes 
a  good  fist  and  skull  fight.  But  the  curse  and  indignation  of 
the  neighborhood  rested  on  the  man  who  attempted,  as  we 
called  it,  "to  interfere  in  the  fight,  or  double-team,"  or  use  a 
weapon.  The  most  noted  men  were  John  Welch,  John 
McFarland,  Hodge  Reyburn,  Thomas  Tatham,  Gen.  Thomas 
Love  and  Ninian  Edmundson.  The  leading  families  of  Hay- 
wood were  the  Howells,  being  two  brothers,  John  and  Henry, 
who  came  from  Cabarrus  about  1818;  the  Osborns;  the  Plotts, 
Col.  Thomas  Lenoir;  the  Catheys,  Deavers,  McCrackens,  Pen- 


COUNTY  HISTORY  171 


lands,  Bryers;  David  Russell  of  Fines  creek,  Peter  Nolan, 
Robert  Penland,  Henry  Brown,  James  Green,  who  was  born 
in  1790,  and  was  living  in  January,  1891,  and  many  others. 

Joseph  Cathey.  He  was  born  March  12,  1803,  and  died 
June  1,  1874,  was  a  son  of  William  Cathey,  one  of  the  first 
settlers  on  Pigeon  river;  was  a  delegate  to  the  State  conven- 
tion of  1835,  and  in  the  senate  and  declined  further  political 
honors. 

NiNiAN  Edmundson.  He  was  born  in  Burke,  October  21, 
1789,  of  IMaryland  ancestry,  and  came  with  his  father  to 
Pigeon  Valley  prior  to  1808,  where  the  family  remained.  He 
was  in  the  War  of  1812;  was  four  years  sheriff  of  Haywood. 
He  served  several  terms  in  the  State  senate  and  many  in  the 
house.  He  was  a  most  successful  farmer  and  useful  citizen. 
He  died  in  March,  1868,  highly  esteemed. 

James  Robert  Love.  He  was  born  in  November,  1798, 
and  died  November  22,  1863.  He  represented  Haywood 
county  many  times  in  the  legislature.  He  married  Miss 
Maria  Williamson  Coman,  daughter  of  Col.  James  Coman  of 
Raleigh,  who  died  January  9,  1842,  aged  75  years.  This 
marriage  occurred  November  26,  1822.  Charles  Loehr,  a 
German  professor  of  music,  taught  his  children  music  for 
years,  and  Loehr's  son  afterwards  became  professor  of  music  at 
the  Asheville  Female  college.  Love  was  so  anxious  to  encour- 
age the  building  of  a  railroad  that  he  set  aside  a  lot  for  the 
depot  long  before  he  died.  He  bought  large  boundaries  of 
vacant  and  unsurveyed  lands,  and  died  wealthy. 

Dr.  Samuel  L.  Love.  He  was  born  August  5,  1828,  and 
died  July  7,  1887.  He  received  his  diploma  as  a  physician 
from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania;  but  was  soon  elected  to  the 
legislature,  where  he  served  many  terms.  He  was  a  surgeon  in 
1861  on  the  staff  of  Gov.  Ellis,  and  a  delegate  to  the  Consti- 
tutional convention  of  1875.  In  1876  he  was  elected  State 
auditor. 

Thomas  Isaac  Lenoir.  Was  born  on  Pigeon  river  August 
26,  1817,  a  son  of  Thomas  Lenoir  of  Wilkes.  He  went  to 
the  State  University,  and  did  not  return  to  Haywood  till 
1847.  He  was  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser  and  a  progressive 
citizen.  On  June  13,  1861,  he  married  Miss  Mary  E.  Garrett. 
He  died  January  5,  1881.  His  brother,  Walter  Lenoir,  was  a 
captain  in  the  Confederate  army,  and  spent  much  of  his  life 


172         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

at  Joseph  Shull's  in  Watauga  county,  where  he  died  July  26, 
1890,  aged  sixty-seven  years.  He  was  graduated  with  high 
honor  at  the  State  University.  He  studied  law  and  was 
admitted  in  1845.  He  married  Miss  Cornelia  Christian  of 
Staunton,  Va.,  in  1856,  but  she  died  soon  afterward.  He  lost 
a  leg  in  the  Civil  War  at  the  battle  of  Ox  Hill,  September,  1862. 

William  Johnston  was  the  fourth  son  of  Robert  John- 
ston, Sr.,  and  was  born  two  miles  from  Druhmore,  the  county 
town  of  Down  county,  Ireland,  July  26,  1807,  his  ancestors 
having  emigrated  from  Scotland  to  Ireland  in  1641.  He  came 
with  his  father's  family  to  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in 
December,  1818,  and  settled  in  Pickens  District,  South  Caro- 
lina. About  1828  he  moved  to  Buncombe  county  and  mar- 
ried Lucinda,  the  only  daughter  of  James  Gudger  and  his 
wife  Annie  Love,  daughter  of  Col.  Robert  Love  of  Waynes- 
ville,  March  18,  1830,  and  settled  in  Waynesville,  where  he 
accumulated  a  large  fortune.  About  1857  he  moved  with  his 
family  to  Asheville.  After  the  Civil  War  he,  with  the  late 
Col.  L.  D.  Childs  of  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  became  the 
owTier  of  the  Saluda  factory,  three  miles  from  that  city.  It 
was  burned,  however,  and  Mr.  Johnston  returned  to  Ashe- 
ville, where  he  died.  He  was  admittedly  the  most  success- 
ful business  man  in  this  entire  section  of  the  State;  and  some 
think  that  the  same  business  ability,  if  it  had  been  exerted 
in  almost  any  other  field,  would  have  produced  results  that 
would  have  rivaled  the  fortunes  of  some  of  our  merchant 
princes. 

Jerry  Vickers  was  a  tinner  who  worked  for  Wm.  John- 
ston, and  also  made  gravestones  out  of  locust,  paradoxical  as 
that  may  appear;  but  his  head-boards  in  WajTiesville  ceme- 
tery, with  names  and  dates  neatly  carved  in  this  almost  inde- 
structible wood,  are  still  sound  and  legible  today. 

Wm.  Pinckney  Welch.  He  was  born  in  Waynesville 
November  14,  1838,  and  died  at  Athens,  Ga.,  March  18,  1896. 
His  mother's  father  was  Robert  Love,  and  his  father  was 
William  the  son  of  John  Welch,  one  of  the  pioneers.  The 
Welches  came  from  Philadelphia  soon  after  the  Revolution- 
ary War.  He  attended  school  at  Col.  Stephen  Lee's  school 
in  Chunn's  cove,  after  which  he  went  to  Emory  and  Henry 
college,  leaving  there  in  May,  1861,  to  join  the  Confederate 
army.     He  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  25th  N.  C.  regiment,  and 


COUNTY  HISTORY  173 


took  part  in  the  l)attlos  of  from  CJaiiies  Mills  to  Malvern 
Hill,  Sharpshurg,  Fredericksburg  and  in  the  campaign  near 
Kinston  and  Plymouth,  Petersburg,  Bermuda  Hundreds,  and 
surrendered  as  a  captain  with  Lee  at  Appomattox.  The  sur- 
vivors of  that  war  have  named  their  camp  after  him.  He 
practiced  law  after  the  war,  was  in  the  legislature  in  1868 
and  1870  and  helped  to  imixnich  Gov.  Holden.  He  was  mar- 
ried first  to  Miss  Sarah  Cathey,  a  daughter  of  Col.  Joseph 
Cathey  of  Pigeon  river,  soon  after  the  war,  and  on  the  26th 
of  January,  1875,  he  married  Miss  Margaretta  Richards 
White  of  Athens,  Ga.,  his  first  wife  having  died  soon  after 
marriage.     No  braver  man  ever  lived  than  Pink  Welch. 

The  People  of  Macon.  Macon  was  organized  into  a 
county  in  1828  "and  was  singularly  fortunate  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  people  who  first  settled  it.  ^  ^  It  was  first  repre- 
sented in  the  legislature  in  1831  by  James  W.  Guinn  in  the 
senate  and  Thomas  Tat  ham  and  James  Whitaker  in  the  house, 
and  was  thereafter  represented  in  the  senate  four  times  by 
Gen.  Ben.  S.  Britton,  with  James  Whitaker,  Asaph  Enloe, 
James  W.  Guinn  and  Jacob  Siler  and  Thomas  Tatham  in  the 
house."  Luke  Barnard,  Wimer  Siler,  and  his  sons  William, 
Jesse  R.,  Jacob  and  John;  John  Dobson,  John  Howard,  Henry 
Addington,  Gen.  Thomas  Love,  Wm.  H.  Bryson,  James  K. 
Gray,  Mark  Coleman,  Samuel  Smith,  Nimrod  S.  Jarrett, 
George  Dickey,  Silas  McDowell,  George  Patton,  and  William 
Angel  were  typical  men  of  the  early  population.  "  Wm.  and 
Jacob  Siler  having  married  sisters  of  D.  L.  Swain,  and  Jesse 
R.  Siler  having  married  a  daughter  of  John  Patton  of  Bun- 
combe, sister  of  the  late  lamented  Mont.  Patton,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  account  for  the  great  moral  worth  of  the  county 
that  now  exists  and  has  from  its  first  settlement. 
Samuel  Smith  was  the  father  of  Bacchus  J.  Smith  and  Rev. 
C.  D.  Smith,  and  volunteered  as  a  messenger  to  bear  a  letter 
from  Gen.  McDowell,  at  the  Old  Fort,  to  the  principal  chief 
of  the  Cherokees,  at  the  Coosawattee  to\vns  about  the  close 
of  the  Revolutionary  War. '  ^  The  undertaking  was  full  of 
peril,  the  whole  country  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  being  then  in 
the  Cherokee  Nation,  then  in  arms,  and  before  any  white 
men  lived  in  this  country.  The  Coosawattee  towns  were  on 
a  river  of  that  name  in  Georgia  at  least  250  miles  away;  but 
the  mission  was  accomplished  by  this  valiant  man  who  aided 


174         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

largely  in  bringing  these  people  into  peaceable  terms  with  the 
whites.  He  moved  to  Texas,  after  having  raised  a  family  of 
distinguished  sons  in  North  Carolina, — dying  in  Texas  when 
over  ninety  years  of  age. "  ^  ° 

Franklin.  This  was  called  the  Sacred  Town  by  the  Cher- 
okees-^  and  was  not  named  for  Benjamin  Franklin,  as  so 
many  think,  but  for  Jesse  Franklin,  once  governor  of  this 
State.  ^  -  The  county  was  named  for  John  Haywood,  treasurer 
of  the  State  in  1787.  According  to  Rev.  CD.  Smith  in  his 
Brief  History  of  Macon  county,  p.  2,  Macon  was  never  a  part 
of  Buncombe  county,  because  its  western  boundary  line  never 
extended  west  of  the  Meigs  and  Freeman  line  of  1802,  and 
the  territory  embraced  in  Macon  and  a  portion  of  Jackson  and 
Swain  was  acquired  from  the  Cherokees  by  treaty  in  1817-18. 
In  the  spring  of  1820  the  State  commissioners,  Jesse  Franklin 
and  James  Meabin,  in  accordance  with  an  act  of  the  legisla- 
ture, came  to  the  Tennessee  valley  and  organized  for  the 
survey  of  lands  "a  corps  of  surveyors  of  whom  Captain  Rob- 
ert Love,  a  son  of  Gen.  Thomas  Love,  who  settled  the  place 
at  the  bridge  where  Capt.  T.  M.  Angel  recently  lived  ^^,  was 
chief.  Robert  Love  had  been  an  honored  and  brave  captain 
in  the  war  of  1812,  was  much  respected  on  account  of  his 
patri'otic  devotion  to  American  liberty,  and  was  consequently 
a  man  of  large  influence."  Watauga  plains,  where  the  late 
Mr.  Watson  lived,  was  first  settled  upon  for  the  county  site 
and  400  acres,  the  land  appropriated  for  that  purpose,  was 
located  and  surveyed  there;  but  Captain  Love  favored  the 
present  site,  and  by  a  vote  of  all  six  companies  of  surveyors 
then  in  the  field,  on  the  ridge  where  Mrs.  H.  T.  Sloan  resided 
in  1905,  the  400  acres  appropriated  was  located. 

First  Settlers  in  Franklin.  Joshua  Roberts,  Esq.,  built 
the  first  house  on  the  Jack  Johnston  lot,  ''a  small  round  log 
cabin;"  but  Irad  S.  Hightower  built  the  first  "house  proper," 
one  built  of  hewn  logs  on  the  lot  where  stands  the  AUman 
hotel.  Capt.  N.  S.  Jarrett  bought  the  first  house  proper, 
then  Gideon  F.  Morris  got  it,  and  then  John  R.  Allman. 
Lindsey  Fortune  built  a  cabin  on  the  lot  where  the  Jarrett 
hotel  stood  in  1894,  and  Samuel  Robinson  built  on  the  lot 
occupied  in  1905  by  Mrs.  Robinson.  Silas  McDowell  first 
built  where  the  residence  of  D.  C.  Cunningham  stood,  and 
Dillard  Love  built  the  first  house  on  the  Trotter  lot.     N.  S. 


COUNTY  HISTORY  175 

Jarrett  l)uilt  on  the  lot  owned  by  S.  L.  Rogers,  and  Joliu  F. 
Dobson  first  improved  the  corner  lot  owned  in  1894  by  C.  C. 
Smith.  James  K.  dray  built  the  second  hcwn-log  house  on 
the  lot  owned  by  Mrs.  A.  W.  Bell,  and  Jesse  R.  Siler,  one  of 
the  first  settlers,  built  at  the  foot  of  the  town  hill  where  Judge 
G.  A.  Jones  resided.  He  also  built  the  second  house  on  the 
Gov.  Robinson  lot  and  the  brick  store  and  dwelling  owned 
in  1894  l)y  the  late  Capt.  A.  P.  Munday.  James  W.  (luinn 
or  iVIr.  Whitaker  built  the  house  afterwards  owned  by  Mr. 
Jack  Johnston.  John  R.  Allman  opened  the  first  hotel  in 
Franklin,  followed  soon  afterward  by  a  house  at  the  "foot  of 
the  hill"  built  by  Jesse  R.  Siler.  ^-^ 

Prominent  Residents  of  Macon.  ^  ^  James  Cansler  was 
born  Feliruary  22,  1820,  in  Rutherford  county,  and  died  in 
Macon,  July  24,  1907.  He  aided  in  the  removal  of  the  Cher- 
okees  in  1836-38,  and  was  a  captain  in  the  Civil  war.  Cap- 
tain James  G.  Crawford  was  born  May  6,  1832,  and  in  1855 
was  appointed  deputy  clerk,  being  elected  sheriff  in  1858.  He 
was  a  captain  in  the  Civil  War  in  the  39th  regiment,  serving 
till  the  end.  He  was  in  the  legislature,  and  in  1875  was  elected 
register  of  deeds,  which  place  he  held  till  near  the  end  of  his 
life.  He  married  Miss  Virginia  A.  Butler.  One  of  the  early 
settlers  was  Henry  G.  Woodfin,  a  physician  and  brother  of 
Col.  N.  W.  Woodfin  of  Buncombe.  He  was  born  December 
27,  1811,  and  was  married  June  5,  1838  to  Miss  E.  A.  B.  How- 
arth.  He  settled  first  on  Cartoogechaye,  but  later  moved  to 
Franklin.  He  was  a  member  of  the  county  court,  serving  as 
chairman,  and  was  in  the  legislature  two  terms.  He  died  in 
1881.  He  stood  high  as  a  physician  and  citizen.  Dr.  James  M. 
Lyle  came  to  Macon  before  the  Civil  War  and  formed  a  copart- 
nership with  Dr.  Woodfin.  He  married  Miss  Laura  Siler, 
and  after  her  death,  he  married  Miss  Nannie  Moore.  Dr. 
G.  N.  Rush,  of  Coweta  station,  was  born  in  1824,  in  Rock- 
ingham county,  Va.,  and  read  medicine  under  Dr.  A.  W. 
Brabson,  graduated  in  medicine  at  University  of  Nashville 
in  1854.  He  served  in  the  legislature  in  1876-7.  In  1854  he 
married  Miss  Elizabeth  Thomas.  He  died  December  12, 
1897.  Dr.  A.  C.  Brabson  was  born  in  Tennessee  in  1842, 
served  through  the  Civil  War,  graduated  from  the  College  at 
Nashville  in  medicine,  1866-67,  married  Miss  Cora  Rush, 
March  30,    1881.     Mark  May,  son  of  Frederick  and  Nellie 


176         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


May,  was  born  in  Yadkin  county  December  7,    1812,   and 
married  Belinda  Beaman  at  the  age  of  24.     Early  in  life  he  was 
ordained  a  Baptist  minister,  coming  to  Macon  county  after 
serving  as  a  minister  17  years  in  Yadkin  and  two  years  in 
Tennessee.     He  is  the  father  of  Hon.  Jeff  May  of  Flats,  N.  C. 
Rev.  Joshua  Amnions  was  born  in  Burke,  February  14,  1800, 
and    moved    to    Macon    in    1822,    settled   on   Rabbit   creek, 
was  ordained  a  Baptist  minister  at  Franklin  in   1835,   and 
died  September   27,    1877,   after   a  very   useful   life.     Logan 
Berry  was  born  December  18,  1813,  in  Lincoln  county,  and 
died  February  8,  1910.     He  married  Matilda  Postell  of  Bun- 
combe, served  as  county  commissioner,  and  was  a  useful  and 
respected    citizen.     Stephen    Munday    was    born    in    Person 
county  about  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth   century  but 
moved  to  Buncombe  county  before  the  Civil  War,  where  he 
built  a  mill  at  Sulphur  Springs.     He  then  moved  to  INIacon, 
and  lived  with  his  son,  the  late  Alexander  P.   Munday  at 
Aquone,  till  his  death  in  the  seventies.  ^^     He  was  a  useful 
and  highly  respected  citizen.     His  son  Alexander  P.  Munday 
married  Miss  Addie  Jarrett  a  daughter  of  the  late  Nimrod 
■  S.  Jarrett,  and  they  resided  first  at  the  Meadows  in  what  is 
now  Graham  county  about   1859,  where  they  remained  till 
after  the  Civil  War,  moving  thence  to  Aquone  where  they 
died  early  in  this  century.     Captain  Nimrod  S.  Jarrett  was 
born  in  Buncombe  county  in  1800,  married  a  Miss  McKee,  and 
moved  to  Haywood  county  in  1830,  engaging  in  the  "sang" 
business,  till  he  moved  to  Macon,  where  he  resided  at  Aquone 
in  1835,  afterwards  at  the  Apple  Tree  place  six  miles  down 
the  river,  and  still  later  at  Jarretts  station  on  the  Murphy 
railroad.     He  owTied  large  tracts  of  mountain  lands,  and  the 
talc  mine  now  operated  at  Hewitts.     He  was  murdered  in 
September,  1873,  by  Bayless  Henderson,  a  tramp  from  Ten- 
nessee.    Henderson  was  executed  for  the  crime,  at  Webster, 
in  1874. 

John  Kelly.  He  was  born  in  Virginia,  married  a  Miss 
Pierce,  a  neice  and  adopted  daughter  of  Bishop  Pierce,  and 
moved  to  Buncombe  where  he  lived  till  about  1819,  when  he 
moved  to  Macon  to  what  is  now  known  as  the  Barnard  farm, 
but  soon  moved  to  the  Hays  place,  waiting  for  the  land  sale, 
at  which  he  bought  a  boundary  of  land  lying  in  both  Georgia 
and  North  Carolina,   including  Mud   and   Kelly's   creeks  in 


COUNTY  HISTORY  177 


Georgia.  His  third  son,  Samuel,  was  born  in  Wostmoreland 
county,  Va.,  and  in  1825  Imught  land  six  miles  from  Franklin, 
where  he  lived  till  his  death  in  1852.  He  married  Miss  Mary 
Harry.  Three  of  his  sons  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  army, 
wiiere  one  was  killed  in  battle,  the  other  two  serving  till  the 
close  of  hostilities.     They  were  N.  J.  and  M.  L.  Kelly. -^ 

Nathan  G.  Allman.-s  He  was  born  in  Haywood,  Jan- 
uary 5,  1818,  and  came  to  Franklin  in  1846,  where  he  lived 
46  years  continuously.  He  was  a  merchant  and  hotel  keeper, 
and  died  February  17,  1892.  He  was  a  useful  and  influential 
citizen. 

Dr.  W.  Levy  Love,  He  was  born  in  Chautauqua,  N.  ¥.,  Sep- 
tember 30,  1827,  and  early  in  life  went  to  Kentucky  with  his 
father.  There  he  joined  the  army  and  went  to  the  war  in 
Mexico,  taking  part  in  several  battles.  Returning,  he  was 
educated  at  Bacon  college,  Kentucky,  where  he  also  studied 
medicine,  completing  his  course  at  Philadelphia.  He  then 
moved  to  Franklin,  where,  in  1868,  he  married  Miss  Maggie, 
a  daughter  of  N.  G.  AUman.  In  this  year  he  was  elected  to 
the  State  senate,  where  he  served  six  years.  He  was  also  a 
lawyer,  enjoying  a  fine  practice.  He  died  July  29,  1884. 
He  was  generally  knowTi  as  Levi  Love. 

Jackson  Johnston.  He  was  born  in  Pendleton  district, 
S.  C,  November  25,  1820,  and  at  sixteen  years  of  age  removed 
to  Waynesville,  where  for  several  years  he  clerked  for  his 
brother  William.  While  there,  he  married  Miss  Osborne  of 
Haywood  county;  late  in  the  forties  he  removed  to  Franklin, 
and  became  a  merchant,  accumulating  a  handsome  fortune. 
His  first  wife  having  died  he  married  Miss  Eugenia  Siler  in 
1859.  She  was  a  daughter  of  William  Siler.  His  hospitality 
and  humor  were  famous.  He  tlied  April  10,  1892.  He  was 
charitable,  intelligent  and  of  high  character. 

Thomas  Tatham.  He  served  in  the  State  senate  from  Hay- 
wood in  1817,  removed  to  Macon  and  served  in  the  legislature 
from  that  county  from  1831  to  1834  inclu.sive,  after  which  he 
removed  to  Valley  river  where  he  died.  He  was  a  good  man 
and  left  many  friends. 

James  Whitaker.  He  was  born  in  Rowan  April  3,  1779, 
one  mile  from  Lexington,  now  Davidson.  He  was  a  justice 
of  the  peace  in  that  county  and  removed  to  Buncombe  in  1817, 
from  which,  in   1818  he  was  elected  to  the  legislature  and 

W.  N.C. 12 


178         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

served  till  1823,  and  removed  to  Macon  in  1828,  lived  one  mile 
from  Franklin,  and  was  elected  to  the  legislature  in  1828  and 
served  continuously  till  1833.  He  was  appointed  Superior 
court  clerk  at  the  first  term  of  Cherokee  county,  and  was 
elected  to  the  legislature  from  that  county  in  1832  and  1842. 
He  died  on  Valley  river  November  2,  1871,  aged  92  years. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  intellect,  high  character  and  unsullied 
reputation;  a  stern  man,  a  strong  Baptist  and  did  perhaps  as 
much  for  his  church  as  any  other  man  in  the  State. 

Yancey.  Yancey  county  was  formed  in  1833.  It  was  cut 
off  from  Burke  and  Buncombe.  Three  counties  have  since 
been  partly  formed  out  of  Yancey.  They  are:  Watauga 
in  1849;  Madison  in  1851;  and  Mitchell  in  1861.  Yancey 
county  is  now  bounded  on  the  north  by  Mitchell  county  and 
the  State  of  Tennessee;  on  the  east  by  Mitchell  and  McDowell 
counties;  on  the  south  by  McDowell  and  Madison;  on  the 
west  by  Madison  and  Buncombe  counties  and  the  Tennessee 
line.  Mt.  Mitchell,  the  highest  mountain  in  the  eastern  half 
of  North  America,  is  in  Yancey  county.  It  was  named  for 
Dr.  Elisha  Mitchell,  a  teacher  in  the  University,  who  explored 
it.  Mt.  Mitchell  is  a  part  of  the  Black  mountains  which 
extend  partly  across  this  county.  Yancey  county  contains 
eighteen  mountain  peaks  that  rise  above  6,300  feet.  These 
mountains  are  very  fertile  and  are  covered  with  great  forests 
of  gigantic  trees.  Cherry  trees  in  Yancey  often  grow  four 
feet,  the  walnut  eight  feet,  and  the  poplar  ten  feet  in  diameter. 

The  county  was  named  for  Bartlett  Yancey,  a  native  of 
Caswell  county.  He  was  educated  at  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  studied  law,  and  became  eminent  in  his  profession. 
He  was  twice  a  member  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
and  eight  times  a  member  of  the  senate  of  North  Carolina. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  men  in  the  State  to  favor  public  schools 
for  all  the  people. 

The  county  seat  of  Yancey  is  Burnsville,  named  in  honor 
of  Capt.  Otway  Burns,  of  Beaufort,  N.  C.  He  won  fame  in 
the  war  of  1812  against  England.  With  his  vessel,  the  "Snap- 
Dragon,"  he  sailed  up  and  dowoi  the  Atlantic  coast,  captur- 
ing many  English  vessels  and  destroying  the  British  trade. 
He  had  many  wild  adventures,  and  his  name  became  a  terror 
to  British  merchants.  Finally  the  English  government  sent 
a  war  vessel,  called  the  "Leopard,"  to  capture  Captain  Burns. 


COUNTY  HISTORY  179 

The  " Leopard "  succeeded  in  capturing  the  "Snap-Dragon" 
while  Captain  Burns  was  on  shore  sick.  After  the  war  he 
was  frequently  a  member  of  the  legislature.  A  monument 
to  his  memory  was  recently  erected  at  Burnsville. 

Yancey  has  an  approximate  area  of  193,000  acres,  with  an 
average  assessed  value  of  S2.60  per  acre.  Over  40  per  cent 
of  the  land  is  held  in  large  tracts  of  1,000  acres  or  more  in 
extent.  These  holdings  are  valued  chiefly  for  their  timber 
and  are  held  principally  as  investments. 

The  tojiography  is  generally  rough  and  the  average  eleva- 
tion is  high.  The  Black  mountain  range  in  the  southern 
portion  of  the  county  contains  many  peaks  more  than  6,000 
feet  high,  and  Mount  Mitchell,  the  highest  peak  east  of  the 
Rockies,  rises  to  an  elevation  of  6,711  feet  above  sea  level. 
In  the  northern  and  western  sections  of  the  county  the  ridges 
have  an  average  elevation  of  about  4,000  feet  above  sea  level, 
Bald  mountain  rising  to  5,500  feet. 

Four  considerable  streams.  South  Toe  and  Caney  rivers, 
and  Jacks  and  Crabtree  creeks,  rise  within  the  county,  and 
flowing  in  a  northerly  direction  empty  into  Toe  river,  which 
forms  the  northern  boundary  of  the  county. 

Mrs.  Nancy  Anderson  Gardner.  There  are  many  old 
people  in  these  mountains,  but  Mrs.  Nancy  Gardner  of  Burns- 
ville was  98  the  15th  of  January,  1913.  She  was  in  full  pos- 
session of  all  her  faculties,  and  in  1912  furnished  for  this  his- 
tory a  list  of  names  of  the  first  settlers  of  Yancey  county. 
Her  husband's  father  was  Thomas  Gardner,  who  was  born 
in  Virginia  in  1793,  and  died  in  Yancey  in  1853.  He  settled 
on  Cane  river  when  a  boy.  Her  father  was  W.  M.  Anderson 
and  her  mother  Patty  Elkins,  who  was  born  in  Tennessee  in 
1790.  Her  parents  were  married  in  1809.  James  Anderson 
was  from  Ireland  and  served  in  Virginia  with  the  Americans 
during  the  Revolutionary  War,  after  which  he  moved  (1870), 
first  to  Surry,  and  then  to  Little  Ivy,  where  D.  W.  Angel  now 
lives  and  where  Mrs.  Gardner  was  born,  January  15,  1815. 
Her  husband  was  William  Gardner,  to  whom  she  was  mar- 
ried March  22,  1832.  Thomas  Dillard,  father  of  the  wife  of 
Robert  Love,  was  her  mother's  uncle.     She  died  early  in  1913. 

First  Settlers  of  Burnsville.  Mrs.  Gardner  gave  the 
following  as  the  first  settlers  of  Burnsville:  John  L.  Williams 
and  his  sons  Edward  and  Joshua;  Dr.  Job,  Dr.  John  Yancey, 


180         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Abner  Jarvis,  Dr.  Jacob  Stanley,  Samuel  Flemming,  Gen. 
John  W.  McElroy,  James  Greenlee,  John  W.  Garland,  "  Knock" 
Boone,  Amos  Ray,  W.  M.  Westall,  J.  Bacchus  Smith,  Joseph 
Shepard,  Adam  Broyles,  Mitchell  Broyles,  W.  M.  Lewis, 
John  Woodfin,  James  Anderson,  Milton  P.  Penland,  Jack 
Stewart  and  John  Bailey. 

First  Settlers  of  Yancey.  Among  them  Mrs.  Gard- 
ner mentioned  the  following,  giving  also  the  names  of  their 
wives:  Henry  Roland,  Berry  Hensley,  Ed.  and  James 
McMahan,  Thomas  Ray,  Edward  Wilson,  Jacob  Phipps,  Jerry 
Boons,  Hiram  Ray,  John  Bailey,  John  Griffith,  Joseph  Shep- 
ard, Strowbridge  Young,  James  Proffitt,  James  Greenlee, 
Blake  Piercy,  Thomas  Briggs,  John  McElroy,  Wm.  Angel, 
James  Evans,  W.  M.  Angelin,  John  Allen,  Rev.  Samuel  Byrd. 

Interesting  Facts  About  Old  Times.  Mrs.  Gardner's 
grandfather,  James  Anderson,  was  said  to  be  the  first  Methodist 
west  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  She  remembered  Parson  Bro^vnlow  and 
the  "lie  bill"  suit  and  the  sale  of  his  bridle,  saddle  and  horse; 
also  that  William  Angel  lived  near  the  present  site  of  Burns- 
ville  but  moved  to  Georgia,  carrying  his  family  and  "One 
hundred  geese,  which  they  drove."  She  gave  not  only  the 
names  of  the  wives  of  the  first  settlers,  but  their  children, 
and  where  the  first  settlers  lived.  Also,  that  John  Bailey 
married  Hiram  Ray's  daughter  and  donated  the  land  for  the 
town  of  Burnsville;  that  Joseph  Shepard  married  Betsy  Hor- 
ton,  the  grandparents  of  the  late  Judge  J.  S.  Adams;  that 
Thomas  Ray  married  Ivey  Hensley  and  lived  in  Cane  river 
valley;  that  Jacob  Phipps  married  Nancy  Hampton,  and 
lived  four  miles  west  of  Burnsville;  that  Edward  Wilson  mar- 
ried Polly  Gilbert  and  lived  on  Cane  river;  that  Jerry  Boone 
was  a  noted  blacksmith  and  married  Sallie  McMahan.  They 
lived  where  Burnsville  now  stands;  also  that  Hiram  Ray 
married  a  Miss  Cox  and  was  a  wealthy  and  influential  man. 
Also  that  Zepheniah  Horton  lived  one  mile  west  of  Burns- 
ville, but  none  of  his  descendants  now  live  in  Yancey,  though 
some  live  in  Buncombe  and  the  State  of  Kansas;  that  Henry 
Roland  married  Sallie  Robinson  and  lived  on  Cane  river;  that 
Berry  Hensley  married  Betsy  Littleton,  among  whose  de- 
scendants were  B.  S.,  W.,  and  Jas.  B.  Hensley.  Edward  and 
James  McMahan  were  the  first  settlers  of  Pensacola,  and 
Strowbridge   Young  married   Patty  Wilson.      She   spoke   of 


COUNTY  HISTORY  181 


James  Proffitt  as  having  liveil  on  Bald  creek,  and  of  liis  direct 
descendants,  hut  did  not  give  the  name  of  his  wife.  She 
also  spoke  of  James  Greenlee  as  having  married  Polly  Poteet 
and  living  on  Cane  river,  hut  having  had  no  children;  Blake 
Piercy  who  married  Fanny  Turner,  and  lived  on  Indian  creek, 
Thomas  Ikiggs  who  married  Jane  Wilson  and  lived  on  Bald 
creek,  John  McElroy  who  married  Miss  Jamison  and  lived 
on  Bald  creek,  James  Evans  who  married  a  Miss  Bailey  and 
lived  on  Jack's  creek,  W.  M.  Angelin  who  married  Miss  Betsy 
Austin  and  lived  on  Banks  creek,  John  Allen  who  married 
Molly  Turner,  and  the  Rev.  Samuel  Byrd  who  married  a  Miss 
Briggs  and  lived  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  naming 
many  of  his  descendants. 

Fine  River  Bottoms.  Those  splendid  lands,  extending 
from  the  mouth  of  Prices  creek  up  Cane  river  to  within  two 
or  three  miles  of  Burnsville,  were  in  possession  of  white  people 
as  early  as  1787,  and  were  originally  granted  to  John  McKnitt 
Alexander  and  Wm.  Sharp.  The  640-acre  tract  at  the  mouth 
of  Bald  and  Prices  creeks  is  owned  by  descendants  of  Thomas 
L.  Ray,  who  was  among  the  first  settlers  of  Yancey  county. 
The  Creed  Young  place,  originally  the  John  Griffith  farm, 
on  Crabtree,  about  two  miles  from  Burnsville,  is  another  fine 
farm.  Milton  P.  Penland  was  another  early  settler,  and 
o^vTied  valuable  land  near  Burnsville.  He  was  a  man  of 
influence  and  ability, 

Celo  or  Bolen's  Pyramid.  What  is  known  on  govern- 
ment maps  as  Celo  Peak  used  to  be  called  Bolen's  Pyramid; 
but  why  either  name  should  have  been  given  to  this  northern- 
most peak  of  the  Blacks  is  not  known,  though,  as  there  is  a 
Bolen's  creek  between  it  and  Burnsville,  it  is  probable  that  a 
man  of  that  name  once  Uved  near  what  is  now  called  Athlone. 
.  Henderson  County,  ^o  Until  1838  Henderson  was  a  part 
of  Buncombe,  and  the  story  of  its  first  settlement  belongs  to 
that  county.  ...  But  in  1838,  when  Hodge  Rabun  was 
in  the  senate  and  Montreville  Patton  and  Philip  Brittain  were 
in  the  house,  it  was  erected  into  a  separate  county  and  named 
in  honor  of  Leonard  Henderson,  once  chief  justice  of  the 
State,  the  county  seat  also  having  been  named  in  his  honor. 
In  1850  it  had  only  6,483  population,  while  in  1910  it  contained 
16,262. 


182         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

"The  crest  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  in  Henderson  county,  is  an 
undulating  plateau,  which  will  not  be  recognized  by  the  trav- 
eler in  crossing.  The  Saluda  mountains,  beyond  Green  river, 
are  the  boundary  line  of  vision  on  the  south.  The  general 
surface  features  of  the  central  part  of  this  pearl  of  counties 
vnW  be  best  seen  by  a  glance  at  the  pictorial  view  from  Dun 
Cragin,  near  Hendersonville."  ^  ^ 

With  a  general  altitude  about  that  of  Asheville,  with  broad 
river  bottoms  along  the  French  Broad,  Mud  creek  and  else- 
where, its  agricultural  and  grazing  advantages  surpass  those 
of  Buncombe;  while  as  a  summer  and  health  resort,  Hender- 
sonville,  its  county  seat,  with  its  fine  and  well-kept  hotels 
and  boarding  houses,  surpasses  in  many  important  respects 
the  only  town  that  exceeds  it  in  population,  the  famed  city 
of  Asheville.  The  social  charm  of  this  beautiful  place,  as  well 
as  of  Flat  Rock  and  Fletcher,  is  at  least  not  surpassed  in 
Buncombe  or  in  Asheville  itself.  Hendersonville  has  every- 
thing in  the  way  of  hotels,  boarding  houses,  clubs,  banks, 
street  railways,  parks,  lights,  water,  livery  and  other  advan- 
tages that  could  be  wished.  The  points  of  interest  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  are  numerous  and  appealing.  Last  sum- 
mer there  were  15,000  visitors  in  to^\Ti  and  25,000  in  the 
county.     The  churches  represent  every  denomination. 

John  Clayton,  of  Mills  river  section,  was  in  the  legislature 
in  1827  and  1828,  and  in  the  senate  in  1833.  Largely  through 
his  influence  Henderson  was  formed  into  a  separate  county. 
He  was  the  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Mattie  Fletcher  Egerton, 
first  wife  of  Dr.  J.  L.  Egerton  and  great-grandfather  of  IVIrs. 
Wm.  Redin  Kirk.  He  with  his  son,  John,  was  among  the 
first  jurors  of  this  county.  R.  Irvine  Allen,  brother  of  Dr. 
T.  A.  Allen,  the  latter  being  the  oldest  male  inhabitant  of  this 
county,  and  Jesse  Rhodes  were  among  the  chain-bearers  when 
the  county  lines  were  first  surveyed.  A  committee,  consist- 
ing of  Col.  John  Clayton,  Col.  Killian,  and  Hugh  Johnston, 
was  appointed  to  select  and  lay  off  a  county  seat,  and  their 
first  choice  was  the  land  at  what  is  now  called  Horse  Shoe  in  1839. 
But  there  was  so  much  dissatisfaction  with  this  that  two 
factions  arose,  called  the  River  and  the  Road  parties,  the 
River  party  favoring  the  Horse  Shoe  site,  it  having  been  on 
the  French  Broad  river.  In  1839,  however,  the  Road  party 
enjoined  the  sale  in  lots  of  the  land  selected  at  Horse  Shoe,  and 


COUNTY  HISTORY  183 


the  controversy  soon  waxed  so  warm  that  the  legislature 
autiiorized  an  election  to  determine  the  matter  by  popular 
vote,  resulting  in  the  success  of  the  Road  party.  Judge 
Mitchell  King  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  who  had  been  among  the 
first  settlers  of  this  section  and  owned  much  of  the  land  where 
Hendersonville  now  stands,  conveyed  fifty  acres  for  the  county 
site;  and  tiiis  was  laid  off  into  lots  and  broad,  level  right-angled 
streets,  and  sold  in  1840.     Dr.  Allen  died  early  in  1914. 

Hendersonville.  At  the  time  the  Civil  War  commenced 
there  were  on  Main  street,  the  Episcopal  church,  completed 
save  for  the  spire;  the  Shipj)  house,  adjoining,  which  for- 
merly stood  where  the  Pine  Grove  lodge  now  stands,  and  where 
Lawyer  Shipp,  father  of  Bartlett  Shipp,  Esq.,  lived.  The 
present  Sample  home  was  then  o^\^led  by  the  Rev.  Collin 
Hughes,  the  Episcopal  clergyman.  The  old  Virginia  House 
stood  on  the  corner  now  occupied  by  the  First  National  bank, 
and  was  built  by  David  Miller  and  William  Deaver,  the  latter 
having  been  killed  in  the  Civil  War.  It  was  conducted  many 
years  by  Mr.  C.  C.  Chase;  but  about  eighteen  years  ago  it 
became  the  property  of  Hall  Poole.  A  still  older  house  was 
the  old  hotel  built  by  John  Mills,  and  stood  on  the  present 
site  of  the  St.  John.  It  later  became  the  property  of  Colonel 
Ripley,  and  was  kno^^^l  far  and  wide  as  the  Ripley  House. 
There  was  nothing  south  of  the  court  house  site  except  the 
old  Ripley  residence,  built  by  the  Kings,  and  the  house  that 
is  now  Col.  Pickens'  residence.  The  only  two  houses  stand- 
ing prior  to  the  formation  of  Henderson  county  in  the  town 
of  Hendersonville,  and  remaining  unchanged  now,  are  the 
Arledge  house  on  Main  street,  and  the  stone  office-building  in 
front  of  the  Pine  Grove  lodge,  near  the  Episcopal  church. 

Bowman's  Bluff.  About  forty  years  ago  a  small  colony 
of  English  people  came  to  this  section,  and  bought  a  vast 
acreage  of  land.  Among  them  were  the  Valentines,  well 
known  in  Hendersonville  for  many  years,  the  Thomases, 
the  Jeudweines,  the  Malletts  (who  still  live  on  their  place) 
and  the  Holmeses,  still  owTiing  the  place  above  referred  to.  It 
would  be  hard  to  describe  this  beautiful  place.  To  the  south 
of  the  old-fashioned  house  lies  a  tangle  of  garden,  with  its 
riot  of  vines,  and  its  numerous  overgrown  arbors,  and  old 
trees  trimmed  in  fantastic  shapes.  The  house  is  approached 
by  a  long  winding  drive,  between  great  old  pines,  and  just  in 


184         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

front  of  the  house  is  the  immense  bluff,  whereon  Avild  crab- 
apples  bloom  in  profusion.  This  falls  away,  a  sheer  descent 
many  feet  to  the  river  below,  and  it  was  here  that  ■Marj'^ 
Bowman  was  said  to  have  leaped  to  her  death  many  years  ago, 
desperate  over  a  hopeless  love. 

Centrally  located  to  what  was  this  English  colony  and  on 
top  of  a  hill,  sits  the  little  Episcopal  church  where  they  were 
wont  to  worship  on  Sunday,  and  which  is  used  irregularly 
still. 

Mr.  Frank  Valentine,  who  came  to  America  in  this  colony, 
was  educated  at  Cambridge,  England,  graduated  with  highest 
honor,  holding  several  degrees.  He  went  from  Bowman's 
Bluff  to  Asheville,  and  later  moved  to  Hendersonville,  where 
he  spent  his  remaining  days.  He  was  known  as  one  of  the 
finest  educators  in  Western  North  Carolina. 

Former  Citizens.  Peter  Stradley  Uved  at  Old  Flat  Rock, 
and  in  1870  died  there  almost  100  years  old,  highly  respected 
and  loved;  Joseph  Dotson  lived  to  the  age  of  104  on  his  farm 
near  Bat  Cave,  and  made  baskets  and  brooms.  He  was  cap- 
tured while  in  the  Confederate  army  but  escaped,  running  18 
miles  over  the  ice.  Govan  Edney  of  Edneyville,  also  lived  to 
a  great  age,  and  had  a  large  experience  as  a  hunter.  Harvey 
Johnston  and  his  wife  once  owned  nearly  all  the  land  on  the 
west  side  of  South  Main  street,  Hendersonville,  and  having 
no  horse,  managed  to  make  fine  crops  notwithstanding.  Robert 
Thomas,  first  sheriff  of  Henderson  county,  was  killed  by  bush- 
whackers during  the  Civil  War.  Solomon  Jones  lived  on  Mount 
Hebron,  and  was  known  as  a  builder  of  roads,  having  con- 
structed one  from  Hendersonville  to  Mount  Hebron,  and  an- 
other up  Saluda  mountain;  lived  to  be  nearly  100,  and  made 
his  own  tombstone. 

Business  Enterprises.  The  Freeze  Hosiery  mills  were 
opened  June  15,  1912;  the  Skyland  Hosiery  Co.,  at  Flat  Rock 
make  silk  and  cotton  hose  and  have  been  operating  several 
years;  the  Green  River  Mfg.  Co.,  at  Tuxedo,  six  miles  south 
of  Hendersonville,  was  started  in  1909.  They  make  combed 
peelers  and  Egyptain  yarns,  their  annual  output  being  350,- 
000  pounds;  employing  250  hands,  of  whom  200  are  skilled.  They 
support  an  excellent  school  eight  months  every  year;  the  Case 
Canning  factory  on  the  Edney\nlle  road  six  miles  from  Hen- 
dersonville, at  Dana,  has  a  capacity  of  500,000|cans  a  season; 


COUNTY  HISTORY  185 


the  llfiulcrsuuville  Light  tt  Power  Co.,  7' •>  miles  east  of  Hen- 
dersonville,  have  1,250  horsepower,  using  only  400  at  present; 
George  Stephens  operates  a  mission  furniture  factory,  at  Lake 
Kanuga,  six  miles  out,  where  also  is  Kanuga  elulj. 

Country  Resorts.  Besides  the  excellent  hotels  in  Hender- 
sonville,  there  is  a  fine  hotel  at  Osceola  lake,  one  mile  from 
town  on  the  Kanuga  road;  Kanuga  club  on  Kanuga  lake; 
Highland  lake  club,  one  and  a  half  miles  out  on  the  Flat  Rook 
road,  with  cottages,  is  a  stock  company;  Chimney  Rock, 
twelve  miles  east,  is  in  the  Hickory  Nut  canon;  Buck  Forest, 
now  the  property  of  the  Frank  Coxe  estate,  was  for  years  a  sum- 
mer resort,  and  the  falls  in  the  vicinity  are  noted;  Fletcher, 
near  the  Buncombe  line  is  also  popular,  and  the  social  charms 
of  the  neighborhood  are  well  recognized;  Buck  Shoals  is  near, 
and  the  famous  Rugby  Grange,  the  attractive  country  estate 
of  the  West  felts  of  New  Orleans,  is  one  of  the  "show-places" 
of  Western  North  Carolina. 

A  Literary  Curiosity.  A  poem  written  on  white  satin  in 
quatrain  form,  into  each  of  which  w^as  incorporated  a  clause 
of  the  Lord's  prayer,  is  known  to  have  been  written  by  Mrs. 
Susan  Baring  and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  a  Henderson- 
vilie  lady. 

Settling  the  Graham  Boundary  Line.  By  ch.  202,  Pub. 
Laws,  1897,  343,  the  county  surveyors  of  Cherokee  and  Gra- 
ham were  authorized  to  locate  the  line  between  these  two  coun- 
ties and  Tennessee,  according  to  the  calls  of  the  act  of  1821. 

Cherokee  and  Murphy.  As  early  as  1830  the  legislature 
provided  that  the  Indian  lands  west  of  Macon  should  remain 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  that  county  till  a  new  county  should 
be  formed  for  them,  whose  count j^  seat  should  be  named  Mur- 
phy. (Rev.  St.  1837,  Vol.  ii,  p.  213  and  p.  214).  In  1842 
the  State  granted  to  A.  Smith,  chairman  of  the  County  court, 
433  acres  for  a  court  house,  etc.  (Deed  Book  A,  p.  429, 
dated  March  23,  1842.)  ^^ 

Old  County  Buildings.  The  old  jail  was  back  of  the  J. 
W.  Cooper  residence  and  the  whipping  post  stood  near  where 
a  street  now  runs,  and  the  first  court  house,  a  very  plain  and 
unpretentious  affair,  stood  at  the  intersection  of  the  two  main 
roads  from  the  country.  The  new  court  house  was  built 
where  the  present  one  now  stands,  in  1891,  at  a  cost  of  about 
$20,000..   but  it  was  burned  in  1892.      In  1893  and   1894   it 


186         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

was  rebuilt,  as  the  marble  foundations  and  brick  walls  stood 
intact  after  the  fire,  at  a  cost  of  $12,000.  There  was  no 
insurance  on  the  burned  building. 

Preeminent  Advantages.  Murphy's  location  between  two 
clear  mountain  rivers,  its  broad  and  almost  level  streets,  its 
fine  court  house,  schools  and  hotels  form  the  nucleus  around 
which  a  large  city  should  grow.  It  has  two  competing  rail- 
roads, and  a  climate  almost  ideal.  Its  citizens,  too,  are  enter- 
prising and  progressive,  good  streets  and  roads  being  appre- 
ciated highly 

Murphy's  First  Citizens.  Daniel  F.  Ramseur  kept  the 
old  "Long  Hotel,"  with  offices,  that  used  to  stand  near  the  public 
square.  Felix  Axley  was  the  father  of  the  Murphy  bar  and  of 

F.  P.  and  J.  C.  Axley.  J.  C.  Abbott  lived  at  the  old  A.  T. 
Davidson  place,  and  was  a  leading  merchant  after  the  Civil 
War.  Samuel  Henxv,  deceased,  was  an  ante-bellum  resident, 
was  U.  S.  Commissioner  for  years,  and  a  friend  of  the  late 
U.  S.  District  Judge  R.  P.  Dick.  A.  M.  Dyche  (pronounced 
Dike)  was  sheriff,  justice  of  the  peace  and  a  good  citizen.     S. 

G.  R.  Mount  was  postmaster  and  lived  in  the  southern  part 
of  town.  Dr.  John  W.  Patton  was  a  leading  physician  and 
lived  near  Hiwassee  bridge.  Mercer  Fain  lived  where  the 
Regal  hotel  stands  now,  and  was  a  merchant,  farmer  and  land 
speculator.  Benjamin  S.  Brittain  lived  in  East  Murphy  from 
the  organization  of  the  county  till  his  death,  and  was  register 
of  deeds.  Drewry  Weeks  lived  on  the  northeast  corner  of  the 
Square  and  was  from  the  organization  of  the  county  till  his 
death  clerk  of  the  old  county  court.  Seth  Hyatt,  sheriff, 
lived  where  Capt.  J.  W.  Cooper  afterwards  resided.  John- 
son King  lived  where  S.  Hyatt  had  lived,  and  married  his 
widow.  He  was  a  partner  of  the  late  Col.  W.  H.  Thomas, 
and  the  father  of  Hon.  Mark  C.  King,  several  terms  in  the 
legislature.  Dr.  C  T.  Ilrf^ers  was  another  leading  physician. 
Jesse  Brooks  was  a  i  merchant  and  lived  on  what  is  now  Church 
street.  G.  L.  D.  McClelland  lived  first  on  Church  and  after- 
wards on  the  east  side  of  Main  street  and  lived  to  be  over 
ninety  years  of  age,  being  highly  esteemed.  William  Berry 
was  a  merchant  and  farmer;  Xenas  Hubbard  was  a  tinner; 
James  Grant  was  a  merchant  and  kept  store  where  the  Dickey 
hotel  now  stands;  John  Rolen  was  a  lawyer;  J.  J.  Turnbill  was 
a  blacksmith,  and  a  man  of  unusual  sense. 


COUNTY  HISTOr^Y  |87 


\\  iLLiAM  liEALE.  Tliis  scliolarly  man  came  to  Murphy 
from  Canada  just  prior  to  the  Civil  War  and  taught  scliool; 
was  several  times  sheritT,  and  lived  on  the  south  side  of  Hi- 
wassee  bridge. 

David  and  John  Henesea.  Just  after  the  Civil  War  they 
moved  from  a  fine  farm  at  the  head  of  Valley  river.  John 
kept  a  hotel,  now  the  residence  of  C.  E.  Wood. 

James  W.  Cooper.  He  moved  to  Murphy  from  Graham 
soon  after  the  Civil  War,  and  was  a  most  successful  lawyer 
and  land  speculator. 

Residents  of  Cherokee  County.     Among  the  more  prom- 
inent may  be  mentioned  Abraham  Harshaw,  the  largest  slave 
owner,    four    miles    south    of    Murphy;    John    Harshaw,    his 
brother;  Abraham  Sudderth,  who  owned  the  Mission  farm  six 
miles  south  of  Murphy,  where  Rev.   Humphrey  Posey  had 
established  a  mission  school  for  the  Cherokees;  William  Strange 
owned  a  fine  farm  at  the  mouth  of  Brasstown  creek;  Gideon 
Morris,  a  Baptist  preacher,  who  married  Yonaguska's  daughter; 
Andrew  Moore;  David  Taylor;  David  Henesea;  James  W.  C. 
Piercy,  who,  from  the  organization  of  the  county  till  his  death, 
located  most  of  the  land  in  Cherokee;  James  Tatham,  the  father 
of  Purd  and  Bent,  who  lived  a  mile  west  of  Andrews;  James 
Whitaker  and   his  son   Stephen,    who    lived    near    Andrews; 
Hugh  Collett  and  his  father,  who  lived  just  above  Old  Valley 
Town  and  were  men  of  industry  and  integrity;  Buck  and 
Neil  Colvard,  who  lived  at  Tomotla;  Wm.  Welch,  who  lived 
in  the  same  neighborhood;  and   Henry  Moss,  who  lived  at 
Marble,  Ute  Hyatt  living  on  the  adjoining  farm.     Elisha  P. 
Kincaid  lived  four  miles  east  of  Murpiiy,  and  above  him  lived 
Betty  Welch,  or  Betty  Bly  or  Blythe,  the  heroine  of  Judge 
Strange's  romance,  "Yonaguska."     John  Welch  was  her  hus- 
band,  a   half-breed   Cherokee,   and  an  "Avenger  of  Blood." 
(See  ch.  26.)     In  the  western  part  of  the  county  were  Burton 
K.  and  George  Dickey,  Wm.  C.  Walker,  who  was  killed  at 
the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  having  been  colonel  of  the  29th 
X.  C.  regiment;  Abel  S.  Hill,  sheriff;  Calvin  C.   Vest;  and 
others,  who  lived  on  Notla.     In  the  northern  part  lived  Har- 
vey Davidson,  sheriff  and  farmer;  and  the  Hunsuckers,  Black- 
wells,    Longwoods,    Gentrys   and    others.     Goldman     Bryson 
lived  on  Beaver  Dam,  and  was  said  to  have  been  at  the  head 


188         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

of  a  band  of  banditti  during  the  Civil  War,  and  was  followed 
into  the  mountains  and  killed  by  a  party  of  Confederates. 
Andrew  and  Jeff  Colvard  were  founders  of  large  and  influen- 
tial families.  They  were  bold  and  daring  frontiersmen  and 
citizens  of  character  and  ability.  "Old  Rock  Voyles, "  as  he 
was  affectionately  called,  lived  on  Persimmon  creek,  ten  miles 
from  Murphy,  and  was  a  man  of  originality  and  humor.  He 
lived  to  a  great  age. 

A  Cemetery  in  the  Cliffs.  All  along  the  crest  of  the 
ridges  which  terminate  in  rock  cliffs  on  the  bank  of  the  Hi- 
wassee  river  about  one  mile  below  Murphy  are  large  deposits 
of  human  bones,  supposed  to  be  the  bones  of  Cherokees.  The 
number  of  shallow  graves  on  the  crests  of  these  ridges,  cov- 
ered over  by  cairns  of  loose  stones,  indicate  that  this  must 
have  been  the  burial  place  of  Indians  for  many  years. 

Early  Watauga  and  Boone  History.  The  first  court  in 
Watauga  was  held  in  an  old  barn  near  the  home  of  Joseph 
Hardin  one  mile  east  of  Boone,  Judge  Mitchell  presiding, 
and  E.  C.  Bartlett  being  clerk.  The  first  court  house  was 
built  in  Boone  in  1850  by  John  Horton  for  $4,000,  but  was 
burned  in  1873,  with  the  records.  The  records  were  restored 
afterwards  by  legislative  authority  upon  satisfactory  evidence 
being  furnished,  and  T.  J.  Coffey  &  Bro.  in  1874  rebuilt  the 
court  house  for  $4,800,  the  building  committee  having  been 
Henry  Taylor,  Dudley  Farthing  and  Jacob  Williams.  The 
present  fine  court  house  was  erected  in  1904  by  L.  W.  Cooper 
of  Charlotte  for  $19,000.  Alex.  Green,  J.  W.  Hodges  and 
George  Bobbins  were  the  county  commissioners.  The  first 
jail  was  of  brick  and  built  by  Mr.  Dammons  for  $400,  and  the 
second  jail  was  a  wooden  building  of  heavy  logs.  On  the  sec- 
ond floor  the  timbers  were  twelve  inches  square,  crossed  with 
iron,  and  when  it  was  torn  away  by  W.  P.  Critcher  in  1909 
the  logs  were  made  into  lumber  of  the  finest  grade.  A  splen- 
did new  jail,  with  iron  cages  and  rooms,  was  built  in  1889  by 
Wm.  Stephenson  of  Mayesville,  Ky.,  for  $5,000.  The  follow- 
ing have  been  sheriffs  of  Watauga  :  Michael  Cook,  John 
Horton,  Cob  McCanles,  Sidney  Deal,  A.  J.  McBride,  John 
Horton,  A.  J.  McBride,  D.  F.  Baird,  J.  L.  Hayes,  D.  F. 
Baird,  J.  L.  Hayes,  D.  F.  Baird,  W.  M.  Calloway,  W.  B.  Baird, 
J.  H.  Hodges,  D.  C.  Reagan.  The  following  have  been  clerks: 
Mr.  McClewee,  J.  B.  Todd,  Henry  Blair,  W.  J.  Critcher,  J. 


COUNTY  HISTORY  189 

B.  Todd,  M.  B.  Blackburn,  J.  H.  Bingham,  Thomas  Bingham, 
W.  1).  Farthing. 

W.  L.  Bryan  in  1872  started  the  Bryan  hotel  and  conducted 
a  first  class  hotel  for  27  years.  In  1865  T.  J.  CofTey  &  Bro. 
came  to  Boone,  and  started  the  Coffey  hotel,  where  they  main- 
tained an  ui>to-date  stopping  place  for  many  years.  It  is 
now  i)eing  contlucted  by  Mr.  Murry  Critcher. 

In  185S  Marcus  Holesclaw,  Thomas  Greene  and  William 
Horton  ran  for  the  legislature  upon  the  issue  of  moving  the 
court  house  from  Boone  to  Brushy  Fork,  and  Holesclaw  was 
elected  by  one  vote.  This  meant  that  the  court  house  must 
be  moved;  and  Holesclaw  introduced  the  bill  for  that  pur- 
pose; but  Joe  Dobson  represented  this  district  in  the  senate, 
and  although  he  was  from  Surry  county,  he  managed  to  keep 
Holesclaw's  bill  at  the  foot  of  the  calendar  until  the  legisla- 
ture adjourned.  Of  course,  Holesclaw  was  never  satisfied 
that  his  l)ill  never  reached  a  vote  in  the  senate. 

From  ordinary  circumstances  L.  L.  Green  came  from  the 
farm,  studied  law  and  became  a  leader  in  politics;  was  elected 
judge  and  performed  his  duties  well.  His  portrait  hangs  in  the 
court  room,  to  the  left  of  the  judge's  stand,  while  on  the  right 
is  a  portrait  of  his  friend.  Major  Bingham,  who  was  a  fine  law- 
yer and  a  great  teacher  of  law.  His  name  and  fame  went  out 
over  the  whole  State. 

E.  Spencer  Blackburn  was  one  of  the  most  attractive  men 
this  section  has  produced.  His  father  was  Edward  Blackburn, 
and  his  mother  Sinthia  Hodges.  He  was  one  of  nine  chil- 
dren. He  was  four  times  nominated  for  Congress,  was  elected 
twice;  was  assistant  district  attorney  of  the  United  States 
court,  and  died  at  Elizabethtown  early  in  1912. 

W.  B,  Councill  was  a  student  of  the  learned  Col.  G.  N. 
Folk,  who  after  being  admitted  to  the  bar  was  elevated  to  the 
position  of  judge  of  the  Superior  court  of  this  judicial  district. 
He  declined  a  rcnomination. 

A  Family  of  Preachers.  WilHam  Farthing  came  as  a 
missionary  from  Wake  county  to  Beaver  Dams,  now  in  Wa- 
tauga county,  about  1826,  but  lived  only  three  months  after 
settling  there.  He  bought  what  was  then  known  as  the  Webb 
farm,  about  one-half  mile  from  the  principal  Baptist  church 
of  that  settlement.  He  had  owned  many  acres  near  Durham 
before  going  to  the  mountains.     His  sons  and  those  of  John, 


190         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

his  brother,  who  soon  followed  him  to  Watauga,  were  men 
of  the  highest  character  and  standing.  Many  of  them  have 
been  preachers,  and  four  brothers  of  his  family  were  in  the 
ministry.  Like  the  descendants  of  the  original  Casper  Cable 
who  settled  on  Dry  Run,  just  in  the  edge  of  Tennessee,  no 
drop  of  rowdy  blood  ever  developed  in  any  of  the  descendants 
of  the  pioneer  Farthings.  Dudley,  son  of  Wm.  Farthing,  was 
for  years  judge  of  the  county  court  and  chairman  of  the  board  of 
county  commissioners. 

The  Browns  of  Watauga.  Joseph  Brown  came  from 
Wilkes  to  Watauga  long  before  the  Civil  War,  and  settled  at 
Three  Forks,  where  he  married  Annie  Haigler,  and  reared 
eight  children.  Captain  Barton  Roby  Brown  of  May  Mead, 
Tenn.,  was  a  grandson,  and  married  CaUie  Wagner  in  1864. 
He  was  in  the  Sixth  North  Carolina  cavalry,  and  a  gallant 
soldier. 

The  Mast  Family.  Joseph  Mast,  the  first  of  the  name  to 
come  to  Valle  Crucis,  Watauga  county,  was  born  in  Randolph 
county,  N.  C,  March  25,  1764,  and  on  the  30th  of  May, 
1783,  married  Eve  Bowers  who  had  been  born  between  the 
Saluda  and  Broad  rivers.  South  Carolina,  December  30,  1758. 
Joseph  was  a  son  of  John,  who  was  brother  of  the  Jacob  Mast 
who  became  bishop  of  the  Amish  Mennonite  church  in  Cones- 
toga,  Pa.,  in  1788.  They  had  left  their  native  Switzerland 
together,  and  sailed  from  Rotterdam  in  the  ship  "Brother- 
hood," which  reached  Philadelphia  November  3,  1750.  John 
Mast  was  born  in  1740,  and  shortly  after  becoming  20  years 
of  age  left  his  brother  Jacob,  who  had  married  and  was  living 
near  the  site  of  what  is  now  Elverson,  Pa.  John  wandered 
on  foot  through  many  lonely  forests,  but  finally  settled  in 
Randolph  county,  where  Joseph  was  born.  There  he  married 
a  lady  whose  given  name  was  Barbara.  From  Joseph  and 
Eve  Mast  have  descended  many  of  the  most  substantial  and 
worthy  citizens  of  Western  North  Carolina,  while  the  Mast 
family  generally  are  people  of  influence  and  standing  in  Penn- 
sylvania, Ohio,  Nebraska,  Iowa,  Montana,  Oregon,  Florida, 
Illinois,  Missouri,  Cahfornia,  Kansas,  and  in  fact  nearly 
every  State  in  the  Union.  C.  Z.  Mast  of  Elverson,  Pa.,  in 
1911,  published  a  volume  of  nearly  a  thousand  pages  all  of 
which  are  devoted  to  an  excellent  record  of  all  the  Masts  in 
America.     John   A.    Mast   was   born  on   Brushy   creek   Sep- 


COUNTY  HISTORY  191 

timber  22,  1821).  He  married  Martha  Moore  of  Johns  river, 
Deeember  5,  1850.  He  died  February  G,  1892.  His  pater- 
nal grandfather,  John  Mast,  and  maternal  grandfather,  Cut- 
litf  Harman,  were  among  the  pioneers  of  this  section,  and 
were  (lermans,  settHng  on  Cove  creek.  His  wife,  Martha 
Mast,  WHS  born  April  13,  1833.     She  died  February  15,   1<)05. 

The  Mouetz  Family.  John  Moretz  came  from  Lincoln- 
ton  long  before  the  Civil  War  and  settled  on  Meat  Camp, 
seven  miles  from  Boone,  where  he  built  and  operated  a  large 
mill,  which  was  burned  Init  rebuilt.  He  prospered  greatly, 
and  his  descendants  are  numerous  and  influential. 

The  Shull  Family.  Philip  P.  Shull  was  born  at  Valle 
Crucis,  February  15,  1797,  and  married  Phoebe  Ward  of 
Tennessee.  He  died  January  9,  18GG.  His  father,  Simon 
Shull  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  this  country,  having  been 
a  German,  and  settled  near  Valle  Crucis.  His  wife,  Phcebe- 
was  born  May  28,  1801,  and  died  September  29,  1882.  Jo- 
seph Shull,  who  was  desperately  wounded  in  May,  1863,  at  the 
Wilderness  fight,  is  a  son  of  Philip  P.  Shull. 

The  Councill  Family.  Jordan  Councill,  Sr.,  was  the  first 
of  the  name  to  settle  in  Watauga,  then  Ashe  county.  He  mar- 
ried Sally,  the  daughter  of  Benjamin  Howard,  and  from  them 
have  descended  a  long  line  of  virile  men  and  lovely  women, 
who  for  years  have  been  the  backbone  of  this  section. 

Other  First  Settlers  were  Amos  and  Edward  Greene 
near  Blowing  Rock;  Ransom  Hayes  at  Boone;  Jackson,  Steven 
and  Abner  Farthing  at  Beaver  Dams,  James  McCanless, 
Elisha  Coffey,  Amos  Greene,  Isaac  Greene,  Lee  Foster  and 
Joel  Moody,  at  and  near  Shull's  Mills;  Maiden  Harmon,  Cal- 
vin Harmon,  Seaton  Mast,  Lorenzo  Whittington,  and  George 
Moody,  on  Cove  creek.  Henry  Taylor  came  to  Valle  Crucis 
long  before  the  Civil  War  and  married  a  Miss  Mast. 

Forgot  How  to  Make  an  "S."  In  the  graveyard  of  the 
old  German  Reformed  church,  one  mile  from  Blowing  Rock, 
is  an  old  gravestone  which,  tradition  says,  was  brought  by  a 
Mr.  Sullivan  from  the  Jersey  settlement  in  Davidson  county 
for  the  purpose,  as  he  stated,  of  "starting  a  graveyard."  On 
it  are  carved  or  scratched  the  following  letters  and  numbers: 

E     E     c;     1794. 
This  stone  is  said   to    mark    the   grave   of   the    pioneer  who 
brought  it  to  Blowing  Rock.     But  whether  he  died  or  was  born 


192         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

in  the  year  given,  is  not  known.     It  is  quite  evident  that  he 
had  forgotten  in  which  way  an  "S"  is  turned. 

Jackson  County.  While  the  late  Michael  Francis  was  in 
the  senate  and  R.  G.  A.  Love  was  in  the  house  from  Haywood 
in  1850-52,  Jackson  county  was  formed  with  Webster  as  the 
county  seat.  Daniel  Webster  had  just  died,  and  the  naming 
of  this  town  for  him  was  a  graceful  concession  to  the  Whig 
element  of  the  country,  while  giving  to  "Old  Hickory"  the 
honor  of  naming  the  county  for  him  pleased  the  Democrats. 
Col.  Thaddeus  D.  Bryson,  a  son  of  Daniel  Bryson  of  Scott's 
creek,  was  the  first  representative  in  the  house  from  Jackson, 
while  Col.  W.  H.  Thomas  represented  it  in  the  senate.  John 
R.  Dills,  a  member  of  the  large  and  influential  Dills  family  of 
Dillsborough,  represented  this  county  in  1856.  Joseph  Keener, 
an  influential  and  valuable  citizen  represented  the  county  in 
1862,  followed  by  W.  A.  Enloe,  a  representative  of  the  ex- 
tensive and  leading  Enloe  family  of  Jackson.  Following  are 
the  names  of  some  of  the  more  prominent  legislators  :  J.  N. 
Bryson,  E.  D.  Davis,  G.  W.  Spake,  F.  H.  Leatherwood,  J.  W. 
Terrell,  J.  M.  Candler,  R.  H.  Brown,  W.  A.  Dills,  C.  C. 
Cowan,  and  John  B.  Ensley.  The  late  John  B.  Love  lived 
near  Webster,  and  kept  a  store,  W.  H.  Thomas  being  a  part- 
ner for  a  while.  Mr.  Love  owned  much  of  the  land  in  that 
section,  and  his  sons  settled  on  Scott's  creek  from  Addie  to 
Sylva.  He  also  owned  the  famous  "Gold  Spring,"  near  the 
head  of  Tuckaseegee,  in  the  basin  of  which  a  small  amount 
of  gold  was  deposited  each  morning;  but  a  blast  ruined  even 
that  small  contribution.  He  married  a  Miss  Comans  of  Wake 
county.  Philip  Dills  was  another  pioneer,  and  was  born  in 
Rutherford,  January  10,  1808,  and  came  with  his  father  to 
Haywood  soon  after  his  birth,  and  about  the  time  Abraham 
Enloe  settled  on  Soco  creek.  .  .  .  He  was  a  useful  and 
respected  citizen.  Abraham  Battle  was  born  in  Haywood  in 
1809,  and  his  father  was  one  of  the  three  men  who  came  from 
Rutherford  to  Haywood  with  Abraham  Enloe.  Wm.  H.  Con- 
ley  was  another  important  citizen  of  Jackson  before  Swain  was 
taken  from  it,  and  was  born  in  1812  within  fifteen  miles  of 
Abraham  Enloe's  Ocona  Lufty  place,  his  father,  James  Con- 
ley  having  been  the  first  white  man  to  settle  on  that  stream. 
James  W.  Terrell  Avas  born  in  Rutherford  county,  December 
31,  1829,  and  at  sixteen  years  of  age,  came  to  Haywood  and 


COUNTY  HISTORY  193 


lived  with  his  graiulfuther,  Wni.  D.  l\.ili)atri('k,  till  1852,  when 
he  went  into  business  with  the  late  Col.  Wni.  II.  Thomas. 
In  1854  he  was  made  disbursing  agent  for  the  Cherokoes, 
was  a  captain  in  the  Civil  War,  and  in  the  legislature  for  sev- 
eral terms.  The  late  Daniel  Bryson  kept  a  hotel  or  stopping 
place  on  the  turnpike  road  below  Hall's  and  above  Addie,  in 
the  turn  of  the  road,  where  all  the  judges  and  lawyers  stopped 
while  attending  the  courts  of  the  wetscrn  circuit.  He  was  a 
most  excellent  and  useful  citizen,  and  left  several  sons  who 
have  been  prominent  and  influential  citizens.  Rev.  William 
Hicks  lived  in  Webster  after  the  Civil  War,  where  he  taught 
school  for  two  years;  but  in  1868  he  was  appointed  presiding 
elder  and  moved  to  Hendersonville  where  he  remained  till 
1873,  when  he  returned  to  Webster  and  resumed  his  school. 
Later  he  moved  to  Quallatown  where  he  taught  school  till 
he  was  appointed  to  a  district  in  West  Virginia,  where  he 
afterwards  died.  He  was  a  fine  public  speaker,  a  Confeder- 
ate soldier,  a  member  of  the  Secession  convention  from  Hay- 
wood in  18G1,  and  with  Rev.  J.  R.  Long,  in  1855,  built  up  a 
large  school  near  the  junction  of  Richland  and  Raccoon  creeks, 
giving  the  place  the  name  of  Tuscola.  This  school  flourished 
till  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War.  Mr.  Hicks  also  edited 
The  Herald  of  Truth,  a  newspaper  in  Asheville,  for  a  few  years. 
He  was  born  in  Sullivan  county,  Tennessee,  in  1820,  became 
a  Methodist  preacher  and  came  to  Buncombe  in  1848,  hold- 
ing that  year  the  first  conference  ever  held  in  Haywood,  the 
meeting  being  held  at  Bethel  church. 

Webster  and  the  Railroad.  With  the  coming  of  the 
railroad,  Webster,  the  county  seat,  found  itself  about  three 
miles  from  that  artery  of  trade  and  travel;  and,  soon  after- 
ward, an  agitation  began  for  the  removal  of  the  court  house 
to  Dillsboro  or  Sylva,  and  has  continued  ever  since.  The 
question  was  submitted  to  the  people  but  they  voted  to  retain 
Webster  as  the  county  site;  a  new  court  house  was  built,  and 
it  was  supposed  that  the  matter  had  been  settled  forever;  but 
in  1913  a  more  vigorous  movement  was  started  to  change  the 
county  court  house  to  Sylva,  wdiich  offered  a  bonus  in  case  it 
should  be  done.  The  legislature  of  1913  authorized  the  people 
to  vote  on  the  proposition,  and  the  result  changed  the  county 
site  to  a  point  between  Dillsboro  and  Sylva,  May  8,  1913. 
Webster  is  a  pretty  little  town  with  many  attractive  and 

W.  N.C. 13 


194         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

useful  citizens.  The  improvements  along  the  line  of  railroad 
from  Hall's  to  Whittier  have  been  remarkable.  The  talc  mine 
and  factory  of  C.  J.  Harris  at  Dillsboro,  the  nickel  mine  nearer 
Webster  of  W.  J.  Adams,  and  the  tannic  acid  plant  at  Sylva 
contribute  much  to  the  prosperity  of  these  towns  and  to  that 
of  the  county  generally.  With  a  railroad  up  Tuckaseegce  a 
large  tract  of  timber  will  find  an  outlet,  and  the  copper  mine 
on  that  stream  may  come  into  development.  Jackson  is  a 
rich  and  productive  county  and  its  people  are  thriving  and 
energetic.  Lake  Fairfield  and  Inn,  and  Lake  Sapphire  are 
in  this  county  on  Horsepasture  creek.  Ellicotte  mountain  is 
near  the  extreme  eastern  end  of  the  county.  Cashiers  Val- 
ley, Chimneytop,  Whiteside  Cove  and  mountain,  Glenville, 
East  LaPorte,  CuUowhee  and  Painter  are  places  of  interest 
and  importance. 

Scott's  Creek.  As  this  creek  was  on  the  eastern  border 
of  the  Cherokee  country  from  which  the  Indians  were  removed, 
and  as  Gen.  Winfield  Scott  was  in  charge  of  their  removal  in 
1835-38,  some  suppose  that  the  creek  took  its  name  from  him; 
but  in  two  grants  to  Charles  McDowell,  James  Glascow  and 
David  Miller,  dated  December  3,  1795,  (Buncombe  Deed  Book 
No.  4,  p.  104)  the  State  conveyed  300  acres  on  the  Avaters  of 
Scott's  creek,  waters  of  Tuckaseegee  river,  including  the  forks 
of  Scotts  creek  and  "what  was  said  to  be  Scott's  old  lick 
blocks,"  and  on  the  same  date  there  was  a  further  grant  to 
the  same  parties  to  300  acres  on  the  same  stream,  including  a 
cane  brake,  with  the  same  reference  to  Scott's  old  lick  blocks. 
(Book  8,  p.  85.)  But  a  careful  search  revealed  no  grant  to 
any  Scott  in  that  section  at  or  near  that  time;  and  the  Scott 
who  gave  his  name  to  this  fine  stream  was  doubtless  but  a 
landless  squatter  who  was  grazing  and  salting  his  cattle  on 
the  wild  lands  of  that  day.  He  probably  lived  in  Haywood 
county,  near  the  head  of  Richland  creek. 

Madison  County.  It  was  formed  in  1851  from  Buncombe 
and  Yancey;  it  was  named  for  James  Madison,  while  its  county 
seat  bears  the  name  of  the  great  chief  justice,  John  Marshall. 

Jewel  Hill  or  Lapland?  It  is  almost  forgotten  that  the 
postoffice  at  what  is  now  Marshall  was  called  Lapland  in 
1858,  and  that  it  used  to  be  said  that  pegged  shoes  were  first 
made  there  because  the  hills  so  enclose  the  place  that  it  would 
be  impossible  for  a  shoemaker  to  draw  out  his  thread  to  the 


COUNTY  HISTORY  195 

full  witlth  of  his  arms,  and  consctiurntly  had  to  hainincr  in 
pegs,  which  ho  coukl  do  by  striking  up  and  down.  It  is  also 
uncertain  whether  the  name  of  Madison's  first  county  seat 
is  Jewel  Hill  or  Duel  II ill.  One  thing,  however,  is  certain, 
and  it  is  that  there  once  was  a  spirited  contest  over  keeping 
the  scat  of  government  there.  There  were  several  "settle- 
ments" which  desired  to  become  the  county  seat  of  Madison 
county,  Lapland,  on  the  French  Broad  river,  being  barred  by 
the  act  of  the  legislature  (1850-1),  which  provides  that  the 
"county  seat  is  to  be  called  Marshall  which  is  not  to  be 
within  two  miles  of  the  French  Broad  river.  The  principal 
candidates  for  this  honor  were  "Bryants,"  Barnards  and 
Jewel  Hill.  The  last  named  was  selected  at  first  and  several 
terms  of  court  were  held  there. 

The  location  of  the  county  site  at  Jewel  Hill  soon  proved 
unsatisfactory,  and  the  legislature  of  1852-53  appointed  a  com- 
mission to  fix  the  plan  for  a  county  government.  They  de- 
cided on  what  is  now  Marshall  "on  lands  of  T.  B.  Vance  where 
Adolphus  E.  Baird  now  lives. "  But  a  doubt  as  to  the  legality 
of  this  selection  was  immediately  raised,  though  the  county 
offices  remained  at  Jewel  Hill.  But  David  Vance,  in  order 
to  comply  with  the  terms  of  the  act,  deeded  to  Madison 
county  fifty  acres  of  land  for  a  town  site,  by  deed  dated  April 
20,  1853.3  3 

The  location  of  the  county  site  entered  into  the  politics  of 
that  year,  and  the  legislature  of  1854-55  (ch.  97,  Pr.  Laws) 
passed  an  act  which  provided  for  an  election  to  be  held  the 
first  Thursday  in  June,  1855,  to  determine  whether  the  new 
location  should  stand  or  another  location  be  chosen.  In 
case  a  new  location  should  be  decided  on,  a  commission  of  nine 
citizens  was  named,  any  five  of  whom  might  determine  the 
new  location;  or  if  five  did  not  agree,  then  they  were  to  name 
two  places,  one  of  which  should  be  on  the  French  Broad  river, 
one  of  which  was  to  he  chosen  by  a  majority  of  the  voters  at 
an  election  to  be  held  at  a  time  to  be  fixed  by  the  county  court. 

The  act  further  provided  that  "if  the  Supreme  court  now 
sitting  [February,  1855]  should  decide  that  the  location  of  the 
county  seat  at  Adolphus  Baird's"  was  lawful,  then  this  act 
should  be  null  and  inoperative.  Pursuant  to  this  act  the 
question  as  to  whether  the  location  of  the  county  site  at  Adol- 
phus E.  Baird's  should  stand  or  a  new  location  be  chosen  was 


196         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

decided  at  a  popular  election  held  on  the  first  Thursday  in 
June,  1855,  pursuant  to  the  act  of  1852-53,  and  an  order  of  the 
county  court  made  at  its  April  term,  1855.  ^  *  The  votes 
for  and  against  the  present  location,  however,  is  not  stated 
in  the  minutes;  but  there  is  a  tradition  that  Marshall  won 
by  only  one  vote.  At  the  fall  term,  1855,  of  this  court,  a 
building  committee  was  appointed  and  the  building  of  a  brick 
court  house  decided  upon,  which  was  ordered  to  be  built  in 
1856.  The  records  show,  however,  that  the  county  court 
was  still  held  at  Jewel  Hill  up  to  the  fall  of  1859.  There 
appears  to  be  no  record  of  any  litigation  to  test  the  legality  of 
the  selection  of  the  commissioners  under  the  Act  of  1852-53, 
notwithstanding  the  allusion  to  such  a  suit  in  the  act  itself. 

Old  Residents  of  Madison.  Dr.  W.  A.  Askew  was  born 
on  Spring  creek  in  August,  1832,  his  father  having  been  G.  C. 
Askew,  and  his  mother  Sarah  H.  Lusk,  daughter  of  Wm.  Lusk, 
and  a  sister  of  Col.  Virgil  S.  Lusk  of  Asheville.  There  were 
only  four  men  living  on  Spring  creek  when  G.  C.  Lusk  settled 
there  in  1820,  and  they  were  Wm.  and  Sam  Lusk,  a  Mr.  Craw- 
ford and  Wm.  Garrett.  Later  on  Wm.  Moody  and  Josiah 
Duckett  of  South  Carolina,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  came. 
Wm.  Woody  also  lived  there,  and  his  son  Jonathan  H.  Woody 
moved  to  Cataloochee  and  married,  first  Malinda  Plemmons, 
and  afterwards  Mrs.  Mary  Caldwell,  a  widow.  The  Gaha- 
gans  and  Tweeds  lived  on  Laurel,  while  on  Turkey  creek  Jacob 
Martin,  James  Alexander,  A.  M.  Gudger,  R.  L.  Gudger,  Wm. 
Penland,  Robert  Hawkins,  Irwin  West  and  John  Alexander 
lived  and  prospered.  Col  James  M.  Lowrie,  a  half-brother 
of  Gov.  Swain,  with  John  Wells,  John  Reeves,  lived  on  Sandy 
Mush.  Ebbitt  Jones  also  lived  on  Sandy  Mush;  and  on  Lit- 
tle Sandy  Mush  G.  D.  Robertson,  Jackson  Reeves,  Jacob 
and  John  Glance  and  others  lived.  Nathaniel  Davis,  Nathan 
Worley  and  the  Worlej^s  lived  on  Pine  creek.  James  Nichols 
married  a  Barnard  and  lived  at  Marshall.  Robert  Farnsworth 
lived  and  died  at  Jewel  Hill,  where  Mrs.  Clark  now  lives, 
and  was  a  son  of  David  Farnsworth  who  kept  a  stock  stand 
on  the  French  Broad.  James  Gudger  and  his  wife  Annie  Love 
also  lived  in  this  county,  and  Col.  Gudger  was  a  delegate  to 
the  State  convention  of  1835. 

Alleghany  County.  ^  ^  "Alleghany"  is,  in  the  language  of  the 
Delaware  Indians,  "a  fine  stream."     Up  to  1858-59  Alleghany 


COUNTY  HISTORY  197 

was  a  part  of  Asho.  Win.  Raloisli  unci  Elijah  Thompson  of 
Surry,  James  B.  Gordon  of  Wilkes,  and  Stephen  Thomas  and 
John  F.  Green  of  Ashe  were  appointed  commissioners  by  the 
act  creating  the  county  to  locate  the  county  seat,  and  had 
power  to  purchase  or  receive  as  a  gift  100  acres  for  the  use  of 
such  county,  upon  which  the  county  site,  to  be  called  Sparta, 
should  be  located.  In  April,  1859  Wm.  C.  DeJournett,  a 
Frenchman,  of  Wilkes,  made  a  survey  and  plat  locating  the 
center  of  the  county;  James  H.  Parks  and  David  Evans  tlonated 
50  acres  where  Sparta  now  stands,  near  the  geographical 
center  located  by  DeJournett,  but  the  deed  was  destroyed 
by  a  fire  which  burned  Col.  Allen  Gentry's  house,  and  another 
deed  was  executed  in  1866.  In  1859  the  county  court  ap- 
pointed commissioners  to  lay  off  and  make  sales  of  town  lots, 
but  at  the  next  term  revoked  their  appointment  and  directed 
them  not  to  proceed.  A  mandamus  was  asked  and  the  Supe- 
rior and  Supreme  courts  both  ordered  that  it  be  granted;  but 
nothing  further  seems  to  have  been  done  till  the  April  term, 
1866,  when  the  county  court  appointed  F.  J.  McMillan,  Rob- 
ert Gambill,  Sr.,  James  H.  Parks,  Morgan  Edwards  and  S. 
S.  Stamper  commissioners  to  lay  off  and  sell  lots  from  the 
tract  donated  for  a  county  seat,  etc.;  and  at  the  October 
term  following  these  commissioners  were  directed  to  adver- 
tise for  bids  for  building  a  court  house,  etc.  But,  at  the  Jan- 
uary term,  1867,  all  bids  were  rejected  and  the  plans  altered 
so  that  the  court  house  and  jail  should  be  in  one  and  the  same 
building.  This  was  the  first  term  held  in  Sparta,  and  the 
court  was  composed  of  Morgan  Bryan  and  Wm.  L.  Mitchell. 
The  first  term  of  the  Superior  court  was  held  at  Sparta  in  the 
spring  of  1868,  with  Anderson  Mitchell  as  presiding  judge, 
J.  C.  Jones,  sheriff,  and  W.  L.  Mitchell  as  foreman  of  the 
grand  jury.  Stephen  Landreth  was  officer  in  charge  of  the 
grand  jury. 

Before  the  Revolution.  It  seems  that  there  were  no 
settlers  in  Alleghany  prior  to  the  Revolutionary  War;  but 
it  had  been  visited  by  hunters  both  from  Virginia  and  the  cen- 
tral part  of  this  State,  among  whom  were  three  brothers 
named  Maynard  from  what  is  now  Surry,  who  crossed  the  Blue 
Ridge  and  built  cabins  along  Glade  creek.  This  was  about 
1786,  and  they  had  lived  there  about  six  years  when  Francis 
Bryan,  from  Orange  county,  in  1793,  located  within  five  miles 


198         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

of  them.  About  the  same  time  Joel  Simmons,  Wm.  Wood- 
ruff and  Crouce  settled  along  the  top  of  the  Blue 

Ridge,  thus  making  seven  families  in  the  county.  But  this 
was  too  much  for  the  Maynard  brothers,  and  claiming  that 
the  country  was  too  thickly  settled,  they  moved  to  Kentucky. 
But  who  was  the  first  white  man  to  visit  this  section  is  un- 
known; though  Wm.  Taylor,  the  Coxes,  Gambills  and  Reeves 
probably  lived  in  the  borders  of  what  is  now  Alleghany  during 
the  Revolutionary  War.  Two  men  named  Edwards  settled 
here  also  at  an  early  date,  viz:  David  and  William  Edwards. 
John  McMillan  came  from  Scotland  in  1790  and  was  the  first 
clerk  of  Ashe  court.  Joseph  Doughton  from  Franklin  county, 
Va.,  was  an  early  settler,  and  represented  Ashe  in  the  House 
of  Commons  in  1877.  Joseph  Doughton  was  the  youngest 
son  of  Joseph.  This  family  has  always  been  prominent  in 
the  county.  H.  F.  Jones  built  the  present  court  house  for 
$3,475,  and  it  was  received  September  4,  1880,  J.  T.  Hawthorn 
and  Alex.  Hampton,  building  committee. 

Principal  Office-Holders.  The  following  are  the  names 
of  those  who  have  held  the  principal  offices  in  the  county. 

Senators:  1879,  Jesse  Bledsoe;  1880,  F.  J.  McMillan;  1893, 
W.  C.  Fields;  1899,  W.  C.  Fields;  1906,  Stephen  A.  Taylor; 
1909,  R.  L.  Doughton;  1911,  John  M.  Wagoner. 

Representatives:  1869,  Dr.  J.  L.  Smith;  1871,  Robert  Gam- 
bill;  1873,  Abram  Bryan;  1875,  W.  C.  Fields;  1877,  E.  L. 
Vaughan;  1879  and  1881,  E.  L.  Vaughan;  1883,  Isaac  W. 
Landreth;  1885,  Berry  Edwards;  1887,  R.  A.  Doughton;  1891, 
R.  A.  Doughton;  1893,  C.  J.  Taylor;  1895,  P.  C.  Higgins; 
1897,  H.  F.  Jones,  1899;  J.  M.  Gambill;  1901,  J.  C.  Fields; 
1903,  R.  A.  Doughton;  1905,  R.  K.  Finney;  1907,  1909,  1911, 
1913,  R.  A.  Doughton. 

Clerk  of  County  Court:  1859  to  1862,  Allen  Gentry;  1862 
to  1866,  Horton  Reeves;  1866  to  1868,  C.  G.  Fowlkes. 

Clerk  Superior  Court:  1864  to  1868,  Wm.  A.  J.  Fowlkes; 
1868  to  October,  1873,  B.  H.  Edwards.  Edwards  resigned 
and  J.  J.  Gambill  appointed.  October  1873  to  March  1882, 
J.  J.  Gambill;  Gambill  resigned  and  R.  S.  Carson  appointed. 
March  1882  to  1890,  R.  S.  Carson;  1890  to  1898,  W.  E.  Cox; 
1898  to  1910,  J.  N.  Edwards;  1910  to  1914,  S.  F.  Thompson. 

Sheriff:  1859  to  1864,  Jesse  Bledsoe;  1864  to  1870,  J.  C. 
Jones;  1870  to  1882,  J.  R.  Wyatt;  1882  to  1884,  Berry  Edwards; 


COUNTY  HISTORY  199 

18S4  to  1885,  George  Bledsoe  (died  while  in  office);  1885  to 
1888,  W.  F.  Thompson;  1888  to  1894,  W.  S.  Ganihill;  1894  to 
1898,  L.  J.  Jones;  1898  to  1904,  D.  R.  Edwards;  1904  to  1908, 
S.  A.  Choate;  1908  to  1910,  John  II.  Edwards;  1910  to  1914, 
S.  C.  Richardson. 

Register  of  Deeds:  1865  to  1868,  Thompson  Edwards;  1868 
to  1880,  F.  M.  Mitchell;  1880  to  1882,  F.  G.  McMillan;  1882 
to  1886,  F.  M.  Mitchell;  1886  to  1892,  J.  C.  Roup;  1892  to 
1898,  J.  N.  Edwards;  1898  to  1904,  S.  F.  Thompson;  1904  to 
1908,  John  F.  Cox;  1908  to  1914,  G.  D.  Brown. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  first  Justices  of  the  Peace  of 
the  county: 

A.  B.  McMillan,  John  Gambill,  Berry  Edwards,  John  A. 
Jones,  Solomon  Jones,  W.  P.  Maxwell,  Solomon  Long,  Nathan 
Weaver,  Wm.  Warden,  C.  G.  Fowlkes,  F.  J.  McMillan,  John 
Parsons,  Caleb  Osborn,  Wm.  L.  Mitchell,  C.  H.  Doughton, 
James  Boyer,  Wm.  Anders,  Thomas  Edwards,  Thomas  Doug- 
lass, I.  C.  Heggins,  Hiram  Heggins,  Morgan  Bryan,  A.  M. 
Bryan,  A.  J.  Woodruff,  Alfred  Brooks,  Wm.  T.  Choate,  Dan- 
iel Whitehead,  Goldman  Heggins,  Absalom  Smith,  Martin 
Carico,  Ruben  Sparks,  Spencer  Isom,  Chesley  Cheek. 

Of  this  number.  Dr.  C.  G.  Fowlkes  and  Nathan  Weaver 
are  the  only  ones  now  living,  1912. 

First  Marriage  Certificate.  This  is  a  copy  of  the  first 
marriage  record  in  the  county: 

"This  is  to  certify  that  I  married  Calvin  Caudill  and 
Sarah  Jones  the   16th   day  of  March,  1862. 

Daniel  Caudill." 

Two  Noted  Lawsuits.  What  is  probably  the  most  im- 
portant lawsuit  that  ever  existed  in  the  county  was  W.  D. 
Maxwell  v.  Noah  Long,  for  the  recovery  of  the  "Peach  Bottom 
Copper  Mines"  and  for  about  1000  acres  of  land.  This  cause 
was  carried  to  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  and 
then  to  the  United  States  Supreme  Court.  Polk,  Fields, 
Doughton,  Watson  &  Buxton  represented  Maxwell.  Vaughan, 
Linney,  and  Judge  Schenk  represented  Long.  Maxwell  finally 
gained  the  suit.  Chief  Justice  Fuller  writing  the  opinion. 

Another  historical  lawsuit  in  this  county,  was  one  of  eject- 
ment, Wm.  Edwards  v.  Morgan  Edwards.  This  litigation  was 
begun  about  the  year  1864,  and  lasted  nearly  thirteen  years. 
The  action  was  moved  to  Ashe  county  at  one  time,  and  prob- 


200         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ably  to  Watauga  at  another.  It  was  finally  disposed  of  at 
Spring  term  1877  of  Alleghany  Superior  Court.  After  a  des- 
perate battle,  which  lasted  for  nearly  a  week,  the  jury  gave 
a  verdict  in  favor  of  Morgan  Edwards.  ^  ^ 

Mitchell's  County  Seat.  By  ch.  8,  Pub.  Laws  of  1860-61 
Mitchell  county  was  created  out  of  portions  of  Yancey, 
Watauga,  Caldwell,  Burke  and  McDowell;  and  by  chapter  9 
of  the  same  laws  it  was  provided  that  the  county  court  of 
Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions  should  be  "held  in  the  house  of 
Eben  Childs  on  the  tenth  Monday  after  the  fourth  Monday 
in  ]\Iarch,  when  they  shall  elect  a  clerk,  a  sheriff,  a  coroner, 
a  register  of  deeds  and  entry-taker,  a  surveyor,  a  county 
solicitor,  constables  and  all  other  officers.  Thomas  Farthing 
of  Watauga,  John  W.  McElroy  of  Yancey,  Joseph  Conley  of 
McDowell,  A.  C.  Avery  of  Burke,  David  Prophet  of  Yancey, 
John  Harden  of  Watauga  and  James  Bailey,  Sr.,  of  Yancey, 
were  appointed  commissioners  to  select  a  permanent  seat  of 
justice  and  secure  fifty  acres  of  land,  to  meet  between  the 
first  of  IMay  and  June,  1861.  Tilmon  Blalock,  J.  A.  Person, 
Eben  Childs  and  Jordan  Harden  were  appointed  commis- 
sioners to  lay  off  town  lots;  "and  said  town  shall  be  called 
by  the  name  of  Calhoun." 

A  Hitch  Somewhere.  But,  at  the  first  extra  session  of 
1861  (Ratified  September  4,  1861),  Moses  Young,  John  B. 
Palmer  of  Mitchell,  John  S.  Brown  of  McDowell,  Wm.  C. 
Erwin  of  Burke,  and  N.  W.  Woodfin  of  Buncombe  were 
appointed  commissioners  to  "select  and  determine  a  perma- 
nent seat  of  justice,"  to  meet  between  October  1,  1861,  and 
July  1,  1862. 

Still  Another  Hitch.  By  chapter  34,  Private  Laws,  second 
extra  session,  1861,  the  boundary  lines  of  Mitchell  were  so 
changed  as  to  detach  from  Mitchell  and  re-annex  to  Yancey 
all  the  country  between  the  mouth  of  Big  Rock  creek  and  the 
Tennessee  fine,  so  that  the  county  line  of  iNIitchell  should 
stop  on  Toe  river  at  the  mouth  of  Big  Rock  creek  and  run 
thence  with  the  ridge  that  divides  Rock  Creek  and  Brum- 
metts  creek  to  the  State  line  at  the  point  where  the  Yancey 
and  McDowell  turnpike  road  crosses  the  same. 

The  Land  is  Donated.  On  the  17th  of  October,  1861, 
Lysander  D.  Childs  and  Eben  Childs  conveyed  to  Tilmon 
Blalock,  chairman  of  the  County  Court,  fifty  acres  of  land 


COUNTY  HISTORY  201 

(DcchI  Book  C,  p.  30)  the  wliicli  fifty  acres  were  to  be  used 
"for  tho  location  thereon  of  a  permanent  seat  of  justice  in 
said  county;  two  acres  for  a  public  grave-yard,  one  acre  for 
the  site  of  a  public  school  l)uildinf>;.  and  one-half  acre  to  be 
devoted  to  each  of  the  following  denominations  for  the  erec- 
tion thereon  of  church  buildings;  to  wit:  Episcopalians,  Pres- 
byterians, Methodists  and  Baptists";  the  location  of  lots  in 
the  grave-yard  and  for  the  school  and  church  buildings  to  be 
made  by  the  commissioners  charged  by  law  with  the  duty 
of  laying  off  the  town  lots  in  said  seat  of  justice. 

Calhoun.  This  town  was  not  far  from  Spruce  Pine  and 
Ingalls,  "on  a  lane  leading  from  the  Burnsville  and  Boone 
road.""  It  was  what  was  afterwards  called  Childsville.  But, 
although  by  chapter  61  of  the  second  session  of  the  laws  of  1861, 
a  term  of  the  Superior  court  was  directed  to  be  held  "for 
Mitchell  county  in  the  town  of  Calhoun  on  the  sixth  Monday 
after  the  fourth  Monday  each  year,"  the  county  seat  never 
assumed  town-like  proportions.  The  people  never  liked  it; 
and  at  the  first  session  of  the  legislature  after  the  Civil  War  it 
was  changed  to  the  present  site  of  what  is  now  called  Bakers- 
ville.  But,  it  seems,  it  was  first  called  Davis;  for  by  chapter 
2,  Private  Laws  of  1868,  the  name  of  the  "town  site  of 
Mitchell  county"  was  changed  from  Davis  to  Bakcrsville. 

Bakersville.  On  the  27th  of  July,  1866,  for  $1,000  Ilob- 
bert  X.  Penland  conveyed  to  the  chairman  of  the  board  of 
county  commissioners  29  acres  on  the  waters  of  Cane  creek 
"and  the  right  of  way  to  and  the  use  of  the  springs  above  the 
old  Baker  spring  .  .  .  to  be  carried  in  pumps  to  any 
portion  of  said  29  acres.  ^*  This  was  a  part  of  the  land  on 
which  Bakersville  is  situated.  In  1868  there  was  a  sale  of 
these  lots,  and  at  the  December,  1868,  session  of  the  commis- 
sioners the  purchasers  gave  their  notes,  due  in  one  and  two 
years  for  balances  due  on  the  lots.  The  first  court  house  in 
Bakersville  was  built  by  Irby  &  Dellinger,  of  South  Carolina, 
in  1867,  and  on  the  first  of  November,  1869,  M.  P.  and  W. 
Dellinger  gave  notice  of  a  mechanic's  lien  in  the  building  for 
work  done  under  a  contract  for  the  sum  of  SI, 409. 85  subject 
to  a  set-off  of  about  S200.  The  first  court  held  in  Bakersville 
was  in  a  grove  near  the  former  Bowman  house,  when  it  stood 
on  the  top  of  the  ridge  above  its  present  site.  Judge  A.  S. 
Merrimon  presided.     The  next  court  was  held  in  a  log  house 


202        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

built  by  Isaac  A.  Pearson.  The  present  court  house  was  built 
by  the  Fall  City  Construction  Company,  of  Louisville,  Ky. 
Transylvania.^^  This  county  was  formed  in  1861,  while 
Marcus  Erwin  was  in  the  senate  and  Joseph  P.  Jordan  of 
Henderson  county  was  in  the  house.  M.  N.  Patton  was  its 
first  representative,  in  1864.  Court  was  held  in  a  store  room 
on  what  is  now  Caldwell  street,  Brevard.  The  first  regular 
court  house  was  a  small  frame  building  which  stood  on  site 
of  present  building.  It  was  built  by  George  Clayton  and 
Eph.  England,  contractors,  and  was  not  quite  complete  in 
1866.  The  first  jail  was  also  small  and  of  wood.  Both  these 
buildings  were  moved  across  the  street  and  are  still  in  exist- 
ence. The  present  court  house  was  built  about  1874  by 
Thomas  Davis  contractor.  Probit  Poore  built  what  is  still 
known  as  the  "Red  House,"  before  the  Civil  War;  but  it  was 
not  used  as  a  hotel  till  William  Moore  opened  it  as  such,  and 
this  was  the  first  hotel  in  Brevard.  In  1872  or  1873  Nathan 
McMinn  built  a  store  and  afterwards  a  hotel  where  the  present 
McMinn  house  stands  and  opened  a  hotel  there  about  1879. 
George  Shuford,  the  father  of  Judge  G.  A.  Shuford,  used  to 
o\ATi  the  Breese  or  Hume  place  in  Brevard,  and  sold  it  to 
Meredith  D.  Cooper  who  built  the  present  mansion,  and  sold 
it  to  Mrs.  Hume.  George  Shuford  bought  the  mill  place 
from  Ethan  Davis  and  built  a  grist  mill  there,  but  when  M.  D. 
Cooper  got  it  he  built  a  flour  mill,  w^hich  was  burned.  Cooper 
afterwards  sold  the  mill  to  Mr.  Lucas  and  he  sold  it  to  Mrs. 
Robert  L.  Hume,  Avho  conveyed  it  to  her  daughter,  Mrs. 
Wm.  E.  Breese,  the  mill  having  been  rebuilt.  About  1800 
George  Shuford  moved  from  Catawba  county  and  bought 
land  below  Shuford's  bridge  on  the  French  Broad  river,  and 
took  up  a  lot  of  mountain  land,  considered  valueless,  but 
which  is  held  today  by  John  Thrash  at  S25  per  acre.  It 
is  in  the  Little  river  mountains.  John  Clayton,  father  of 
John,  George  and  Ephriam  Clayton,  settled  on  Davidson's 
river,  above  the  mill,  at  the  Joel  Mackey  place.  The  Gash 
family  were  originally  from  Buncombe.  Leander  S.  Gash 
lived  for  a  time  in  Hendersonville  where  he  died.  He  was  a 
prominent  and  influential  man,  having  represented  Henderson 
county  in  1866  in  the  senate;  while  Thomas  L.  Gash  repre- 
sented Transylvania  in  the  house  in  1874.  Their  ancestor 
had  fought  in  the  Revolutionary  War.     The  Duckworths  are 


COUNTY  HISTORY  203 

another  large  and  influential  family,  John  having  settled  at 
the  mouth  of  Cherryfield  creek  on  a  part  of  the  David  Allison 
grant,  which  corners  there,  after  following  the  present  turn- 
pike from  Boylston  creek.  It  was  here,  too,  that  the  Pax- 
tons  lived.  Just  prior  to  the  Civil  War,  while  Transylvania 
was  a  part  of  Henderson  county,  many  wealthy  and  fashion- 
able people  from  the  lower  part  of  South  Carolina  bought 
many  of  the  finest  farms  and  built  what  were  palatial  homes 
for  those  days.  Among  them  were  Frank  McKune  and 
William  Johnston  from  Georgetown,  S.  C.  Their  fine  teams 
and  liveried  servants  are  still  remembered.  Then,  too,  Rob- 
ert Hume  built  a  stone  hotel  at  the  foot  of  the  Dunn  Rock, 
about  four  miles  southwest  of  Brevard,  where  he  kept  many 
summer  boarders  prior  to  the  Civil  War;  but,  during  that 
awful  time,  the  hotel  was  burned;  the  ruins  still  standing. 
What  is  still  knowTi  as  the  Lowndes  Farm,  on  the  French 
Broad  river,  about  five  miles  below  Brevard,  originally  be- 
longed to  Benjamin  King,  a  Baptist  minister,  who  married 
Miss  Mary  Ann  Shuford;  but  when  the  Cherokee  country  was 
opened  to  the  whites,  Mr.  King  sold  it  to  William  Ward,  a 
son  of  Joshua  Ward.  William  Ward  built  the  fine  house  which 
stands  on  the  land  still;  his  father  having  built  Rock  Hall,  the 
present  home  of  the  Westons.  Ephriam  Clayton  was  the 
contractor  who  built  the  Lowndes  house  for  William  Ward, 
and  it  was  then  one  of  the  show-places  of  Transylvania.  The 
Wards  were  South  Carolina  rice  planters,  and  quite  wealthy; 
but  during  the  Civil  War  William  got  into  debt  to  Mr.  Lowndes, 
a  banker  of  Charleston,  who  obtained  judgments  and  sold 
the  land  after  the  war,  bidding  it  in,  and  afterwards  plac- 
ing the  farm  in  charge  of  a  Scotch  gardner  named  Thomas 
Wood,  who  immediately  put  the  land  in  splendid  condition — 
the  amount  spent  for  the  land  and  improvements  having  cost 
the  estate  nearly  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Mr.  Lowndes 
was  very  much  attached  to  this  place  and  spent  much  of 
his  time  there;  but  after  his  death,  his  grandson  did  not  care 
much  for  it,  and  sold  it,  with  stock  and  farm  implements  for 
a  small  sum  to  John  Thrash,  and  he  in  time  sold  it  to  Col. 
Everett,  a  genial  and  popular  gentleman  of  Cleveland, 
Ohio.  He  has  improved  the  place  greatly.  The  original 
farm  now  includes  the  James  Clayton,  the  Wm.  Allison  and 
the  Henry  Osborne  places — all  fine  farms.     The  late  A.  Tooraer 


204        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Porter,  of  Charleston,  started  to  build  a  home  on  top  of  a 
small  mountain,  three  and  one  half  miles  down  the  French 
Broad  river,  and  a  Mr.  Clarkson  of  South  Carolina  started 
a  summer  residence  on  the  opposite  side,  but  the  war  stopped 
both  enterprises.  A  relative  of  the  late  P.  T.  Barnura,  owns 
the  Hankel  place  about  three  miles  from  Brevard  on  the 
French  Broad  river.  He  has  an  extensive  chicken  farm, 
containing  5,000  white  Leghorns.  His  name  is  Clark.  Buck 
Forest,  nine  miles  south  of  Brevard  on  Little  river,  containing 
the  shoals  and  three  picturesque  falls  or  cascades  of  that  stream, 
graphically  described  the  "Land  of  the  Sky,"  Avas  originally 
the  property  of  Micajah  Thomas,  who  after  building  a  hotel 
there  before  the  Civil  War,  kept  summer  boarders  when  deer 
hunting  was  popular;  but  after  the  war  sold  it  to  Joseph  Car- 
son. The  late  Frank  Coxe,  Carson's  brother-in-law,  how- 
ever, paid  for  it,  and  in  the  litigation  which  followed  retained 
the  title  and  possession  by  paying  Carson's  estate  about 
$12,000  in  1910.  The  Coxe  estate  have  since  bought  large 
tracts  of  land  in  that  neighborhood  and  it  is  said  will  create 
a  large  lake  and  build  a  hotel  on  the  property.  The  Patton 
family  of  Transylvania  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  influential 
of  that  section,  the  original  of  that  name  having  owned  from 
Clayton's  to  the  Deaver  farm,  a  distance  along  the  French 
Broad  river  of  about  three  miles.  They  were  a  large  family, 
but  there  was  land  enough  to  go  around  to  about  a  dozen 
children.     No  better  people  live  anywhere  than  the  Pattons. 

Cherry  Field.  In  November,  1787,  Gen.  Charles  McDow- 
ell and  Willoughby  Williams  entered  200  acres  in  Ruther- 
ford county  (Buncombe  county  Deed  Book  A,  p.  533),  "ad- 
joining the  upper  end  of  his  Cherry  Field  survey  on  French 
Broad  river  and  extending  up  to  his  Meadow  Camp  survey"; 
and  in  November,  1789,  the  State  granted  to  Charles  McDow- 
ell 500  acres  on  both  sides  of  the  French  Broad  river,  includ- 
ing the  forks  of  said  river  where  the  Path  crosses  to  Estatoe 
(Deed  Book  No.  9,  p.  200,  Buncombe).  This  old  Indian  path 
to  Estatoe  crossed  near  Rosman. 

Ben  Davidson's  Creek,  ^o  On  the  25th  of  July,  1788, 
Charles  McDowell  entered  500  acres  in  Rutherford  county  on 
Ben  Davidson's  river,  including  the  Great  Caney  Cove  two  or 
three  miles  above  the  Indian  Path,  though  the  grant  was  not 


COUNTY  HISTORY  205 

issuctl  till  December  5,  1798  (Buncombe  county  Deed  Book  4, 
p,  531),  and  in  November,  1790,  Ben  Davidson  got  a  grant 
for  040  acres  in  Rutherford  county  on  botli  sides  of  French 
Broad  river,  above  James  Davidson's  tract,  including  the 
mouth  of  the  Fork  on  the  north  side  and  adjoining  Joseph 
McDowell's  line,  "since  transferred  to  Charles  McDowell." 
(Buncombe  county  Deed  Book  1,  p.  74.) 

Clay  County  and  Hayesville.  Clay  county  was  enacted 
in  1861,  but  it  was  organized  in  1864.  The  first  sheriff  was 
John  Patterson,  but  he  could  not  give  the  necessary  bond  and 
the  commissioners  appointed  J.  P.  Chastine  in  his  place. 
Then  came  James  P.  Cherry  who  was  sheriff  for  many  years. 
Wm.  McConnell  was  the  first  register  of  deeds.  John  C. 
Moore,  G.  W.  Bristol  and  Harvey  Penland  were  the  first 
County  Commissioners.  The  county  seat  was  named  for 
George  W.  Hayes.  He  lived  on  Valley  river  near  Murphy 
and  was  the  father  of  Mr.  Ham  Hayes,  who  is  still  living. 
He  was  an  extraordinary  man  and  much  respected.  He  had 
Clay  county  cut  off  from  Cherokee  while  he  was  in  the  legis- 
lature. 

John  H.  Johnson  of  Tennessee,  Robert  Martin  of  Wilkes 
county,  North  Carolina,  and  Elijah  Herbert  of  Wythe  county, 
Virginia,  married  three  daughters  of  John  Alexander,  of  Ab- 
shers,  Wilkes  county.  North  Carolina,  about  1823,  and  after- 
wards moved  to  Clay,  then  Cherokee  county,  when  the  Chero- 
kee lands  were  sold.  They  settled  near  Hayesville.  Elijah 
Herbert,  who  had  married  Winifred  Alexander,  died  in  March, 
1875,  aged  seventy-four  years.  John  H.  Johnson  died  about 
1895.     Robert  Martin  died  about  1880. 

Cla}^  county  lands  are  exceedingly  fertile  and,  with  the 
sparkling  Hiwassee  river  flowing  through  the  center  from  east 
to  west,  with  its  tributaries,  Tusquittce,  Brasstown,  Sweet- 
water, Shooting  Creek  and  various  other  smaller  streams  and 
hundreds  of  clear,  sparkling  springs,  make  it  a  well  watered 
country.  It  is  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  mountains  form- 
ing an  amphitheatre  overlooking  a  valley  that  is  unexcelled  for 
natural  beauty.  Its  soil  is  adapted  to  the  production  of  all 
the  grains  and  grasses  but  more  especially  to  the  growth  of 
apples.  This  county  has  long  been  noted  for  the  morality  of 
its  people  and  the  maintenance  of  a  high  school   at   Hayes- 


206        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ville,  the  county  seat,  the  courts  seldom  last  longer  than  two 
days,  and  often  only  one  day,  and  the  jail  is  almost  always 
free  of  prisoners. 

This  county  was  settled  largely  by  emigrants  from  the 
counties  east  of  it.  The  Cherokee  Indians  were  removed  from 
this  particular  territory  in  the  year  1838,  but  a  number  of 
pioneers  had  settled  in  the  county  prior  to  their  removal.  G. 
W.  Hayes  was  the  representative  in  the  legislature  from  Cher- 
okee at  that  time  and  the  county  seat  was  named  in  his  honor. 
The  minerals  of  the  county  are  gold,  corundum,  asbestos,  gar- 
net, mica,  kaolin,  and  iron. 

George  W.  Bristol  came  from  Burke  county  in  the  spring  of 
1844  and  settled  at  the  Mission  Farm  on  Peachtree  creek.  The 
Bristols  came  to  Burke  from  Connecticut.  His  son,  Thomas 
B.  Bristol,  was  born  in  Burke  county  July  3,  1830,  and  mar- 
ried Mary  Addie  Johnson,  a  daughter  of  the  late  John  H. 
Johnson  of  Tusquittee,  January  22,  1852.  He  died  January 
19,  1907.     His  widow  survived  him  till  October  8,  1911. 

Archibald  O.  Lyon  was  born  in  Tennessee  and  married  Miss 
M.  E.  Martin  September  14,  1856.  She  was  a  daughter  of 
Robert  Martin,  one  of  the  first  and  most  prominent  settlers 
of  Clay  county.  A.  O.  Lyon  died  February  16,  1885.  He 
went  to  Raleigh  soon  after  the  Civil  War  and  obtained  a  char- 
ter for  a  Masonic  lodge  at  Hayesville,  which  was  organized 
as  Clay  Lodge  October  2,  1866.  He  was  its  Worshipful  Mas- 
ter ten  years  and  a  faithful  member  for  nineteen  years.  He 
was  a  progressive  and  successful  farmer,  and  was  loved  and 
respected  by  all  who  knew  him.  James  H.  Penland  also  mar- 
ried one  of  John  H.  Johnson's  daughters,  Miss  Fanny  E, 
Johnson,  as  did  H.  G.  Trotter  of  Franklin  and  Wm.  B.  Tid- 
well  of  Tusquittee  two  others. 

John  C.  Moore  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Clay  county 
and  lived  in  an  Indian  hut  which  stood  near  a  beech  tree  near 
John  H.  Johnson's  house  before  the  land  sale.  He  came  from 
Rutherford  county  and  married  Polly  Bryson  of  Mills  river. 
Their  daughter,  Sarah,  married  Wm.  H.  Herbert  about  the 
year  1851. 

W.  P.  Moore,  universally  called  "Irish  Bill,"  was  a  son  of 
Joab  Moore  and  was  born  in  Rutherford  county  and  was  a 
brother  of  John  C.  Moore.  He  married  Miss  Hattie  Gash  of 
Transylvania  county.     He  was  a  captain  in  the  Confederate 


COUNTY  MISTORY  207 

army  and  "every  inch  a  soldier."  He  is  still  livinji;  at  his? 
home  on  Tusfiuittee  aged  eiglity-three  years 

Alexander  Barnard  settled  on  Hiwassee  river,  three  miles 
above  Hayesville.  Eli  Sanderson  was  born  in  Connecticut 
antl  was  the  father  of  George  W.  Sanderson  who  died  some 
years  ago.  He  and  William  Sanderson  were  among  the  first 
settlers  of  Clay  county.  James  Coleman  was  also  among 
the  first  settlers  and  owned  a  large  farm.  William  Hancock 
lived  below  Hayesville  and  Richard  Pass  came  early  from 
Georgia  to  Clay  county.  One  of  his  daughters  married  S.  H. 
Haigler  of  Hayesville. 

Joshua  Harshaw  was  the  original  settler  at  the  mouth  of 
Rrasstown  creek  on  a  good  farm.  He  came  early  from  Burke 
county.  Abncr  Chastine  came  from  Jackson  county  early 
and  died  about  1874  or  1875,  when  an  old  man.  He  left  sev- 
eral children,  among  them  having  been  J.  P.  Chastine  the 
first  sheriff  of  Clay  county.  Byron  Brown  married  Miss 
Xancy  Parsons  and  died  about  1901.  Daniel  K.  Moore,  of 
Buncombe  county,  also  lived  on  Brasstown.  He  married  a 
Miss  Dickey  and  was  the  father  of  Judge  Frederick  Moore. 
He  is  still  living.  Henry  Piatt,  the  father  of  the  present 
Rev.  J.  T.  Piatt  of  Clay,  was  also  an  early  settler,  and  died 
many  years  ago. 

George  McLure  came  from  Macon  county  long  before  the 
Civil  War  and  settled  near  Hiwassee  river.  He  was  the  father 
of  W.  H.  McLure  who  has  represented  Clay  county  in  the 
legislature.  W.  H.  McLure  married  one  of  the  daughters  of 
R.  S.  Pass  and  was  one  of  the  California  Forty-Niners.  He 
stayed  in  California  till  the  Civil  War,  when  he  returned  to 
Clay  county. 

The  ^Mission  farm  is  now  partly  owned  by  the  heirs  of  a 
Mr.  Sudderth,  originally  of  Burke  county.  He  was  at  one 
time  sheriff  of  Clay  and  a  gentleman  of  fine  character.  Fort 
Embree,  one  of  the  collecting  forts  at  time  of  the  removal 
of  the  Cherokees,  was  on  a  hill  just  one  mile  southwest  of 
Hayesville.  There  is  an  Indian  Mound  at  the  mouth  of 
Peachtree  creek  on  the  old  Robert  McLure  farm.  It  is  about 
the  same  size  as  that  near  Franklin.  There  is  also  a  mound 
half  a  mile  east  of  Hayesville  which  is  highest  of  all  these 
mounds.  It  is  on  the  land  of  W.  H.  McLure  and  S.  H.  Alli- 
son, their  line  splitting  the  mound. 


208         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Among  other  prominent  citizens  of  Clay  should  be  men- 
tioned Dr.  D.  W.  Killian,  Dr.  John  Duncan,  Gailor  Bristol 
and  S.  H.  Allison's  father,  who  came  to  Clay  many  years  ago. 
S.  H.  Allison  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Lyon,  daughter  of  A.  O. 
Lyon.  John  O.  Hicks  was  born  in  Rutherford  county  and 
was  among  the  first  school  teachers  in  Clay  county.  He 
built  up  a  splendid  school  at  Fort  Embree  and  afterwards 
moved  to  Hayesville.  He  represented  Clay  in  the  legislature. 
He  closed  his  school  in  1876  and  moved  to  Walhalla,  South 
Carolina,  and  then  went  to  Texas,  where  he  died  in  1910. 

There  is  now  a  fine  high  school  at  Hayesville.  It  is  in 
charge  of  Mr.  N.  A.  Fessenden,  who  succeeded  John  0.  Hicks. 
Among  those  who  have  distinguished  themselves  after  attend- 
ing this  school  are  Rev.  Ferd.  C.  McConnell,  of  Texas,  one  of  the 
finest  preachers  of  the  Baptist  church;  George  Truett,  another 
fine  preacher;  and  Hon.  George  Bell  of  the  Tenth  Georgia 
Congressional  district. 

Swain  County  and  Brysox  City.  The  county  was  cre- 
ated in  1871.  The  first  court  house  was  a  frame  building, 
with  the  upper  floor  for  a  court  room  and  the  lower  for  a  jail. 
The  "cage"  was  a  pen  of  logs,  under  the  front  outside  stairs, 
and  was  used  for  misdemeanants  only.  The  dungeon  was  a 
log  room  within  a  log  room,  the  space  between  being  filled 
with  stones.  A  padlocked  trapdoor  from  the  floor  above  was 
the  only  entrance,  reached  by  a  ladder  let  down  when  required. 
Bryson  City  was  first  called  Charleston,  which  name  it  retained 
sixteen  years  when  it  was  called  Bryson  in  honor  of  Col.  Thad. 
Dillard  Bryson  who  was  instrumental  in  having  the  new  county 
formed.  Col.  D.  K.  Collins  built  the  first  house  there,  Capt. 
Epp  Everett  the  next,  and  James  Raby  and  M.  Battle  fol- 
lowed. H.  J.  Beck  was  first  clerk  of  court,  Epp  Everett  sher- 
riff,  D.  K.  Collins  postmaster,  and  Wm.  Enloe,  B.  McHane, 
and  John  DeHart  county  commissioners. 

OcoNALUFTY.  The  first  settlers  on  this  creek  were  Robert 
Collins,  Isaac  Bradley,  John  Beck,  John  ]Mingus,  Abraham 
Enloe,  after  whom  came  the  Hugheses,  Connors,  Floyds,  Sher- 
rills,  etc.  Col.  D.  K.  Collins'  mother  had  thirteen  children,  of 
whom  twelve  lived  to  be  gro'^m.  Seven  of  her  sons  took  part 
in  the  Civil  War,  one  being  killed.  Their  neighbor  had  eighteen 
children.  The  earliest  settlers  on  Deep  creek  were  the  Shulers, 
Wiggins,  and  ]\Iillsaps.  Those  on  Alarka  were  the  Cochrans, 
Brendels,  Welches,  and  DeHarts. 


COUNTY  HISTORY  209 

Robert  Collins.  He  was  the  guide  hiuI  assistant  of  Pro- 
fessor Arnold  Cluyot's  surveying  party  in  1858-59,  and  Col. 
D.  K.  Collins  was  along  as  a  helper,  to  carry  the  instruments, 
chain,  stakes,  etc.  They  followed  the  summit  of  the  Smoky 
mountains  from  Cocke  county,  Tenn.,  to  Blount  county,  Tenn., 
breaking  up  the  party  at  JNIontvale  springs,  16  miles  from 
Maryville.  Robert  Collins  was  born  on  Oconalufty  river 
September  4,  1800,  married  Elizabeth  Beck,  December  30, 
1830,  and  died  Ai)ril  9,  18G3,  when  he  was  an  officer  in  charge 
of  500  troops,  mostly  Chcrokees,  in  Sevier  county,  Tenn. 

Eli  Arrington.  He  helped  to  carry  Rhynehart,  who  was  ill 
of  milk-sick  in  1855,  near  Collins  gap.  Wain  Battle  was  also  one 
of  the  party  who  helped  carry  Rhynehart  from  the  mountains. 
About  two  years  later  he  was  with  Dr.  John  Mingus,  Dr.  Davis 
and  a  few  others  going  to  the  Alum  cave  where  Col.  Thomas  got 
magnesia  and  alum  during  the  war,  and  took  sick  and  died 
alone  in  one  of  the  roughest  countries  in  the  mountains.  He 
was  found  by  Col.  D.  K.  Collins  and  taken  to  his  home  in 
Waynesville. 

Danger  in  Crossing  the   Unakas  in  Winter.    Andrew 

Sherman  and O'Neal,  two  lumbermen,  left  camp  on 

the  head  of  Tellico  creek  just  before  Christmas,  1899,  intend- 
ing to  cross  the  Unaka  mountains  south  of  the  John  Stratton 
Meadows,  near  Haw  Knob,  so  as  to  reach  Robbinsville  in  time 
for  Christmas.  They  got  as  far  as  the  Whig  cabin  where  they 
bought  some  whiskey  from  Jim  Brooksher;  after  which  they 
started  to  cross  the  Hooper  bald.  A  blizzard  and  heavy 
snowstorm  began  and  continued  all  that  night.  They  were 
never  seen  again  alive.  In  September  following  Forest  Den- 
ton found  their  skeletons  near  the  Huckleberry  Knob,  where 
Sherman's  remains  were  buried;  but  some  physicians  took 
O'Neal's  remains  home  with  them. 

Origin  of  Names.  Hazel  creek  was  named  from  a  patch 
of  hazelnut  bushes  near  its  mouth;  Noland  creek  was  named 
for  Andrew  Noland,  its  first  settler;  Chambers  creek  for  John 
Chambers;  Eagle  creek  from  a  nest  of  eagles  near  its  head; 
Twenty-Mile  creek  is  so  called  because  it  is  just  twenty  miles 
from  the  junction  of  Tuckaseegee  and  Little  Tennessee  rivers. 

WiLLiAiM  MoNTEiTH.  He  was  the  father  of  Samuel  and  the 
gran,dfather  of  Ellis,  John,  Robert  and  Western  Monteith.  He 
married  Nancy  Crawford. 

W.  N.C— 14 


210         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Col.  Thaddeus  Dillard  Bryson.  He  was  born  near  the 
present  railroad  station  called  Beta,  Jackson  county,  February 
13,  1829,  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  C.  Greenlee  of  Turkey 
Cove,  McDowell  county,  April  4,  1871.  He  died  at  his  home 
at  Bryson  City,  January  2,  1890.  He  represented  Jackson 
and  Swain  a  number  of  years  in  the  legislature.  He  was  ap- 
pointed colonel-commandant  of  the  Jackson  county  regiment 
militia,  February  20,  1854,  and  was  commissioned  captain  in 
the  20th  N.  C.  Infantry  of  the  Confederate  army,  September 
7,  1861. 

Bryson  City  has  one  bank,  three  hotels,  several  boarding 
houses,  a  pump  factor}^  where  columns  and  liquor  logs  are 
made,  a  roller  mill  of  35-barrel  capacity,  an  ice  plant,  bottling 
works,  a  telephone  system,  a  planing  mill,  lumber  yards  and 
builder's  supplies,  livery  stables  and  a  fine  retail  and  whole- 
sale trade  with  the  surrounding  country.  The  town  OAvns  its 
own  water  system  and  watershed  at  Rich  gap  of  200  acres. 
The  water  is  from  mountain  springs  and  is  piped  to  a  fine 
reservoir  on  Arhngton  Heights  overlooking  the  town.  There 
is  also  a  sewerage  system.  The  town  owns  its  own  water 
power  plant  three  miles  up  Deep  Creek  which  furnishes  elec- 
tricity to  operate  the  ice  plant  and  the  roller  mill  and  the 
electric  lights  of  the  town,  and  has  surplus  power  to  sell.  It 
has  140-horsepower  capacity. 

Graham  and  Robbinsville.  Graham  was  formed  in  1872, 
but  it  was  represented  in  the  legislature  by  the  member  from 
Cherokee  till  1883,  when  George  B.  Walker,  Esq.,  was  elected 
to  the  house.  The  county  commissioners-elect  met  at  King 
&  Cooper's  store  on  Cheoah  river,  October  21,  1872,  and  were 
sworn  in  by  J.  W.  King,  J.  P.;  J.  J.  Colvard,  John  Gholey,  G. 
W.  Hooper,  N.  F.  Cooper,  and  John  Sawyer,  commissioners, 
all  being  present.  J.  J.  Colvard  was  elected  chairman,  and 
the  official  bond  of  William  Carpenter,  register  deeds,  was 
approved.  So  were  also  the  bonds  of  John  G.  Tatham,  as 
clerk,  J.  S.  Hyde,  as  sheriff,  Reuben  Carver,  surveyor,  all  of 
whom  were  sworn  in.  It  was  then  ordered  that  the  first  term 
of  the  Superior  court  be  held  at  the  Baptist  church  in  Cheoah 
township,  about  one  mile  from  Robbinsville.  Judge  Riley 
Cannon  held  this  court  at  that  place  in  March,  1873;  and  the 
first  court  held  in  the  court  house  in  Robbinsville  was  the  fall 
term  of  1874.     On  the  7th  of  December,  1872,  the  commission- 


COUNTY  HISTORY  211 

ers  consideroil  three  sites  for  the  county  seat  :  Rhea  Hill,  Fort 
Hill,  and  land  of  C.  A.  Colvards.  They  chose  the  first 
named.  Junaluska,  the  Cherokee  chief,  lived  at  Robljinsville 
and  is  buried  there.  A  tablet  on  an  immense  boulder  marks 
his  grave.  Snowbird  mountains,  the  Joanna  Bald,  the 
Hooper  Bald,  Huckleberry  Knob,  Laurel  Top,  the  two  Stratton 
Balds,  the  Hang  Over,  the  Hay  0,  the  Fodder  Stack  and  the 
Swim  Bald  are  the  principal  mountain  peaks.  They  are  the 
least  known  of  any  of  our  mountains.  In  them  head  the 
Santeetla,  Buffalo,  Snowbird,  Sweet  Water,  the  Yellow  and 
Tallulah  creeks,  all  of  which  flow  into  the  Cheoah  river.  One 
huntlred  and  fifty  Cherokee  Indians  live  on  the  head  of  Snowbird 
and  Buffalo  creeks.  There  is  more  virgin  forest  land  in  this 
county  than  in  any  other  now.  It  has  immense  resources  in  water 
power,  and  the  gorge  at  Rocky  Point  where  the  Little  Tennessee 
goes  through  has  great  value  as  a  power  site.  The  Union  Devel- 
opment Company  has  bought  up  many  sites  on  these  streams. 
In  1910-11  the  Whiting  INIanufacturing  Company  bought  up 
many  of  the  lots  and  houses  in  Robbinsville  and  many  thousands 
of  acres  of  timber  lands.  Lafayette  Ghormley  is  the  grandson 
of  the  man  of  that  name  who  lived  near  the  mouth  of  Mountain 
creek,  and  the  son  of  DeWitt  Ghormley.  Dave  Orr  went  to 
his  present  home  between  Bear  and  Slick  Rock  creeks  in  1866, 
and  his  fame  as  a  hunter  and  trapper  is  now  secure.  Rev. 
Joseph  A.  Wiggins,  a  distinguished  Methodist  minister  of  this 
county,  was  born  on  Alarka  creek  in  1832,  but  moved  with  his 
father  to  Graham  in  1840,  when  there  was  but  one  wagon 
road,  that  from  Old  Valley  To^vn  to  Fort  ^Montgomery,  just 
constructed  for  the  soldiers  who  removed  the  Indians  in  1838. 
Dr.  Dan  F.  Summey  of  Asheville  was  in  charge  of  its  con- 
struction. There  were  no  mills  except  a  few  grist  mills,  and 
wheat  was  "packed"  on  horses  by  a  trail  to  a  mill  five  mile 
from  what  is  now  Bryson  City — a  distance  of  about  thirty 
miles.  Indian  relics  were  then  plentiful  at  the  head  of  Tallu- 
lah creek  at  what  is  called  The  ^Meadows.  Mr.  Wiggins  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  George  W.  Hayes,  after  whom  Hayesville 
was  named.  There  was  not  a  church  in  the  county  and  but 
a  few  log  school  houses.  He  began  to  preach  in  1859,  and 
served  four  years  as  chaplain  in  the  Confederate  army,  after 
which  he  rode  circuits  in  Tennessee,  Southwestern  Virginia 
and  Western  North  Carolina  till  stationed  in   Graham  county 


212         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

His  great-grandfather  Garland  Wiggins  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary War,  as  did  his  wife's  great-grandfather,  Edward 
Hayes.  Andrew  Colvard  lived  on  Long  Hungry  branch,  which 
got  its  name  from  the  fact  that  a  party  of  hunters  was  once 
detained  there  by  high  water  till  their  rations  gave  out  and 
they  were  for  a  long  time  hungry.  The  Stewarts  of  San- 
teetla  came  from  Georgia  and  the  Lovens  from  Ducktown, 
Tenn.  John  and  Robert  Stratton  came  from  Monroe  county, 
Tenn.,  in  the  thirties  and  settled  on  the  Unaka  mountains 
between  the  head  of  Sassafras  ridge  and  Santeetla  creek. 
John  lived  on  the  John  Stratton  Bald  ten  years  and  caught 
19  panthers  on  Laurel  Top,  making  "bacon"  of  their  hams 
and  shoulders.  He  came  with  nothing  but  his  rifle,  blanket, 
skillet  and  ammunition,  but  made  enough  herding  cattle  and 
selling  deer  and  bear  hams  and  hides,  etc.,  to  buy  a  fine  farm 
in  Monroe  county,  Tenn.  On  a  rude  stone  on  the  John  Strat- 
ton meadow  is  carved: 

A.  S. 

Was  born 
1787 

Died  1839. 
A  State  Line  stone  stands  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away. 
John  Ropetwister,  Organdizer,  Big  Fat  Commisseen  and  others 
moved  from  East  Buffalo  creek  to  Slick  Rock  during  the 
Removal  of  1838,  where  they  remained  in  concealment  till 
Col.  Thomas  arranged  to  have  the  remnant  remain.  They 
sent  their  women  into  Tennessee  to  swap  bear  and  deer  hides 
for  meal.  Thomas  Cooper,  the  father  of  James  W.  Cooper 
of  Murphy,  lived  on  Tallulah  three  miles  east  of  Robbinsville. 
There  was  a  large  and  influential  family  of  Crisps  who  settled 
on  Stekoah,  of  whom  Hon.  Joel  L.  Crisp  is  a  distinguished 
representative.  Rev.  Isaac  Carringer  came  from  the  eastern 
part  of  this  State  and  lived  on  Santeetla.  He  was  a  Baptist 
minister  and  died  about  1897,  highly  respected.  John  Den- 
ton the  most  picturesque  mountaineer  in  this  section,  moved 
from  Polk  county,  Tenn.,  to  Little  Santeetla  in  1879.  In 
1900  he  was  crippled  while  logging.  He  stands  six  feet  three 
in  his  stockings.  Soon  after  his  arrival  some  of  the  bullies 
of  Robbinsville  tested  John's  pluck;  but  he  worsted  five  of 
them  in  a  fist  fight,  and  since  then  he  has  lived  in  peace.  His, 
wife's  mother  was  Jane  Meroney,  and  a  first  cousin  of  Jeffer- 


COLINTY  HISTORY  213 

son  Davis.  She  marritHl  a  Turner,  Mrs.  Denton's  given  name 
being  Albertine. 

AvEUY  County.  This  was  createtl  in  1911,  out  of  portions 
of  Watauga  and  Mitchell  counties,  principally. '' '  At  an 
election  held  August  1,  1911,  Old  Fields  of  Toe  was  selected 
as  the  county  seat.  It  so  happened  that  this  land  had  been 
granted  to  Col.  Waightstill  Avery  November  9,  1783.  It  was 
in  his  honor  that  this,  the  100th  county,  was  named,  while 
the  county  seat  was  called  Newland,  in  honor  of  Hon.  W.  C. 
Newland,  of  Lenoir,  then  the  lieutenant  governor  of  the  State. 
The  jail  and  court  house  were  completed  sufficiently  to  allow 
court  to  be  held  in  April,  1913,  Judge  Daniels  presiding.  There 
are  two  legends  concerning  the  reason  this  tract  was  called 
the  Old  Fields  of  Toe.  L.  D.  Lowe,  Esq.,  in  the  Watauga 
Democrat  of  June  19,  1913,  states  that  one  legend  relates  that 
Estatoe,  the  daughter  of  one  of  two  rival  chieftains,  fell  in  love 
with  the  son  of  the  other;  but  her  father  refused  his  consent, 
which  caused  a  bloody  war  between  the  two  factions.  But 
Estatoe  caused  a  pipe  of  peace  to  be  made  with  two  stems 
of  ti-ti  so  that  two  could  smoke  it  at  once.  The  two  rival 
chiefs  assembled  their  respective  followers  on  the  bank  of  the 
river,  and  smoked  till  peace  was  concluded  and  Estatoe  mar- 
ried her  lover.  The  other  legend  is  that  found  in  The  Balsam 
Groves  of  the  Grandfather  mountain  (p.  221),  and  in  it  Esta- 
toe is  made  to  drown  herself  because  she  could  not  wed  her 
Indian  lover  because  of  her  father's  implacable  opposition. 

Avery  County's  Long  Pedigree.  "It  was  a  part  of 
Clarendon  in  1729;  of  New  Hanover  in  1729;  of  Bladen  in  1734; 
of  Anson  in  1749;  of  Rowan  in  1753;  of  Surry  in  1770;  of  Burke 
in  1777;  of  Wilkes  in  1777;  of  Ashe  in  1799;  of  Yancey  in  1833; 
of  Caldwell  in  1841;  of  Watauga  in  1849;  of  Mitchell  in  1861; 
so  that  that  portion  taken  from  Caldwell  and  attached  to 
Avery  in  1911  represents  the  eighth  subdivision;  and  that 
from  Watauga  the  tenth;  which  is  a  record  probably  unsur- 
passed."^- The  principal  reason  for  the  formation  of  this 
new  county  was  the  inacccssil)ility  of  Bakersville  to  most  of  the 
inhabitants  of  ^Mitchell,  it  being  in  the  northeastern  part  of 
that  county  and  only  two  and  a  half  miles  from  the  Yancey 
line.  * '  Lineville  City,  two  miles  from  ]\Iontezuma  and  Pinola, 
is  "the  cleanest  town  in  the  North  Carolina  mountains  east 
of  Asheville,  and  the  only  place  of  the  kind  where  guests 


214         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

have  a  large,  ideal  zone  for  golf. "^*  The  same  author  speaks 
of  the  Yonahlossee  road,  running  from  Linville  City  to  Blow- 
ing Rock,  as  the  Appian  Way  which  ran  from  Rome  via  Naples, 
to  Brundesium,  and  claims  that  the  latter  was  not  more  inter- 
esting than  the  former.  *  ^  The  world  will  one  day  admit  that 
the  fine  scenery  of  North  Carolina  has  its  culmination  in 
Avery  county. 


'From  Asheville's  Centenary. 

2Ibid. 

»Ibid. 

«Ibid. 

'Ibid. 

•Bourne's  Asheville  Code,  1909,  vi.  Scaife  v.  Land  Co.,  90  Federal  Reporter  (p.  238.) 
The  deed  from  Tate  to  Morris  is  on  parchment  nearly  fifteen  feet  in  length.  It  was  written 
by  an  English  law  clerk,  and  still  looks  like  copperplate.  At  page  1C5  of  the  Colonial  Rec- 
ords is  found  a  letter  from  Robert  Morris  to  the  governor  of  North  Carolina  in  rcfernece  to 
a  settlement  of  the  account  between  this  state  and  the  United  States,  in  which  he  refers  to 
the  proposed  arbitration  in  which  this  State  proposed  to  appoint  one  arbitrator  and  retain 
power  of  objecting  to  the  other! 

'Pronounced  Cochay.  He  was  a  Frenchman  who  had  been  brought  to  the  Sulphur 
Springs  by  Col.  Reuben  Deaver  as  a  confectionery  and  pastery  cook. 

8\\  ill  Book  B,  p.  103,  September  23,  1844. 

•Dr.  A.  B.  Cox's  "Footprints  on  the  Sands  of  Time,"  p.  107. 

'"Record  Book  Superior  Court,  not  paged. 

"Ibid. 

•2From  information  furnished  by  Hon.  A.  H.  Eller,  1912. 

isibid. 

nibid. 

islbid. 

161  bid. 

1 'Allen. 

i8Col.  Allen  T.  Da\'idson,  in  The  Lyceum,  January,  1891. 

I 'Ibid. 

2°Ibid. 

2iNineteenth  Annual  Report  of  Bureau  of  Ethnology,  p.  43. 

2n'ol.  II,  Rev.  St.,  1837,  p.  195. 

25" A  Brief  History  of  Macon  County,"  by  Rev.  C.  D.  Smith  Franklin,  1905.  "The 
organization  of  the  county  took  place  nine  years  after  the  survey  of  the  lands  and  the  loca- 
ion  of  the  site  for  the  town  of  Franklin." 

"Ibid. 

2  5Much  of  the  information  about  the  citizens  of  Franklin  and  Macon  was  furnished  by 
Henry  G.  Robertson,  Esq. 

2 'In  1852  he  represented  Macon  in  the  House  of  Commons. 

2'Henry  G.  Robertson,  Esq.,  to  J.  P.  A.,  1912. 

28Ibid. 

2sConnor. 

'"Written  for  this  history  by  Mrs.  Mattie  S.  Candler  of  Hendersonville. 

'iZeigler  &  Grosscup. 

'^The  county  seat  was  named  in  honor  of  Judge  Archibald  D.  Murphey,  who  was 
elected  to  the  Superior  court  bench  in  1818  and  resigned  in  1819.  He  spelt  his  name,  how- 
ever with  an  "e". 

"Deed  Book  G,  p.  139,  et  seq. 

»*Madison  county  records. 

'^See  ante,  page  7. 

'sFacts  as  to  Alleghany  county  furnished  by  Hon.  S.  F.  Thompson. 

'■Deed  Book  C,  p.  30. 

>8Deed  Book  E,  p.  203. 

"Facts  Furnished  by  Hon.  George  A.  Shuford. 

^'What  used  to  be  called  Da\ddson's  River  settlement  is  now  known  as  Pisgah  Forest. 

*  'Caldwell  also  contributed  to  this  territory. 

*-'L.  D.  Lowe,  Esq.,  in  Watauga  Democrat,  May  23,  1913. 

"Ibid. 

"Balsam  Groves,  223. 

<5The  same  author  claims  that  the  Old  Fields  of  Toe,  now  Newland,  was  a  muster 
ground  before  the  Ci\al  War,  p.  180. 


CHAPTER  IX 

PIONEER  PREACHERS 

Solitude  and  Religion.  The  isolation  of  the  early  set- 
tlers was  conducive  to  religious  thoughts,  especially  among 
the  uneducated  ministry  of  that  day.  This  is  impressively 
told  in  the  following  paragraph: 

"There  was  naught  in  the  scene  to  suggest  to  a  mind  familiar  with 
the  facts  an  oriental  landscape — naught  akin  to  the  hills  of  Judea. 
Yet,  ignorance  has  license.  It  never  occurred  to  Teck  Jepson  [a  local 
preacher  in  the  novel]  that  his  biblical  heroes  had  lived  elsewhere. 
He  brooded  upon  the  Bible  narratives,  instinct  with  dramatic  movement, 
enriched  with  poetic  color,  and  localized  in  his  robust  imagination,  till 
he  could  trace  Hagar's  wild  wanderings  in  the  fastnesses;  could  show 
where  Jacob  slept  and  piled  his  altar  of  stones;  could  distinguish  the 
bush,  of  all  others  on  the  "bald,"  that  blazed  with  fire  from  heaven 
when  the  angel  of  the  Lord  stood  within  it;  .  .  .  saw  David,  the 
smiling  stripling,  running  and  holding  high  in  his  right  hand  the  bit  of 
cloth  cut  from  Saul's  garments  while  the  king  had  slept  in  a  cave  at  the 
base  of  Chilhowie  mountain.  And  how  was  the  splendid  miracle  of 
translation  discredited  because  Jepson  believed  that  the  chariot  of  the 
Lord  had  rested  in  scarlet  and  purple  clouds  upon  the  towering  summit 
of  Thunderhead  that  Elijah  might  thence  ascend  into  heaven?  "i 

Early  Preachers.  Staunton,  Lexington  and  Abingdon,  Vir- 
ginia, and  Jonesboro,  Tenn.,  and  Morganton,  N.  C,  have  been 
largely  Presbyterian  from  their  earliest  beginning.  Not  so, 
however,  Western  North  Carolina  in  which  the  Baptists  and 
Methodists  got  the  "start"  and  have  maintained  it  ever  since, 
notwithstanding  the  presence  almost  from  the  first  of  the  Rev. 
George  Newton  and  many  excellent  ministers  of  the  Presby- 
terian faith  since  his  day.  The  progress  of  the  Methodists 
was  due  largely,  no  doubt,  to  the  frequent  visits  of  Bishop 
Asbury. 

The  First  Methodist  Bishop.  "In  the  year  1800  Bishop 
Francis  Asbury  began  to  include  the  French  Broad  valley  in 
his  annual  visits  throughout  the  eastern  part  of  the  United 
States,  which  extended  as  far  west  as  Kentucky  and  Ten- 
nessee."^    He  was  so  encouraged  by  the  religious  hunger  he 

(215) 


216        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

discovered  in  these  mountain  coves  that  he  continued  his 
visits  till  November,  1813,  notwithstanding  the  rough  fare 
he  no  doubt  frequently  had  to  put  up  with.  Following  ex- 
tracts are  from  his  "Journal": 

At  Warm  Springs  in  1800. 

(Thursday,  November  6,  1800.)  "Crossed  Nolachucky  at  Querton's 
Ferry,  and  came  to  Major  Craggs',  18  miles.  I  next  day  pursued  my 
journey  and  arrived  at  Warm  Springs,  not,  however,  without  an  ugly 
accident.  After  we  had  crossed  the  Small  and  Great  Paint  mountain, 
and  had  passed  about  thirty  yards  beyond  the  Paint  Rock,  my  roan 
horse,  led  by  Mr.  O'Haven,  reeled  and  fell  over,  taking  the  chaise  with 
him;  I  was  called  back,  when  I  beheld  the  poor  beast  and  the  carriage, 
bottom  up,  lodged  and  wedged  against  a  sapling,  which  alone  prevented 
them  both  being  precipitated  into  the  river.  After  a  pretty  heavy  lift 
all  was  riglitod  again,  and  we  were  pleased  to  find  there  was  little  damage 
done.  Our  feelings  were  excited  more  for  others  than  ourselves.  Not 
far  off  we  saw  clothing  spread  out,  part  of  the  loading  of  household  fur- 
niture of  a  wagon  which  had  overset  and  was  thrown  into  the  stream,  and 
bed  clothes,  bedding,  etc.,  were  so  wet  that  the  poor  people  found  it  neces- 
sary to  dry  them  on  the  spot.  We  passed  the  side  fords  of  French  Broad, 
and  came  to  Mr.  Nelson's;  our  mountain  march  of  twelve  miles  calmed 
us  down  for  this  day.  ]\Iy  company  was  not  agreeable  here — there  were 
too  many  subjects  of  the  two  great  potentates  of  this  Western  World, 
whisky,  brandy.     My  mind  was  greatly  distressed." 

Curiously  Contrived  Rope  and  Pole  Ferry. 

"North  Carolina, — Saturday  8.  We  started  away.  The  cold  was 
severe  upon  the  fingers.  We  crossed  the  ferry,  curiously  contrived  with 
a  rope  and  pole,  for  half  a  mile  along  the  banks  of  the  river,  to  guide  the 
boat  by.  And  O  the  rocks!  the  rocks!  Coming  to  Laurel  river,  we  fol- 
lowed the  wagon  ahead  of  us — the  wagon  stuck  fast.  Brother  O'H. 
mounted  old  Gray — the  horse  fell  about  midway,  but  recovered,  rose, 
and  went  safely  through  with  his  burden.  We  pursued  our  way  rapidly 
to  Ivy  creek,  suffering  much  from  heat  and  the  roughness  of  the  roads, 
and  stopped  at  William  Hunter's." 

At  Thomas  Foster's. 

"Sabbath  Day,  9.  We  came  to  Thomas  Foster's,  and  held  a  small 
meeting  at  his  house.  We  must  bid  farewell  to  the  chaise;  this  mode  of 
conveyance  by  no  means  suits  the  roads  of  this  wilderness.  We  were 
obliged  to  keep  one  behind  the  carriage  with  a  strap  to  hold  by,  and  pre- 
vent accidents  almost  continually.  I  have  health  and  hard  labor,  and  a 
constant  sense  of  the  favor  of  God." 

Blacksmith,  Carpenter,  Cobbler,  Saddler  and  Hatter. 

"Tobias  Gibson  had  given  notice  to  some  of  my  being  at  Buncombe 

courthouse,  and  the  society  at  Killyon's,  in  consequence  of  this,  made  an 

appointment  for  me  on  Tuesday,  11.     We  were  strongly  importuned  to 


PIONEER  PREACMERS  217 


stay,  which  Brother  Whatcoat  felt  inclined  to  do.  In  the  meantime  we 
had  our  horses  shod  by  Philip  Smitii;  this  man,  as  is  not  infrequently 
the  case  in  this  country,  makes  wa-ons  and  works  at  carpentry  makes 
shoes  for  men  and  for  iiorses;  to  which  he  adds,  occasionally  the  manu- 
facture of  saddles  and  hats." 

Rev.  George  Newton  at  Methodist  Seuvice. 

"Monday,  10.  Vi.sited  Squire  Swain's  agreeable  family.  On  Tues- 
day we  attended  our  appointment.  My  foundation  for  a  sermon  was 
Heb.  11,  1.  We  had  about  eighty  hearers;  amon-  them  was  Mr.  Newton 
a  Presbyterian  minister,  who  made  the  concludiuf;  prayer.  We  took  up 
our  journey  and  came  to  Foster's  upon  Swansico  (Swannanoa)-compiny 
enough,  and  horses  in  a  drove  of  thirty-three.  Here  we  met  Francis 
Poythress-sick  of  Carolina— and  in  the  clouds.  I,  too,  was  sick  Ne.xt 
morning  we  rode  to  Fletcher's,  on  Mud  creek.  The  people  being  une.x- 
pectedly  gathered  together,  we  gave  them  a  sermon  and  an  exhortation 
^\e  lodged  at  Fletcher's." 

A  Lecture  at  Ben.  Davidson's. 

"Thursday,  13.  We  crossed  French  Broad  at  Kim's  Ferry,  forded 
MiUs  river,  and  made  upwards  to  the  barrens  of  Broad  to  Davidson's 
whose  name  names  the  stream.  The  aged  mother  and  daughter  insisted 
upon  giving  notice  for  a  meeting;  in  consequence  thereof  Mr.  Davis  the 
Presijyterian  minister,  and  several  others  came  together.  Brother  What- 
coat was  taken  with  a  bleeding  at  the  nose,  so  that  necessity  was  laid 
upon  me  to  lecture;  my  subject  was  Luke  xi,  13." 

Describes  the  French  Broad. 

"Friday,  14.  We  took  our  leave  of  French  Broad-the  lands  flat  and 
good,  but  rather  cold.  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of  making  a  tolerably 
correct  survey  of  this  river.  It  rises  in  the  southwest,  and  winds  along 
in  many  meanders,  fifty  miles  northeast,  receiving  a  number  of  tributary 
streams  in  its  course;  it  then  inclines  westward,  passing  through  Bun- 
combe in  North  Carolina,  and  Green  and  Dandridge  counties  in  Tennes- 
see, in  which  last  it  is  augmented  by  the  waters  of  Nolachucky  Four 
miles  above  Knoxville  it  forms  a  junction  with  the  Holston,  and  their 
united  waters  flow  along  under  the  name  of  Tennessee,  giving  a  name  to 
the  State.     We  had  no  small  labor  in  getting  down  Saluda  mountain." 

Again  at  Warm  Springs.     In  October,  1801,  we  find  this 
entry: 

"  Monday,  October  5.  We  parted  in  great  love.  Our  company  made 
twelve  miles  to  Isaiah  Harrison's,  and  next  day  reached  the  Warm  Springs 
upon  French  Broad  river." 

"Man  and  Beast  'Felt  the  jMighty  Hills.'  " 
"Wednesday,  7.     We  made  a  push  for  Buncombe  courthou.se-    man 
and  beast  felt  the  mighty  hills.     I  shall  calculate  from  Baker's  to  this 
place  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles;  from  Philadelphia,  eight  hundred 
and  twenty  miles." 


218        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Resting  at  George  Swain's. 
"Friday,  9.     Yesterday  and  today  we  rested  at  George  Swain's." 

Quarterly  Meeting  at  Daniel  Killon's. 
"Sabbath  Day,  11.     Yesterday  and  today  held  quarterly  meeting  at 
Daniel  Killon's,  near  Buncombe  courthouse.    I  spoke  from  Isa.  Ivii,  6,  7 
and  I  Cor.  vii,  1.     We  had  some  quickenings." 

A  Sermon  from  N.  Snethen. 

"Monday,  12.  We  came  to  Murroughs,  upon  Mud  creek;  here  we 
had  a  sermon  from  N.  Snethen  on  Acts  xiv,  15.  Myself  and  James  Dou- 
that  gave  an  exhortation.  We  had  very  warm  weather  and  a  long  ride. 
At  Major  Britain's,  near  the  mouth  of  Mills  river,  we  found  a  lodging." 

At  Elder  Davidson's. 

"Tuesday,  13.  We  came  in  haste  up  to  elder  Davidson's,  refreshed 
man  and  beast,  commended  the  family  to  God,  and  then  struck  into  the 
mountains.  The  want  of  sleep  and  other  inconveniences  made  me  unwell. 
We  came  down  Saluda  River,  near  Saluda  Mountain  :  it  tried  my  lame 
feet  and  old  feeble  joints.  French  Broad,  in  its  meanderings,  is  nearly 
two  hundred  miles  long;  the  line  of  its  course  is  semi-circular;  its  waters 
are  pure,  rapid,  and  its  bed  generally  rocky,  except  the  Blue  Ridge;  it 
passes  through  all  the  western  mountains." 

At  William  Nelson's  at  Warm  Springs.     Again  in  No- 
vember, 1802,  we  find  this  entry: 

"Wednesday,  3.  We  labored  over  the  Ridge  and  the  Paint  Moun- 
tain :  I  held  on  awhile,  but  grew  afraid  of  this  mountain,  and  with  the 
help  of  a  pine  sapling  worked  my  way  down  the  steepest  and  roughest 
parts.  I  could  bless  God  for  life  and  limbs.  Eighteen  miles  this  day 
contented  us,  and  we  stopped  at  William  Nelson's,  Warm  Springs.  About 
thirty  travelers  having  dropped  in,  I  expounded  the  scriptures  to  them, 
as  found  in  the  third  chapter  of  Romans,  as  equally  appUcable  to  nominal 
Christians,  Indians,  Jews,  and  Gentiles." 

Dinner  at  Barnett's  Station. 

"Thursday,  4.  We  came  off  about  the  rising  of  the  sun,  cold  enough. 
There  were  six  or  seven  heights  to  pass  over,  at  the  rate  of  five,  two  or 
one  mile  an  hour — as  this  ascent  or  descent  would  permit  :  four  hours 
brought  us  to  the  end  of  twelve  miles  to  dinner,  at  Barnett's  station; 
whence  we  pushed  on  to  John  (Thomas)  Foster's,  and  after  making 
twenty  miles  more,  came  in  about  the  going  down  of  the  sun.  On  Friday 
and  Saturday  we  visited  from  house  to  house." 

"Dear  William  McKendree." 

"Sunday,  7.  We  had  preaching  at  Killon's.  William  McKendree 
went  forward  upon  'as  many  as  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the 
sons  of  God;'  my  subject  was  Heb.  iii,  12,  13.  On  Monday  I  parted 
from  dear  WilUam  McKendree.  I  made  for  Mr.  Fletcher's,  upon  Mud 
creek;  he  received  me  with  great  attention,  and  the  kind  offer  of  every- 
thing in  the  house  necessary  for  the  comfort  of  man  and  beast.     We 


PIONEER  PREACHERS  219 

could  not  be  proviiilod  on  to  tarry  for  tlie  night,  so  wc  set  off  after  dinner 
and  he  accompanied  us  several  miles.  Wc  housed  for  the  night  at  the 
widow  Johnson's.  I  wjxs  happy  to  find  that  in  the  space  of  two  years, 
Goil  had  manifested  his  Rooilness  and  his  power  in  the  hearts  of  many 
upon  the  solitary  banks  and  isolated  glades  of  French  Broad;  some  sub- 
jects of  grace  there  were  before,  amongst  Methodists,  Presbyterians  and 
Baptists.  On  Tuesday  I  dined  at  Benjamin  Davidson's,  a  house  I  had 
loilged  and  preached  at  two  years  ago.  We  labored  along  eighteen  miles, 
eight  ascent,  on  the  west  side,  and  as  many  on  the  east  side  of  tin;  moun- 
tain. The  descent  of  Saluda  exceeds  all  I  know,  from  the  Province  of 
Maine  to  Kentucky  and  Cumberland;  I  had  dreaded  it,  fearing  I  should 
not  be  able  to  walk  or  ride  such  steeps;  nevertheless,  with  time,  patience, 
labor,  two  sticks  and  above  all,  a  good  Providence  I  came  in  about  five 
o'clock  to  ancient  father  John  Douthat's,  Greenville  County,  South  Caro- 
Una." 

Again   at  Nelson's.     On   October,    1803,   we   meet   with 
this  entry: 

"North  Carolina.  On  Monday,  we  came  ofT  in  earnest;  refreshed  at 
Isaiah  Harrison's,  and  continued  on  to  the  Paint  Mountain,  passing  the 
gap  newly  made,  which  makes  the  road  down  to  Paint  Creek  much  bet- 
ter. I  lodged  with  Mr.  Nelson,  who  treated  me  like  a  minister,  a  Chris- 
tian and  a  gentleman." 

Ivy  Had  Been  Bridged  in  1803. 

"Tuesday,  25.  We  reached  Buncombe.  The  road  is  greatly  mended 
by  changing  the  direction,  and  throwing  a  bridge  over  Ivy." 

Sisters  Kilion  and  Smith  Dead. 

"Wednesday,  26.  We  called  a  meeting  at  Kilion's,  and  a  gracious 
season  it  was  :  my  subject  was  I  Cor.  xv,  38.  Sister  Kilion  and  Sister 
Smith,  sisters  in  the  flesh,  and  kindred  spirits  in  holiness  and  humble 
obedience,  are  both  gone  to  their  reward  in  glory.  On  Thursday  we 
came  away  in  haste,  crossed  Swamoat  (Swannanoa)  at  T.  Foster's,  the 
French  Broad  at  the  High  (Long)  Shoals,  and  afterwards  again  at  Beard's 
Bridge,  and  put  up  for  the  night  at  Andrew  Mitchell's  :  In  our  route 
we  passed  two  large  encamping  places  of  the  Methodists  and  Presby- 
terians :  it  made  country  look  like  the  Holy  Land." 

He  Escapes  from  Filth,  Fleas,  and  Rattlesnakes. 

"Friday,  28.  We  came  up  Little  River,  a  sister  stream  of  French 
Broad  :  it  offered  some  beautiful  flats  of  land.  We  found  a  new  road, 
lately  cut,  which  brought  us  in  at  the  head  of  Little  River  at  the  old 
fording  place,  and  within  hearing  of  the  falls,  a  few  miles  off  of  the  head 
of  Matthews  Creek,  a  branch  of  the  Saluda.  The  waters  foaming  down 
the  rocks  with  a  descent  of  half  a  mile,  make  themselves  heard  at  a  great 
distance.  I  walked  down  the  mountain,  after  riding  sixteen  or  eighteen 
miles,  before  breakfast,  and  came  in  about  twelve  o'clock  to  father  John 
Douthat's;  once  more  I  have  escaped  from  filth,  fleas,  rattlesnakes,  hills, 
mountains,  rocks,  and  rivers;  farewell,  western  world,  for  awhile!" 


220        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

At  Fletcher's  on  Mud  Creek.  Again  in  October,  1805, 
we  find  the  following  entry: 

"North  Carolina.  We  came  into  North  Carolina  and  lodged  with 
Wm.  Nelson,  at  the  Hot  Springs.  Next  day  we  stopped  with  Wilson  in 
Buncombe.  On  Wednesday  I  breakfasted  with  Mr.  Newton,  Presby- 
terian minister,  a  man  after  my  own  mind  :  we  took  sweet  counsel  to- 
gether. We  lodged  this  evening  at  Mr.  Fletcher's,  Mud  Creek.  At 
Colonel  Thomas's,  on  Thursday,  we  were  kindly  received  and  hospitably 
entertained. " 

Beds  a  Bench  and  Dirt  Floor  of  School  House.  Again 
in  September,  1806,  we  find  the  following  entry: 

"Wednesday,  24.  We  came  to  Buncombe  :  we  were  lost  within  a 
mile  of  Mr.  Killion's  (Killian's),  and  were  happy  to  get  a  school  house  to 
shelter  us  for  the  night.  I  had  no  fire,  but  a  bed  wherever  I  could  find 
a  bench;  my  aid,  Moses  Lawrence,  had  a  bear  skin  and  a  dirt  floor  to 
spread  it  on." 

His  Food  Brings  Back  His  Affliction. 
"Friday,  26.     My  affliction  returned:  considering  the  food,  the  labor, 
the  lodging,  the  hard.ships  I  meet  with  and  endure  it  is  not  wonderful. 
Thanks  be  to  God!  we  had  a  generous  rain — may  it  be  general  through 
the  settlement!"  / 

Camp  Meeting  on  Turkey  Creek. 

"Saturday,  27.  I  rode  twelve  miles  to  Turkey  Creek,  to  a  kind  of 
camp  meeting.  On  the  Sabbath,  I  preached  to  about  five  hundred  souls  : 
it  was  an  open  season  and  a  few  souls  professed  converting  grace." 

Rode  Through  Swanino  River. 

"Monday,  29.  Raining.  We  had  dry  weather  during  the  meeting. 
There  were  eleven  sermons  and  many  exhortations.  At  noon  it  cleared 
up,  and  gave  us  an  opportunity  of  riding  home  :  my  mind  enjoyed  peace, 
but  my  body  felt  the  effect  of  riding.  On  Tuesday  I  went  to  a  school 
house  to  preach:  I  rode  through  Swanino  River,  and  Cane  and  Hooper's 
Creeks." 

Little  and  Great  Hunger  Mountain. 

"North  Carolina,  Wednesday,  October  1.  I  preached  at  Samuel 
Edney's.  Next  day  we  had  to  cope  with  Little  and  Great  Hunger  moun- 
tains. Now  I  know  what  Mill's  Gap  is,  between  Buncombe  and  Ruther- 
ford. One  of  the  descents  is  like  the  roof  of  a  house,  for  nearly  a  mile: 
I  rode,  I  walked,  I  sweat,  I  trembled,  and  my  old  knees  failed;  here  are 
guUeys  and  rocks,  and  precipices;  nevertheless  the  way  is  as  good  as  the 
path  over  the  Table  Mountain — bad  is  the  best.  We  came  upon  Green 
River." 

Warm  Springs  in  1807.  Again  on  October,  1807,  we 
find  the  following  entry: 

"Friday  16.  We  reached  Wamping's  (Warm  Springs).  I  suffered 
much  today;  but  an  hour's  warm  bath  for  my  feet  reheved  me  consider- 
ably.    On  Saturday  we  rode  to  Killon's." 


PIONEER  PREACHERS  221 

George  Newton,  an  Israelite  Indeed. 
"North  Carolina,  Sabbath,  18.  At  Buncombe  courthouse  I  spoke 
from  2  Kings,  vii,  13-15.  The  people  were  all  attention.  I  spent  a 
night  under  the  roof  of  my  very  dear  brother  in  Christ,  George  Newton, 
a  Presliyteriiin  minister,  an  Israelite  indeed.  On  Monday  we  made 
Fletcher's;  next  day  dined  at  Terry's,  and  lodged  at  Edwards.  Saluda 
ferry  brought  us  up  on  Wednesday  evening. " 

Labored  and  Suffered,  But  Lived  Near  God.     Again 
in  October,  1808,  we  find  the  following  entry: 

"On  Tuesday  we  rode  twenty  miles  to  the  Warm  Springs,  and  next 
day  reached  Buncombe,  thirty-two  miles.  The  right  way  to  improve  a 
short  day  is  to  stop  only  to  feed  the  horses,  and  let  the  riders  meanwhile 
take  a  bite  of  what  they  have  been  provident  enough  to  put  into  their 
pockets.  It  has  been  a  serious  October  to  me.  I  have  labored  and  suf- 
fered; but  I  have  lived  near  to  God." 

Mr.  Irwon  (Erwin),  A  Chief  Man. 

"  North  Carolina,  Saturday,  29.  We  rested  for  three  days  past.  We 
fell  in  with  Jesse  Richardson  :  He  could  not  bear  to  see  the  fields  of 
Buncombe  deserted  by  militiamen,  who  fire  a  shot  and  fly,  and  wheel  and 
fire,  and  run  again;  he  is  a  veteran  who  has  learned  to  'endure  hardness  like 
a  good  soldier  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.'  On  the  Sunday  I  preached  in 
Buncombe  courthouse  upon  I  Thess.  i,  7-10.  I  lodged  with  a  chief  man, 
a  Mr.  Irwon.  Henry  Boehm  went  to  Pigeon  Creek  to  preach  to  the 
Dutch." 

WooTENPiLE  Asks  Pay  in  Prayer.     In  October,  1909,  we 
find: 

"We  crossed  the  French  Broad  and  fed  our  horses  at  the  gate  of  Mr. 
Wootenpile  (Hoodenpile) ;  he  would  accept  no  pay  but  prayer;  as  I  had 
never  called  before  he  may  have  thought  me  too  proud  to  stop.  Our 
way  now  lay  over  dreadful  roads.  I  found  old  Mr.  Barnett  sick — the 
case  was  a  dreadful  one,  and  I  gave  him  a  grain  of  tartar  and  a  few  com- 
posing drops,  which  procured  him  a  sound  sleep.  The  patient  was  very 
thankful  and  would  charge  us  nothing.  Here  are  martyrs  to  whiskey! 
I  delivered  my  own  soul.  Saturday  brought  us  to  Killion's.  Eight  times 
within  nine  years  I  have  crossed  these  Alps.  If  my  journal  is  transcribed 
it  will  be  as  well  to  give  the  subject  as  the  chapter  and  the  verse  of  the 
text  I  preached  from.  Nothing  like  a  sermon  can  I  record.  Here  now 
am  I  and  have  been  for  twenty  nights  crowded  by  people,  and  the  whole 
family  striving  to  get  round  me." 

James  Patton,  Rich,  Plain,  Humble,  Kind. 
"Sabbath,  29.  At  Buncombe  I  spoke  on  Luke  .xiv,  10.  It  was  a 
season  of  attention  and  feeling.  We  dined  with  Mr.  Erwin  and  lodged 
with  James  Patton;  how  rich,  how  plain,  how  humble,  and  how  kind! 
There  was  a  sudden  change  in  the  weather  on  Monday;  we  went  as  far 
as  D.  Jay's.  Tuesday,  we  moved  in  haste  to  Mud  Creek,  Green  river 
cove,  on  the  other  side  of  Saluda." 


222        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

At  Vater  Shuck's  on  A  Winter's  Night.  Again,  in 
December,  1810,  we  find  the  following  entry: 

"At  Catahoiiche  (Catalouche)  I  walked  over  a  log.  But  O  the 
mountain — height  after  height,  and  five  miles  over!  After  crossing  other 
streams,  and  losing  ourselves  in  the  woods,  we  came  in,  about  nine  o'clock 
at  night,  to  Vater  Shuck's.  What  an  awful  day!  Saturday,  December 
1.  Last  night  I  was  strongly  afflicted  with  pain.  We  rode  twenty-five 
miles  to  Buncombe." 

George  Newton  Almost  A  Methodist. 

"North  Carolina,  Sabbath,  December  2.  Bishop  McKendree  and 
John  McGee  rose  at  five  o'clock  and  left  us  to  fill  an  appointment  about 
twenty-five  miles  off.  Myself  and  Henry  Boehm  went  to  Newton's 
academy,  where  I  preached.  Brother  Boehm  spoke  after  me;  and  Mr. 
Newton,  in  exhortation,  confirmed  what  was  said.  Had  I  known  and 
studied  my  congregation  for  a  year,  I  could  not  have  spoken  more  appro- 
priately to  their  particular  cases;  this  I  learned  from  those  who  knew 
them  well.  We  dined  with  Mr.  Newton.  He  is  almost  a  Methodist, 
and  reminds  me  of  dear  Whatcoat — the  same  placidness  and  solemnity. 
We  visited  James  Patton;  this  is,  perhaps,  the  last  visit  to  Buncombe." 

Speaking  "Faithfully." 

"Monday.  It  was  my  province  today  to  speak  faithfully  to  a  cer- 
tain person.     May  she  feel  the  force  of,  and  profit  by  the  truth." 

The  Hoodenpile  Road  is  Open.  In  December,  1812,  we 
find  the  following: 

"Monday,  30.  We  stopped  at  Michael  Bollen's  on  our  route,  where 
I  gave  them  a  discourse  on  Luke,  xi,  11-13.  Why  should  we  climb  over 
the  desperate  Spring  and  Paint  mountain  when  there  is  such  a  fine  new 
road?  We  came  on  Tuesday  a  straight  course  to  Barratt's  (Barnett's), 
dining  in  the  woods  on  our  way." 

Back  Again  at  Killion's. 

"North  Carolina,  Wednesday,  December  2.  We  went  over  the  moun- 
tains, 22  miles,  to  KUUon's." 

At  Samuel  Edney's  and  Father  Mills's. 
"Thursday,  3.     Came  on  through  Buncombe  to  Samuel  Edney's  :  I 
preached  in  the  evening.     We  have  had  plenty  of  rain  lately.     Friday,  I 
rest.     Occupied  in  reading  and  writing.     I  have  great  communion  with 
God.     I  preached  at  Father  Mills's." 

In  Great  Weakness.  Again,  in  November,  1813,  we 
meet  with  this  entry: 

"Sabbath,  24.  I  preached  in  great  weakness.  I  am  at  Killion's  once 
more.  Our  ride  of  ninety  miles  to  Staunton  bridge  on  Saluda  river  was 
severely  felt,  and  the  necessity  of  lodging  at  taverns  made  it  no  better." 

Valedictory  to  Presiding  Elders. 

"Friday,  29.  On  the  peaceful  banks  of  the  Saluda  I  write  my  vale- 
dictory address  to  the  presiding  elders." 


PIONEER  PREACHERS  223 

Killian's,  so  often  mentioned  with  dilTcrent  spellings  in  the 
foregoing  extracts,  is  the  present  residence  of  Capt,  I.  C. 
Baird  on  Beaverdani.^  When  the  General  Conference  of 
the  Methoilist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  met  at  Asheville  in 
May,  1910,  a  gavel  made  of  a  portion  of  the  banister  of  the 
old  Killian  home  was  presented  to  the  presiding  bishop. 

First  Church  in  the  Mountains.  According  to  Col.  W. 
L.  Bryan  of  Boone,  the  first  church  established  west  of  the 
Blue  Ridge  and  east  of  the  Smokies  was  at  what  is  still  called 
"Three  Forks  of  New  river  in  what  is  now  Watauga  county, 
a  beautiful  spot."  It  was  organized  November  6,  1790.  The 
following  is  from  its  records:  "A  book  containing  (as  may  be 
seen)  in  the  covenant  and  conduct  of  the  Baptist  church  of 
Jesus  Christ  in  Wilkes  county,  .  .  .  New  River,  Three 
Forks  settlement"  by  the  following  members:  James  Tom- 
kins,  Richard  Greene  and  wife,  Daniel  Eggers  and  wife, 
William  Miller,  Elinor  Greene  and  B.  B.  Eggers.  "This  is 
the  mother  of  all  the  Baptist  churches  throughout  this  great 
mountain  region.  From  this  mother  church,  using  the  lan- 
guage of  these  old  pioneers,  they  established  'arms'  of  the 
mother  church;  one  at  what  is  now  known  as  the  Globe  in 
Caldwell  county,  another  to  the  westward,  known  as  Ebi- 
nezer,  one  to  the  northeast  named  South  Fork  .  .  .  and 
at  various  other  points.  Yet,  it  should  be  remembered  that 
the  attendance  upon  the  worship  of  the  mother  church  extended 
for  many,  many  miles,  reaching  into  Tennessee."  After 
these  "arms"  had  been  established  "there  was  organized 
Three  Forks  Baptist  association,  which  bears  the  name  to  this 
day,  and  is  the  oldest  and  most  venerated  religious  organiza- 
tion known  throughout  the  mountains.  Among  the  first 
pastors  of  the  mother  church  were  Rev.  Mr.  Barlow  of  Yadkin, 
George  McNeill  of  Wilkes,  John  G.  Bryan  who  died  in  Georgia 
at  the  age  of  98,  Nathaniel  Vannoy  of  Wilkes,  Richard  Gentry 
of  Old  Field,  Joseph  Harrison  of  Three  Forks,  Brazilla  Mc- 
Bride  and  Jacob  Greene  of  Cove  creek,  Reuben  Farthing,  A. 
C.  Farthing,  John  or  Jackie  Farthing,  Larkin  Hodges  and 
llev.  William  Wilcox,  the  last  named  having  been  the  last  of  the 
Old  Patriarchs  of  this  noted  church  to  pass  away.  They 
were  all  farmers  and  worked  in  the  fields  for  their  daily  bread. 
To  the  above  list  should  be  added  Rev.  D.  C.  Harmon  of  Lower 
Cove  creek.  Rev.  D.  C.  Harmon,  Rev.  Smith  Ferguson,  who. 


224        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


though  they  have  been  gone  for  many  years,  yet  speak  to 
some  of  those  left  behind."* 

Prominent  Pioneer  Religious  Teachers.^  Among  these 
were  "  Richard  Gentry,  Aaron  Johnson,  WiUiam  Baldwin, 
Richard  Jacks,  David  Smith,  all  of  whom  were  Baptists  favoring 
missions;  and  among  the  Alethodists  were  James  Wagg,  Samuel 
Plumer,  A.  B.  Cox  and  Hiram  and  Elihu  Weaver. " 

Rev.  Humphrey  Posey.  Of  this  good  man  Col.  Allen  T. 
Davidson  says  in  The  Lyceum  for  January,  1891,  p.  11,  that 
James  AVhittaker  of  Cherokee  "and  the  Rev.  Humphrey 
Posey  established  the  leading  (Baptist)  churches  in  this  upland 
country,  to  wit:  Cane  creek,  in  Buncombe  county,  and 
Locust  Old  Field  in  Haywood  county,  where  the  friends  of 
these  two  men  have  worshipped  ever  since.  .  .  .  There 
they  stand,  monuments  to  the  memory  of  these  pioneers.  .  .  . 
Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  man  in  this  up-country  was 
Rev.  Humphrey  Posey,  who  was  born  in  Henry  county,  Va., 
January  12,  1780,  was  brought  to  Burke  when  only  five  years 
old  and  remained  there  until  he  reached  manhood,  was  ordained 
a  minister  at  Cane  creek  church  in  1806.  About  1820  he 
established  a  mission  school  at  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Mission  Place  on  the  Hiwassee  river,  seven  miles  above  Mur- 
phy. He  removed  to  Georgia  in  1784,  and  died  at  Newman, 
Ga.,  28  December,  1846.  He  was  a  man  greatly  endowed  by 
nature  to  be  a  leader,  of  great  physical  force,  with  a  profile 
much  like  that  of  the  Hon.  Tom  Corwin  of  Ohio.  He  had  a 
fine  voice  and  manner,  was  singularly  and  simply  eloquent.  .  .  . 
In  fact,  by  nature,  he  was  a  great  man,  and  "his  works  do  fol- 
low him."  The  effect  of  his  mission  schools  have  been  seen 
for  many  years  past,  and  many  citizens  of  Indian  blood  are 
left  to  tell  the  tale.  The  Stradley  brothers  of  Asheville 
were  two  other  pioneer  Baptist  preachers  of  note.  They  had 
been  in  the  Battle  of  Waterloo  as  members  of  Wellington's 
army  before  emigrating  to  America.  Their  record  is  known 
of  all  men  in  Buncombe  county,  and  a  long  line  of  worthy 
descendants  attest  the  sturdy  character  of  the  parent  stock. 

Rev.  Branch  Hamline  Merrimon.  He  was  born  in  Din- 
widdle county,  Va.,  February  22,  1802,  and  moved  with  his 
parents  as  far  as  Rogersville,  Tenn.,  on  their  way  to  the  Great 
West,  when  one  member  of  the  family  becoming  too  ill  to 
travel  further,  they  stopped  there  permanently.     He  joined 


PIONEER  PREACHERS  225 

the  Methodist  Conference  at  Knoxville  in  1824  and  became 
an  itinerant  Methodist  preacher,  being  assigned  to  this  sec- 
lion.  In  1829  he  married  Mary  E.  Paxton,  a  (kiugliter  of 
Wilham  Paxton  and  his  wife  Sarah  McDowell,  a  sister  of 
Gen.  Charles  McDowell  of  Revolutionary  fame.  William 
Paxton  was  born  in  Roxbridge  county,  Va.,  and  came  to 
Burke  county,  where  at  Quaker  Meadows  he  married  his 
wife.  William  Paxton  and  wife  then  moved  to  the  Cherry 
Fields  in  what  is  now  Transylvania  county,  where  they  bought 
and  improved  a  large  tract  of  fertile  land,  whither  Mr.  Mer- 
rimon  and  his  wife  followed.  William  Paxton  was  a  brother 
of  Judge  John  Paxton  of  Morganton,  a  Superior  court  judge 
from  1818  to  1826.  He  was  also  a  near  kinsman  of  Judge 
John  Hall,  a  member  of  the  first  Supreme  court  of  this  State. 
Mr.  Merrimon  died  at  Asheville  in  November,  1886,  leaving 
seven  sons  and  three  daughters.  Chief  Justice  A.  S.  Merrimon 
was  one  of  his  sons,  and  Ex-Judge  J.  H.  Merrimon  of  Asheville 
is  another.  Rev.  Mr,  Merrimon  was  a  staunch  Union  man 
during  the  Civil  War. 

The  late  Rev.  J.  S.  Burnett  was  another  pioneer  Methodist 
preacher  of  prominence. 

United  They  Stood.  "It  is  a  striking  fact  in  the  char- 
acter of  this  primitive  people,"  says  Col.  A.  T.  Davidson 
in  The  Lyceum  for  January  1891,  "that  they  were  entirely 
devoted  to  each  other,  clannish  in  the  extreme;  and  when 
affliction,  sorrow,  trouble,  vexation,  or  offence  came  to  one 
it  came  to  all.  It  was  like  a  bee-hive — always  some  one  on 
guard,  and  all  affected  by  the  attack  from  without.  They 
were  the  constant  attendants  around  the  bed  of  the  sick; 
suffered  with  the  suffering,  wept  with  those  who  wept,  and 
attended  all  the  funerals  without  reward,  it  never  having  been 
known  that  a  coffin  was  charged  for,  or  the  digging  of  a  grave 
for  many  long  years.  Is  it  a  fact  that  these  men  were  better 
than  those  of  the  present  day,  or  does  it  only  exist  in  my 
imagination?  When  I  look  back  to  them  I  think  that  they 
were  the  best  men  I  ever  knew;  and  the  dear  old  mothers 
of  these  humble  people  are  now  strikingly  engraved  upon  my 
memory.  The  men  rolled  each  others'  logs  in  common;  they 
gathered  their  harvests,  built  their  cabins,  and  all  work  of  a 
heavy  character  was  done  in  common  and  without  price. 
The  log  meeting-house  was  reared  in  the  same  way,  and  it  is 

W.N.C.-15 


226        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

a  fact  that  this  was  done  promptly,  without  hesitation — regard- 
less of  creeds  or  sect — all  coming  together  with  a  will.  The 
Baptists,  "rifle,  axe  and  saddle-bag  men,"  or  the  Methodist 
"circuit  rider"  supplied  the  people  with  the  ministry  of  the 
word;  and  it  is  pleasant  to  look  back  and  reflect  upon  the 
enjoyment  and  comfort  these  humble  people  had  in  the  admin- 
istration by  these  humble  ministers  in  the  long-ago.  Then 
they  came  together  and  held  what  they  called  "union  meet- 
ings," under  arbors  made  with  poles  and  brush,  or,  at  the 
private  residence  of  some  good  citizen — often  at  my  father's. 
I  remember  distinctly  that  Nathaniel  Gibson,  of  Crabtree 
creek,  converted  the  top  story  of  his  mill  house  into  one  of 
these  places  of  worship;  and  Jacob  Shook,  on  Pigeon,  the 
father  of  the  family  near  Clyde,  turned  his  threshing  floor, 
in  his  barn,  into  a  place  of  worship ;  and  near  this  was  established 
about  1827  or  1828,  Shook's  Camp  Ground.  The  good  old 
Dutchman  contributed  or  donated  to  the  church  ten  acres 
of  land,  which  have  ever  been  kept  for  a  place  of  public  wor- 
ship. 

Rev.  Wm.  G.  Brownlow.^  In  the  year  1832  Rev.  Wm. 
G.  Brownlow,  a  Methodist  minister,  afterwards  better  known 
as  Parson  B^o^vnlow  and  Governor  of  Tennessee,  served  as 
pastor  of  the  Franklin  circuit  in  Macon  county.  These  were 
the  days  of  intense  reUgious  prejudices  and  denominational 
controversies.  Rev.  Humphrey  Posey,  a  kinsman  of  the  late 
Ben.  Posey,  Esq.,  was  at  that  time  the  leading  minister  of 
the  Baptist  church  in  this  section. 

"It  was  impossible  for  men  of  the  type  of  Brownlow  and  Posey  to 
long  remain  in  the  same  community  without  becoming  involved  in  con- 
troversy. Nor  did  they.  From  denominational  discussions  their  con- 
troversy degenerated  into  matters  personal,  a  personal  quarrel.  Brown- 
low, as  is  well  known,  was  a  master  of  invective  and  his  pen  was  dipped 
in  vitriol.  On  July  23,  1832,  he  wrote  Rev.  Posey  a  24-page  letter  which 
is  still  on  file  among  the  records  of  Macon  court  and  which  that  gentle- 
man regarded  as  libelous.  He  thereupon  indicted  parson  Brownlow,  as 
appears  from  the  com-t  records.  The  first  bill  was  found  at  fall  term 
1832.  It  is  signed  by  J.  Roberts,  solicitor  pro  tern.,  and  seems  to  have 
been  quashed ;  at  any  rate  a  new  bill  was  sent  and  the  case  tried  at  spring 
term  1833.  Wm.  J.  Alexander  was  the  solicitor  when  the  case  was  tried. 
The  defendant  pleaded  not  guilty  but  was  found  guilty  by  the  jury, 
whether  upon  the  ground  that  the  "greater  the  truth  the  greater  the 
libel"  or  not  does  not  appear.  He  was  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  and  the 
costs.     The  amount  of  the  fine  was  not  given  but  the  record  discloses 


PIONEER  PREACHERS  227 

that  it  was  paid  by  J.  R.  Siler,  one  of  the  leading  citizens  and  original 
settlers,  and  a  prominent  member  of  the  Methodist  church.  Execution 
issued  for  the  coats  and  the  return  shows  that  on  July  1,  1.S33,  the  sheriff 
'levied  on  dun  mare,  bridle,  saddle  and  saddle  bags.  Sold  for  $G5.50. 
Proceeds  into  oHice  $53.83.' 

"There  is  a  generally  accredited  story  to  the  effect  that  when  the 
sheriff  went  to  levy  on  the  Parson's  horse,  Brownlow  was  just  closing  a 
preaching  service  at  Mt.  Zion  church — that  he  saw  the  sheriff  approach- 
ing and  knew  the  purpose  of  his  coming,  and  before  the  sheriff  came  up 
Brownlow  handed  his  Bible  to  one  lady  member  of  his  congregation  and 
his  hynm  book  to  another  and  that  these  books  are  still  in  the  families 
of  the  descendants  of  these  ladies.  It  is  also  said  that  when  Brownlow 
started  to  conference  that  fall,  J.  R.  Siler  made  him  a  present  of  another 
horse  in  lieu  of  the  one  that  had  been  sold." 

William  Gunnaway  Brownlow  was  born  in  Virginia  in 
1805,  and  became  a  carpenter  first  and  then  a  Methodist 
preacher.  In  1828  he  moved  to  Tennessee  and  in  1839  became 
a  local  preacher  at  Jonesboro  and  editor  of  The  Whig,  but  moved 
to  Knoxville,  taking  The  Whig  with  him  and  continued  its 
publication  till  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  war.  He  preached 
many  sermons  defending  slavery,  and  was  defeated  by  Andrew 
Johnson  for  Congress  in  1843.  He  wrote  several  books,  the 
most  famous  of  which  was  called  Parson  Bro^vnlow's  Book, 
in  which  he  gave  his  impleasant  experiences  with  the  Con- 
federates and  his  views  on  secession  and  the  Civil  War.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  convention  which  revised  the  constitu- 
tion of  Tennessee  in  1865,  and  was  elected  governor  in  1865, 
and  again  in  1867.  He  was  sent  to  the  United  States  senate 
in  1869  where  he  remained  till  1875.  He  died  at  Knoxville 
in  April,  1877.^ 

Canario  Drayton  Smith. ^  He  was  a  son  of  Samuel  and 
Mary  Smith,  and  was  born  in  Buncombe  April  1,  1813.  His 
grandfather,  Joseph  Smith,  was  born  on  the  eastern  shore  of 
Maryland,  April  1,  1730,  and  his  grandmother,  Rebecca 
Dath  (Welch),  was  born  near  the  same  place  on  April  1,  1739. 
In  1765  they  moved  to  North  Carolina,  and  on  the  journey 
C.  D.  Smith's  father  was  born  at  a  public  inn  in  Albemarle 
county,  Va.,  August  20,  1765.  They  first  settled  at  Haw- 
fields  in  Guilford  county,  where  they  were  living  when  the 
battle  was  fought  in  1780.  His  maternal  grandfather,  Daniel 
Jarrett,  was  born  in  Lancaster  county,  Pa.,  December  18, 
1747.  He  was  of  English  blood.  His  grandmother  Jarrett, 
whose  maiden  name  was  Catharine  C.  Moyers,  was  born  in 


228         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Lancaster  county,  Pa.,  February  9,  1753.  She  was  a  German 
woman.  They  were  married  October  25,  1772,  moving  to 
North  Carolina  shortly  afterwards  and  settling  in  Cabarrus, 
where  his  mother,  Mary  Jarrett,  was  born  June  23,  1775. 
Soon  after  the  close  of  hostilities  between  the  Cherokees  and 
whites  they  moved  to  Buncombe  county,  where  in  1796  his 
father  and  mother  were  married.  They  moved  to  Macon 
in  the  winter  of  1819-20.  At  the  sale  of  the  Cherokee  lands 
at  Waynesville  in  September,  1820,  his  father  bought  the 
land  kno^vn  as  the  Tessentee  towns,  now  Smith's  Bridge, 
where  C.  D.  Smith  was  reared  to  manhood.  lie  attended 
the  subscription  schools  of  the  neighl^orhood,  and  in  1832 
went  to  Caney  river,  then  in  Buncombe,  now  in  Yancey,  to 
clerk  for  Smith  &  McElroy,  merchants,  where  he  spent  five 
years,  buying  ginseng  principally,  getting  in  in  1837  over 
86,000  pounds  which  yielded  25,000  pounds  of  choice  clarified 
root,  which  was  barreled  and  shipped  to  Lucas  &  Heylin, 
Philadelphia,  and  thence  to  China.  In  the  meantime  Yancey 
had  been  created  a  county  and  John  W.  McElroy  had  been 
elected  first  clerk  of  the  Superior  court,  making  C.  D.  Smith 
his  deputy.  At  a  camp  meeting  held  at  Caney  River  Camp 
Ground  in  1836,  by  Charles  K.  Lewis,  preacher  in  charge,  of 
the  Black  Mountain  circuit,  he  was  converted  and  joined  the 
church.  At  the  quarterly  conference  at  Alexander  chapel  the 
following  June  he  was  licensed  to  preach  by  Thos.  W.  Catlett, 
presiding  elder.  He  continued  to  preach  till  1850  when  he 
went  on  the  supernumerary  list  on  account  of  bad  health.  In 
1853  he  became  agent  for  the  American  Colonization  Society 
for  Tennessee  and  sent  to  Liberia  two  families  of  emancipated 
negroes.  In  1854  he  became  interested  in  mineralogy,  and 
continued  this  study  of  mineralogy  and  geology  till  his  death. 
He  was  assistant  State  Geologist  under  Prof.  Emmons  and 
a  co-worker  with  Prof.  Kerr.  He  is  mentioned  in  Dr.  R.  N. 
Price's  works  on  Methodism,  and  has  an  article  in  Kerr's 
Geology  of  North  Carolina.     He  died  in  1894. 


i"The  Despot  of  Broomsedge  Cove,"  by  Mary  N.  Murfree. 
2AsheviIle's  Centenary. 
'Reference  is  to  1898. 

*Froni  "A  Primitive  History  of  the  Mountain  Region,"  by  Col.  W.  L.  Bryan. 
'Facts  Furnished  by  Hon.  A.  H.  Eller  of  Ashe  county,  1912. 
'By  Fred  S.  Johnston,  Esq.,  of  Franklin,  N.  C. 
'McGee,  p.  173. 

sFrom  the  "Autobiography  of  Dr.  C.  D.  Smith,"  and  statements  of  Henry  G.  Robert- 
eon,  Esq. 


CHAPTER  X 
ROADS,  STAGE  COACHES,  AND  TAVERNS 

Buffalo  Trails  and  Tk.\ding  Paths.  It  is  probable 
that  bufTaloes  made  the  first  roads  over  these  mountains,  and 
that  the  Indians,  following  where  they  led,  made  their  trading 
paths  by  pursuing  these  highways.  It  is  still  more  probable 
that  the  buffaloes  instinctively  sought  the  ways  that  were  lev- 
elest  and  shortest  between  the  best  pastures,  thus  insuring  a 
passage  through  the  lowest  gaps  and  to  the  richest  lands.  The 
same  applies  to  deer,  bear  and  other  wild  animals — they  wanted 
to  go  by  the  easiest  routes  and  to  the  countries  which  afforded 
the  best  support.  It  is  still  said  in  the  mountains  that  when 
the  first  settlers  wanted  to  build  a  new  road  they  drove  a 
steer  or  "cow-brute"  to  the  lowest  gap  in  sight  and  then  drove 
it  do^vn  on  the  side  the  road  was  to  be  located,  the  tracks  made 
by  it  being  followed  and  staked  and  the  road  located  exactly 
on  them.  The  fact  that  John  Strother  mentions  no  trading 
paths  in  the  1799  survey  simply  indicates  that  the  Indians 
had  not  used  them  for  years  in  the  territory  north  of  the  ridge 
between  the  NoUechucky  and  the  French  Broad.  No  doubt 
there  had  been  trading  paths  until  the  whites  came  to  inter- 
rupt their  passage  over  the  mountains.  But  Davenport 
mentions  crossing  several  on  the  1821  survey,  viz.:  the  Cata- 
loochee  track  at  the  mouth  of  Big  creek,  "the  Equeneetly  path 
to  Cades  cove"  at  the  head  of  Eagle  creek,  and  at  the  GOth 
mile  from  Pigeon  river,  in  "a  low  gap  at  the  path  of  Eque- 
neetly to  Tallassee. "  Seven  miles  further  on  they  came  to 
another  trading  path  of  Cheogee  (Cheoah)  now  known  as  the 
Belding  trail.  At  the  ninety-third  mile  they  reached  "the 
trading  path  leading  from  the  Valley  Towns  to  the  Overhill 
Settlements"  and  reaching  the  ninety-fifth  mile  on  the  path 
before  they  paused.  On  August  24th  they  passed  the  white 
oak,  96th  mile,  on  top  of  the  Unicoi  mountain,  and  on  the  same 
day  reached  the  "hickory  and  rock  at  the  wagon  road,  the 
101st  mile,  at  the  end  of  the  Unicoi  mountain." 

Hard  Roads  to  Build  as  Well  as  to  Travel.  Powder 
was  scarce  and  tools  were  wanting  for  the  construction  of 

(229) 


230        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

roads  in  the  early  days.  Dynamite  and  blasting  powder  were 
then  unknown.  Ridges  offered  least  resistence  to  the  con- 
struction of  a  roadway  because  the  timber  on  their  crests 
was  light  and  scattered  and  because,  principal  consideration, 
they  were  generally  level  enough  on  top  to  allow  wagon  wheels 
to  pass  up  or  down  them.  But  they  were  frequently  too 
steep  even  for  the  overtaxed  oxen  and  horses  of  that  time.^ 
The  level  places  along  creeks  and  rivers  were  the  next  places 
where  roads  could  be  built  Avith  least  labor;  but  these  were 
always  subject  to  overflow;  and  cliffs  shutting  in  on  one  side 
always  forced  the  road  to  cross  the  stream  to  get  lodgment  on 
the  opposite  bank.  Sometimes  there  were  cliffs  on  both  sides 
of  the  stream,  and  then  the  road  had  to  run  up  the  nearest 
''hollow"  or  cove  to  the  head  of  the  branch  flowing  in  it  and 
across  the  gap  down  another  branch  or  brook  to  the  stream 
from  which  the  road  had  just  parted  company.  When  there 
was  no  escape  from  it,  "side-cutting"  was  resorted  to;  but  as 
it  took  a  longer  road  to  go  by  a  gentle  grade  than  by  a  steep 
climb,  the  steeper  road  was  invariably  built. 

"Navigating  Wagons."  James  M.  Edney,  in  his  Sketches 
of  Buncombe  Men  in  Bennett's  Chronology  of  North  Carolina, 
written  in  1855,  says: 

"Col.  J.  Barnett  settled  on  French  Broad  seventy  years  ago,  and  was 
the  first  man  to  pilot  or  navigate  wagons  through  Buncombe  by  putting 
the  two  big  wheels  on  the  lower  side,  sometimes  pulling,  sometimes  push- 
ing, and  sometimes  carrying  the  wagon,  at  a  charge  of  five  dollars  for 
work  and  labor  done.  "2 

The  First  Road  Builders.  "Most  of  the  work  done  at 
the  earlier  sessions  of  the  county  court  of  Buncombe  related 
to  laying  out  and  working  roads.  These  roads  or  trails,  rude 
and  rough,  narrow  and  steep  as  they  were,  constituted  the 
only  means  of  communication  between  the  scattered  settlers 
of  this  new  country,  and  were  matters  of  first  importance  to  its 
people.  They  were  located  by  unlettered  hunters  and  farmers, 
who  knew  nothing  of  civil  engineering,  and  were  opened  by 
their  labor,  and  could  ill  afford  to  spare  time  from  the  support 
and  protection  of  their  families.  Roving  bands  of  Indians 
constantly  gave  annoyance  to  the  white  settlers,  and  frequently 
where  they  found  the  master  of  the  house  absent,  would 
frighten  the  women  and  children  into  taking  refuge  in  the 
woods,  and  then  burn  the  furniture  and  destroy  the  bedding 


ROADS.  STAGE  COACHES  AND  TAVERNS    231 


which  they  found  in  the  house.  Many  were  the  privations 
incident  to  a  Hfe  in  a  new  country  suffered  by  these  early  set- 
lers,  and  many  were  the  hardships  which  they  underwent  at 
the  hands  of  these  predatory  savages.  We  can  scarcely 
wonder  that  they  saw  in  the  red  man  none  of  the  romantic 
feature  of  character  which  their  descendants  are  so  fond  of 
attributing  to  him.  This  state  of  affairs  continued  even  up 
into  the  present  century.^ 

The  Hard,  Unyielding  Rocks.  Whenever  rock  ledges 
and  cliffs  were  encountered  our  road-builders  usually  "took 
to  the  woods."  That  is,  they  went  as  far  around  them  as 
was  necessary  in  order  to  avoid  them.  But,  in  some  cases,  they 
had  to  be  removed;  and  then  holes  were  drilled  by  driv- 
ing steel-tipped  bars  with  sledge-hammers  as  far  as  practi- 
cable, which  was  rarely  over  two  feet  in  depth.  Into  these 
gunpowder  costing  fifty  cents  per  pound  was  poured,  and  a 
hollow  reed  or  elder  tubes  filled  with  powder  were  thrust,  and 
the  earth  tamped  around  these.  A  line  of  leaves  or  straw  was 
laid  on  the  ground  a  dozen  feet  or  more  from  the  tube,  and 
slowly  burnt  its  way  to  the  powder.  It  was  a  slow  and  inef- 
fective method,  and  too  expensive  to  be  much  used.  Another 
and  cheaper  way  was  to  build  log  heaps  on  top  of  the  ledge 
of  rock  and  allow  them  to  burn  till  the  rock  was  well  heated, 
when  buckets  and  barrels  of  water  were  quickly  poured  on  the 
rock  after  removing  the  fire,  which  split  the  rock  and  permitted 
its  being  quarried. 

Stage-Coach  Customs.  In  old  times  there  were  no  reserved 
seats  on  stage  coaches — first  come,  first  served,  being  the 
rule.  This  resulted,  oftentimes,  in  grumbling  and  disputes, 
but  as  a  rule  all  submitted  with  gootl  grace,  the  selfish  and 
pushing  getting  the  choice  places  then  as  now.  Three  pas- 
sengers on  each  seat  were  insisted  on  in  all  nine  passenger 
coaches,  and  woe  to  that  poor  wight  who  had  to  take  the 
middle  of  the  front  seat  and  ride  backwards.  Seasickness 
usually  overcame  him,  but  there  was  no  redress,  unless  some- 
one volunteered  to  change  seats.  In  dry  and  pleasant  weather, 
many  preferred  a  seat  with  the  driver  or  on  the  roof  behind 
him.  Many  pleasant  acquaintances  were  made  on  stage  coach 
journeys,  and  sometimes  friendships  and  marriages  resulted. 
Stages  were  never  robbed  in  tliese  mountains,  however,  as 
IMurrell  and  his  band  usually  transacted  their  affairs  further 


232        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

west.  Heated  stones  wrapped  in  rugs  and  blankets  were 
sometimes  taken  by  ladies  during  cold  weather  to  keep  their 
feet  warm. 

Old  Taverns.  Whenever  there  was  a  change  of  horses, 
which  usually  happened  at  or  near  a  tavern  or  inn,  the  pas- 
sengers would  get  out  and  visit  the  "grocery, "  either  to  get 
warm  inside  or  outside,  frequently  on  both  sides.  Then, 
they  would  walk  ahead  and  be  taken  up  when  the  coach  over- 
took them.  When  meals  were  to  be  taken  there  was  a  rush 
for  the  "washing  place,"  usually  provided  "with  several  buck- 
ets of  cold  spring  water  and  tin  basins,  with  roller  towels. 
Then  the  rush  for  the  dining  room  and  the  well-cooked  food 
served  there.  Most  of  these  meals  were  prepared  on  open 
hearths  before  glowing  beds  of  coals,  in  wide  fire-places  whose 
stone  hearths  frequently  extended  half  across  the  kitchen  floor. 
But  riding  at  night  grew  very  monotonous,  and  when  possible 
the  ladies  remained  at  these  taverns  over  night,  resuming 
their  journeys  in  the  morning. 

First  Roads.  Boone's  trail  across  the  mountains  in  1769 
was  the  first  of  which  there  is  any  record,  and  that  seems  to 
be  in  dispute  (see  Chapter  "Daniel  Boone.").  The  next  one 
was  that  followed  by  James  Robertson  and  the  sixteen  fam- 
ihes  who  left  Wake  county  after  Alamance  and  found  their 
way  to  the  Watauga  settlement  in  Tennessee.  They  prob- 
ably followed  the  Catawba  to  its  head,  crossing  at  the 
McKinney  gap,  and  followed  Bright's  trace  over  the  Yellow 
and  thence  down  to  the  Doe  and  so  on  to  the  Watauga  at 
Elizabethton.'*  McGee  says:  "When  the  Watauga  set- 
tlement became  Washington  county,  in  1778,  a  wagon  road 
was  opened  across  the  mountains  into  the  settled  parts  of 
North  Carolina  .  .  .  and  in  1779  .  .  .  Washing- 
ton county  was  divided  into  .  .  .  Sullivan,  etc."^ 
The  Act  of  Cession,  1789,  calls  for  the  top  of  the  Yellow  moun- 
tain where  "Bright's  road  crosses  the  same,  thence  along  the 
ridge  of  said  mountain  between  the  waters  of  Doe  river  and 
the  waters  of  Rock  creek  to  the  place  where  the  road  crosses 
the  Iron  mountain";  and  John  Strother,  in  his  diary  of  the 
survey  of  1799  between  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee,  men- 
tions that  the  surveying  party  crossed  "the  road  leading  from 
Morganton  to  Jonesborough  on  Thursday,  June  6,  1799." 
This  road  was  north  of  the  Toe  or  NoUechucky  river  and  between 


ROADS.  STAGE  COACHES  AND  TAVERNS  233 

it  and  the  liright  road  over  the  Yellow;  hut,  as  there  are  now 
two  roads  crossing  between  those  points,  it  is  imjjortant  to 
ascertain  which  is  the  one  openeil  in  1778,  as  that,  undoubtedly, 
was  the  first  wagon  road  crossing  the  mountains.  Chancellor 
John  Allison  speaks  of  Andrew  Jackson  crossing  this  road 
from  Morganton  to  Jonesborough,  Tcnn.,  in  the  spring  of 
1788,  as  early  ''as  the  melting  snow  and  ice  made  such  a  trip 
over  the  Appalachians  possible."*^  It  was  "more  than  one 
huntlred  miles,  two-thirds  of  which,  at  that  time,  was  without 
a  single  human  habitation  along  its  course."  Practically  all 
histories  claim  that  Sevier  and  his  men  passed  over  the  Bright 
Trace  over  the  Yellow;  but  Col.  W.  L.  Bryan  of  Boone,  N.  C, 
says  that  Sevier  and  his  men  passed  through  what  is  now 
known  as  the  Carver  gap,  southwest  of  the  Roan,  and  down 
Big  Rock  creek.''  And  it  does  seem  more  probable  that  his 
men  would  have  followed  the  wagon  road,  which  Historian 
McGee  says  had  been  opened  in  1778,  from  Sycamore  Shoals, 
than  a  trail  which  must  have  taken  them  considerably  further 
north  than  a  road  nearer  the  Nollechucky  river  would  have 
been.  But  all  these  dates  referring  to  that  road  were  prior 
to  the  passing  of  the  first  wagon  from  North  Carolina  into 
Tennessee,  mentioned  in  Wheeler's  History  of  North  Carolina 
as  occurring  in  1795.^  Indeed,  John  Strother  mentions 
another  "road"  at  a  low  gap  between  the  waters  of  Cove  creek 
(in  what  is  now  Watauga  county)  and  Roan  creek  (in  what  is 
now  Johnson  county,  Tenn.) ;  but  the  road  over  which  the  first 
wagon  passed  into  Tennessee  in  1795  was  probably  the  one 
Bishop  Asbury  traveled  from  1800  to  October,  1803,  over 
Paint  mountain  to  Warm  Springs;  and  was  not  the  road  on 
the  left  side  of  the  river  leading  down  to  the  mouth  of  Wolf 
creek.  This  road  is  a  mile  and  a  half  southwest  of  Paint 
Rock.  Probably  no  road  at  that  time  followed  the  river 
bank  there.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  in  1812  Hoodenpile 
had  charge  of  a  road  from  Warm  Springs  to  Newport,  Tenn., 
and  was  under  contract  to  keep  it  in  repair  from  the  "top  of 
Hopewell  Hill  (now  Stackhouse)  to  the  Tennessee  line.  "^ 
William  Gillett  had  built  it  from  Old  Newport,  Tenn.,  to  the 
North  Carolina  line.'"  It  was  on  the  right  bank  all  the  way. 
The  Love  road  leaves  the  river  six  miles  below  the  Hot  Springs 
at  the  Hale  Neilson  house  and  joins  main  road  12  miles  from 
Greenville,  Tcnn. 


234        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Path  Crossing  the  Unaker  Mountain.  ^^  John  Strother 
tells  us  that  about  the  13th  of  May,  1799,  they  came  "to  the 
path  crossing  from  Hollow  Poplar  to  the  Greasy  Cove  and 
met  our  company."  But  what  kind  of  a  path  that  was  he 
does  not  say.  It  was  probably  the  road  through  the  Indian 
Grave  Gap,  near  the  buffalo  trail.  For  they  were  close  to 
the  Nollechucky  river  then,  and  Bishop  Asbury's  Journal 
records  the  fact  that  on  Thursday,  November  6,  1800,  he 
crossed  Nollechucky  at  Querton's  Ferry,  and  came  to  Major 
Gragg's,  18  miles,  arriving  at  Warm  Springs  next  day.  This 
road  crossed  the  Small  and  the  Great  Paint  mountains,  for  he 
mentions  an  accident  that  befell  his  horse  after  crossing  both. 
This  most  probably  was  the  road  over  which  the  first  wagon 
passed  in  1795  as  recorded  in  Wheeler's  history.  In  November 
1802,  the  good  Bishop  "grew  afraid"  of  Paint  nountain  "and 
with  the  help  of  a  pine  sapling  worked  my  way  down  the 
steepest  and  roughest  parts,"  on  his  way  to  Warm  Springs 
where,  at  William  Nelson's,  he  found  that  thirty  travelers 
had  "dropped  in,"  and  where  he  expounded  to  them  the 
scripture  as  found  in  the  "third  chapter  of  Romans  as  equally 
applicable  to  nominal  Christians,  Indians,  Jews  and  Gen- 
tiles. "^^ 

What  New  Road  Was  This?  In  October,  1803,  he  con- 
tinued to  Paint  mountain  "passing  the  gap  newly  made,  which 
makes  the  road  down  Paint  creek  much  better. " 

The  Hoodenpyle  Road.  In  December  1812,  Bishop 
Asbury  asks  "Why  should  we  climb  over  the  desperate  Spring 
and  Paint  mountains  when  there  is  such  a  fine  new  road?  We 
came  on  Tuesday  a  straight  course  to  Barrett's  (Barnett's) 
dining  in  the  woods  on  our  way."  This  must  have  been  the 
Hoodenpyle  road  from  Warm  Springs  to  Newport,  Tenn., 
which  he  was  under  contract  to  keep  in  order  from  Hopewell 
Hill  to  the  Termessee  line.  This  road  follows  Paint  creek 
one  mile  and  then  crosses  the  mountains.'^  He  moved  to 
Huntsville  Landing  on  the  Tennessee  river  in  the  territory 
of  Mississippi,  where  John  Welch  of  Haywood,  agreed  to 
deliver  to  him  on  or  before  the  first  of  May,  1813,  2,667  gallons 
of  "good  proof  whiskey";  and  on  or  before  14  of  August, 
1814,  1,500  gallons  of  the  same  gloom-dispelhng  ehxir,  for 
value  received.  No  wonder  Philip  Hoodenpile  could  play 
the  fiddle  with  his  left  handl^^ 


ROADS.  STAGE  COACHES  AND  TAVERNS  235 

SwANNANOA  Gap  TiiAiL.  This,  doubtless,  was  the  first 
road  into  Buncombe  from  the  east,  and  led  from  Old  Fort  in 
McDowell  county  to  the  head  of  the  Swannanoa  river  and 
Bee  Tree  creek  where  the  first  settlers  stopped  about  1782. 
How  long  after  this  it  was  before  a  wagon  road  was  built 
through  this  gap  does  not  appear;  but  it  is  recorded  that  the 
Bairds  brought  their  first  wagon  through  Saluda  gap,  some 
miles  to  the  southwest,  in  1793.  Even  that,  however,  at 
that  date  was  probably  only  a  very  poor  wagon  road.  But 
a  wagon  road  was  finally  built  through  the  gap  Rutherford 
and  his  men  had  passed  through  in  1776  to  subdue  the  Cher- 
okees. 

The  Old  Swannanoa  Gap  Road.'^  "The  old  road  through 
this  gap  did  not  cross,  as  it  has  often  been  stated  to  have 
done,  at  the  place  where  the  Long  or  Swannanoa  Tunnel  is. 
In  later  years  the  stage  road  did  cross  at  that  place.  But 
the  old  road  crossed  a  half  a  mile  further  south.  To  travel 
it  one  would  not,  as  in  the  case  of  the  later  road,  leave  Old 
Fort  and  pass  up  Mill  Creek  three  miles  to  where  Henry 
station,  so  long  the  head  of  the  railroad,  stood.  He  would 
leave  Old  Fort  and  go  across  the  creek  directly  west  for  about 
a  mile  before  going  into  the  mountains.  Then  he  would 
turn  to  the  right,  ascend  the  mountain,  cross  it  at  about  one- 
half  mile  south  of  Swannanoa  tunnel,  and  thence  pass  down 
the  mountain  until  the  road  joined  the  later  road  above 
Black  jNIountain  station." 

Buncombe  County  Roads.  In  his  very  admirable  work, 
"Asheville's  Centenary"  (1898),  Dr.  F.  A.  Sondley  gives  a 
fine  account  of  the  building  of  the  first  roads  in  Buncombe 
county.  The  first  of  these  ran  from  the  Swannanoa  river  to 
Da\ddson  river,  in  what  is  now  Transylvania  county,  crossing 
the  French  Broad  below  the  mouth  of  Avery's  creek,  passing 
Mills  river  and  going  up  Boydsteens  (now  improperly  pro- 
nounced Boilston)  creek;  the  second  ran  from  " the  wagon  ford 
on  Rims  (now  called  Reems)  creek  to  join  the  road  from  Tur- 
key cove,  Catawba,  to  Robert  Henton's  on  Cane  river,  after 
passing  through  Asheville.  In  July,  1793,  the  court  ordered  a 
road  to  be  laid  off  from  Buncombe  court  house  to  the  Bull 
mountain  road  near  Robert  Love's.  In  1795  a  road  was  ordered 
to  run  from  the  court  house  to  Jonathan  McPeter's  on  Hom- 
iny creek;  and  at  a  later  period  two  other  roads  ran  out  north 


236        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

from  Asheville  to  Beaver  Dam  and  Glenn  creek.  Then  fol- 
lowed the  Warm  Springs  road,  crossing  Reems  creek  at  the 
old  Wagoner  ford  and  through  the  rear  of  the  old  Alexander 
farm,  crossing  Flat  creek"  and  ran  on  to  the  farm  of  Bedent 
Smith  near  the  Madison  county  line,  where  it  turned  west 
and  ran  to  the  mouth  of  Ivy,  thence  to  Marshall  "and  about 
one-half  mile  below  that  town  turned  to  the  east  and  ran 
with  the  old  Hopewell  turnpike,  built  by  Philip  Hoodenpyle, 
later  known  as  the  Jewel  Hill  road,  to  Warm  Springs." 

On  July  8,  1795,  Governor  Blount  of  the  territory  south  of 
the  Ohio  river,  now  called  Tennessee,  suggested  to  the  council 
of  that  territory  the  opening  of  a  road  from  Buncombe  court 
house  to  Tennessee;  and  Sevier  and  Taylor  were  appointed 
to  act  with  Wear,  Cocke,  Doherty  and  Taylor  to  consider  the 
matter,  which  resulted  in  the  opening  of  a  road  from  North 
Carolina  to  Tennessee,  via  Warm  Springs,  following  the  right 
bank  of  the  French  Broad  to  Warm  Springs.  In  1793  the 
Bairds  "had  carried  up  their  four-wheel  wagon  across  the 
Saluda  gap,  a  road  through  which  had  been  opened  by  Col. 
Earle  for  South  Carohna  for  $4,000,  and  is  probably  the  old 
road  from  Columbia,  which  passed  through  Newberry  and 
Greenville  districts,"  and  yet  known  in  upper  South  Caro- 
lina as  the  old  State  or  Buncombe  road.  "There  was  already 
a  road  or  trail  coming  from  the  direction  of  South  Carolina 
to  Asheville,"  crossing  the  Swannanoa  at  the  Gum  Spring, 
and  known  as  the  "road  from  Augusta  in  Georgia  to  Knox- 
ville."     (Record  Book  62,  p.  361.) 

The  New  Stock  Road.  This  road  passes  through  Weaver- 
ville,  Jupiter,  Jewel  Hill  and  through  Shelton  Laurel  in  Madi- 
son into  Tennessee,  and  was  built  when  Dr.  Wm.  Askew, 
who  was  born  in  1832,  was  a  boy,  in  order  to  escape  the  delays 
of  waiting  for  the  French  Broad  river  to  subside  in  times  of 
freshets,  and  in  winter,  of  avoiding  the  ice  which  drifted  into 
the  road  from  the  river  and  sometimes  made  it  impassable. 
But  Bishop  Asbury  records  the  fact  that  on  Tuesday,  October 
25,  1803,  in  coming  from  Mr.  Nelson's  at  Warm  Springs  to 
K'Uian's  on  Beaver  Dam,  "the  road  is  greatly  mended  by 
changing  the  direction  and  throwing  a  bridge  over  Ivy." 
This  is  probably  part  of  the  road  that  runs  up  Ivy  creek  from 
French  Broad  and  crosses  Ivy  about  a  mile  up  stream,  and 
then  comes  on  by  Jupiter  to  Asheville.     If  so,  the  New  Stock 


ROADS.  STAGE  COACHES  AND  TAVERNS  237 


must  have  started  from  that  bridge  across  Ivy  and  run  by  Jewel 
Hill  to  the  Te  inesst^  line. 

The  Buncombe  Turnpike.'^  "In  1824  Asheville  received 
her  greatest  impetus.  In  that  year  the  legislature  of  North 
Carolina  incorporated  the  now  famous  but  abandoned  Bun- 
combe Turnpike  road,  directing  James  Patton,  Samuel 
Chunn  ami  (leorge  Swain  to  receive  subscriptions  "for  the 
purpose  of  laying  out  and  making  a  turnpike  road  from  the 
Saluda  Gap,  in  the  county  of  Buncombe,  by  way  of  Smith's, 
Maryville,  Asheville  and  the  Warm  Springs,  to  the  Tennessee 
line."  (2  Rev.  Stat,  of  N.  C,  418).  This  great  thorough- 
fare w'as  completed  in  1828,  and  brought  a  stream  of  travel 
through  Western  North  Carolina.  All  the  attacks  upon  the 
legality  of  the  act  establishing  it  were  overruled  by  the 
Supreme  court  of  the  State,  and  Western  North  Carolina 
entered  through  it  upon  a  career  of  marvelous  prosperity, 
which  continued  for  many  years. 

Asheville  and  Greenville  Plank  Road.^^  "In  1851 
the  legislature  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina  incorporated 
the  Asheville  &  Greenville  Plank  Road  Company,  with 
authority  to  that  company  to  occupy  and  use  this  turnpike 
road  upon  certain  prescribed  terms.  A  plank  road  was  ocn- 
structed  over  the  southern  portion  of  it,  or  the  greater  part 
of  it  south  of  Asheville,  and  contributed  yet  more  to  Ashe- 
villes's  prosperity.  By  the  conclusion  of  the  late  war,  how^- 
ever,  this  plank  road  had  gone  down,  and  in  1866  the  charter 
of  the  plank  road  company  was  repealed,  w^hile  the  old  Bun- 
combe turnpike  was  suffered  to  fall  into  neglect. " 

Asheville  Gets  A  Start. ^^  From  the  time  of  the  build- 
ing of  the  Buncombe  Turnpike  road,  Asheville  began  to  be  a 
health  resort  and  summering  place  for  the  South  Carolinians, 
who  have  ever  since  patronized  it  as  such. 

The  Watchese  Road.  In  1813  a  company  was  organized 
to  lay  out  a  free  public  road  from  the  Tennessee  river  to  the 
head  of  navigation  on  the  Tugaloo  branch  of  the  Savannah 
river.  It  was  completed  in  1813,  and  became  the  great  high- 
way from  the  coast  to  the  Tennessee  settlements.^^ 

First  Roads  over  the  "Smokies."  John  Strother  men- 
tions but  two  roads  as  crossing  the  mountains  between  Vir- 
ginia and  the  Pigeon  river,  that  at  "a  low  gap  between  the 
waters  of  Cove  creek — in  what  is  now  Watauga  county — 


238        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 
i 


and  Roans  creek — in  what  is  now  Johnson  county,  Tenn. — 
and  that  of  "the  road  leading  from ^iorgait, ton  to  Jones- 
borough,"  Tenn.,  between  the  Yellow  and  the  Roan.** 

First  Roads  over  the  Unakas.  Of  the  survey  in  1821, 
from  the  end  of  the  1799  survey  on  Big  Pigeon  to  the  Georgia 
line  is  116  miles;  and  yet,  as  late  as  1821  there  were  but  two 
roads  crossing  from  North  Carolina  into  Tennessee.  They 
were  "the  Cataloochee  track"  where  the  1799  survey  ended 
and  "the  wagon  road"  at  the  101st  mile  post  on  the  Hiwassee 
river.  *^ 

Little  Tennessee  River  Road.  Just  when  the  wagon 
road  from  Tallassee  ford  up  the  Little  Tennessee  river  was 
first  constructed  cannot  be  definitely  ascertained.  Some 
sort  of  a  road,  probably  an  Indian  trail,  may  have  existed  for 
years  before  the  coming  of  the  whites  into  that  section;  but 
it  is  not  probable,  as  a  road  near  the  river  bank  is  simply 
impossible,  while  on  the  left  side  of  the  Little  Tennessee  is 
what  is  now  known  as  the  Belding  Trail.  But  this  name  has 
only  recently  been  bestowed  on  an  ancient  Indian  trail  which 
followed  the  Cheoah  river  to  what  is  now  Johnson  post  office 
and  then  cut  across  the  ridges  to  Bear  creek,  passing  Dave 
Orr's  house,  to  Slick  Rock  creek,  and  thence  down  to  Tallassee 
ford  and  the  Hardin  farm. 

Gen.  Winfield  Scott's  Military  Road.  It  is  probable, 
however,  that  Gen.  Winfield  Scott  had  a  military  road  con- 
structed from  Calhoun,  his  headquarters  in  Tennessee,  up 
to  the  junction  of  the  Little  Tennessee  with  the  Tuckaseegee 
at  what  is  now  Bushnell;  for  we  know  that  it  was  down  this 
road  that  most  of  the  Cherokees  were  driven  during  the 
Removal  of  1838.  But  it  was  impossible  for  this  road  to 
follow  the  river  bank  beyond  the  Paine  branch,  where  it  left 
the  river  and  by  following  that  branch,  crossed  the  ridge  and 
returned  to  the  river  again,  reaching  it  at  what  is  now  called 
Fairfax.  For  it  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Paine  branch  that 
Old  Charley,  the  Cherokee,  and  his  family  made  their  break 
for  liberty,  and  succeeded  in  escaping  in  1838.  Beyond 
Rocky  Point,  however,  it  is  impossible  even  for  modern  en- 
gineers, except  at  a  prohibitive  cost,  to  build  a  road  near  the 
river  bank,  and  the  consequence  has  been  that  the  road  runs 
over  a  series  of  ridges,  which  spread  off  from  the  end  of  the 
Great  Smoky  range  like  so  many  figures,  down  to  the  Little 


ROADS.  STAGE  COACHES  AND  TAVERNS     239 


Tennessee.  Gen.  Wool's  soldiers  built  the  road  from  Val- 
leytown  to  Robbinsville  in  1836-7.-'' 

Crusoe  Jack  and  Judge  Fax.  There  is  a  tradition  that, 
when  the  treaty  of  Tellico  in  1789  was  made,  Crusoe  Jack, 
a  mulatto,  got  a  grant  to  the  magnificent  Harden  farm  and 
that  John  Harden  traded  him  out  of  it.  Harden  worked 
about  fifty  slaves  on  this  farm,  among  whom  was  Fax,  a  mu- 
latto, who  bought  his  freedom  from  John  Harden,  whose  de- 
scendants still  own  this  farm,  and  settled  at  Fairfax,  where 
Daniel  Lester  afterwards  lived  for  many  years,  and  where 
Jeremiah  Jenkins  afterwards  lived  and  died.  Fax  was  called 
Judge  Fax  and  kept  a  public  house  where  he  supplied  wagoners 
and  other  travelers  with  such  accommodations  as  he  could. 

Old  Wilkesborough  Roads.  The  prinicipal  road  from 
Wilkesboro  passed  through  Deep  gap  and  went  by  Boone. 
The  Phillips  gap  road  was  made  just  before  the  Civil  War  and 
after  Arthur  D.  Cole  settled  on  Gap  creek  and  began  his 
extensive  business  there  it  was  much  used.  All  freight  came 
from  Wilkesboro.  The  turnpike  from  Patterson  over  Blowing 
Rock  gap  passed  down  the  Watauga  river  and  ShuU's  Mills 
to  Valle  Crucis,  Ward's  store.  Beech,  and  Watauga  Falls  to 
Gardens'  bluff  in  Tennessee,  after  which  it  left  the  Watauga 
river  and  crossed  the  ridge  to  Hampton  and  Doe  river,  going 
on  to  Jonesboro.  It  was  surveyed  about  1848  by  Col.  William 
Lenoir  and  built  soon  afterwards.  David  J.  Farthing  and 
Anderson  Cable  remember  seeing  the  grading  while  it  was 
being  built,  and  Alfred  Moretz  of  Deep  Gap  was  present 
when  sections  of  the  road  were  bid  off  by  residents,  the  bid- 
ding being  near  the  mouth  of  Beech  creek. 

The  Western  Turnpike.  In  1848-9  the  legislature  passed 
an  act  to  provide  for  a  turnpike  road  from  Salisbury  to  the 
line  of  the  State  of  Georgia.  The  lands  of  the  Cherokees  were 
later  pledged  for  the  building  of  this  "Western  Turnpike," 
as  it  was  officially  called,  and  in  1852-3  another  act  was  passed 
"to  bring  into  market  the  lands"  so  pledged,  and  this  act  was 
later  (Ch.  22,  Laws  1854-5)  supplemented  by  an  act  which 
gave  the  road  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  the  Cherokee  lands 
in  Cherokee,  Macon,  Jackson  and  Haywood  counties.  At  the 
latter  session  another  act  was  passed  making  Asheville  the 
eastern  terminus  and  the  Tennessee  line,  near  Ducktown,  the 
western  terminus  of  this  road,  and  providing  that  it  should 


240        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

also  extend  to  the  Georgia  line;  but  that  the  latter  road  should 
be  only  a  branch  of  the  main  road.  It  also  provided  that  in 
case  the  bridge  across  the  French  Broad  river — presumably 
Smith's  bridge  at  Asheville — could  not  be  obtained  on  satis- 
factory terms,  the  route  of  the  turnpike  might  be  changed 
and  a  new  bridge  constructed.  As  this  was  not  done,  it  is 
probable  that  satisfactory  terms  were  made  for  the  use  of 
Smith's  bridge,  as  it  had  been  sold  to  Buncombe  county 
about  1853.  When  this  road  reached  the  Tuckaseegee  river 
"the  influence  of  Franklin  and  Macon  county  was  the  prin- 
cipal force  which  took  it  across  the  Cowee  and  Nantahala 
mountains^^  The  survey  was  made  by  an  engineer  by  the 
name  of  Fox  in  1849.  It  was  completed  over  the  Valley  river 
mountains  and  Murphy  in  1856.  The  late  Nimrod  S.  Jarrett 
was  chief  of  construction.  Chapter  51,  Laws  of  1854-5  defined 
the  duties  of  and  powers  of  turnpike  and  plankroad  compa- 
nies, and  acts  incorporating  the  latter  throughout  the  State 
passed  at  that  session  extend  from  page  178  to  page  216, 
showing  their  popularity. 

Smith's  Bridge.  Long  before  a  bridge  had  been  built 
across  the  French  Broad  at  Asheville  Edmund  Sams,  who  had 
come  from  the  Watauga  settlement  and  settled  on  the  west 
side  of  the  French  Broad  at  what  was  later  known  as  the 
Gaston  place  about  a  mile  above  the  mouth  of  the  Swanna- 
noa  operated  a  ferry  there.  He  had  been  an  Indian  fighter, 
and  later  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution.  He  was  also  for  years 
a  trustee  of  the  Newton  Academy,  and  died  on  the  farm  of 
his  father-in-law,  Thomas  Foster,  near  Biltmore.  John  Jar- 
rett afterwards  lived  at  the  western  terminus  of  the  present 
bridge,  keeping  the  ferry  and  charging  toll.  Subsequently  he 
sold  it  to  James  M.  Smith,  who  built  a  toll  bridge  there,  which 
he  maintained  till  about  1853,  when  he  died,  after  having  sold 
the  bridge  to  Buncombe  county.  After  this  it  became  a  free 
bridge.  In  1881  it  was  removed  to  make  way  for  the  pres- 
ent iron  structure,  but  its  old  foundations  are  yet  plainly  to  be 
seen.^-  That  old  bridge  was  a  single  track  affair  without 
handrails  for  a  long  time  before  the  Civil  War,  and  nothing 
but  log  stringers  on  each  side  of  the  roadway.  Col.  J.  C. 
Smathers  of  Turnpike  remembers  when,  if  a  team  began  to 
back,  there  was  nothing  to  prevent  a  vehicle  going  over  into 
the  river.     Chapter  313,  Laws,  1883,    made    it    unlawful  to 


ROADS.  STAGE  COACHES  AND  TAVERNS     241 

drive  or  rido   faster  than  a  walk  over   the   new   double-track 
bridge  at  Asheville." 

Caurieu's  Bridge.  This  was  l)uilt  about  1893,  crossing 
the  French  Broad  at  the  mouth  of  the  Swannanoa  river.  It 
was  afterwards  sold  to  the  county.  Pearson's  Bridge,  near 
Riverside  Park,  was  built  by  Hon.  Richmond  Pearson  about 
this  time,  but  afterwards  taken  over  by  the  county.  The 
Concrete  bridge  below  the  passenger  depot  was  finished  and 
opened  in  1911. 

Gorman's  Bridge.  This  is  about  five  miles  below  Ashe- 
ville and  was  erected  long  before  the  war,  but  was  washed 
away.  It  was  replaced  by  the  present  iron  structure,  about 
1900. 

The  Anderson  Road.  About  the  year  1858  a  road  was 
made  from  the  head  of  Cade's  Cove  in  Blount  county,  Tenn., 
around  the  Boat  mountain  to  what  is  now  and  was  probably 
then  the  Spence  Cabin  at  Thunderhead  mountain.  It  was 
finished  to  this  point,  in  the  expectation  that  a  road  from  the 
mouth  of  Chambers  creek,  below  Bushnel,  would  be  built  over 
into  the  Hazel  creek  settlement,  and  thence  up  the  Foster 
ridge  and  through  the  Haw  gap  to  meet  it.  But  North  Caro- 
lina failed  to  do  its  part,  and  the  old  Anderson  road  in  a  ruin- 
ous condition,  but  still  passable  for  footmen  and  horsemen,  re- 
mains a  mute  witness  to  somebody's  bad  faith  in  the  past. 

Great  Road  Activity.  Between  1848  and  1862,  while  the 
late  Col.  W.  H.  Thomas  was  in  the  legislature,  the  statute 
books  are  full  of  charters  for  turnpike  and  plankroad  com- 
panies all  through  the  mountains.  Many  of  these  roads  were 
not  to  be  new  roads  but  improvements  on  old  roads  which 
were  bad;  and  some  of  the  roads  authorized  were  never  built 
at  all.  The  Jones  gap  road  to  Caesar's  head,  the  road  from 
Bakersville  to  Burnsville,  the  road  from  Patterson  to  Valle 
Crucis  and  on  to  Jonesboro,  the  road  up  Cove  creek  by  trade 
and  Zionville  to  what  is  now  Alountain  City,  the  road  over 
Cataloochee  to  Newport,  the  road  up  Ocona  Lufty,  the  road 
through  Soco  gap,  the  road  up  Tuckasecgee  river  and  the 
Nantahala,  through  Red  Marble  gap,  etc.,  were  all  chartered 
during  that  time.  And  Col.  Thomas  was  especially'  interested 
in  the  road  from  Old  Valleyto\vn  over  the  Snowbird  moun- 
tain, via  Robbinsville  (Junaluska's  old  home)  down  the  Che- 
owah  river  to  Rocky  Point,  where  he  had  built  a  bridge  across 

W.  N.C— 16 


242        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

the  Little  Tennessee  and  was  confidently  awaiting  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Blue  Ridge  railroad,  which  has  not  arrived  yet. 

Old  Stage  Coach  Days.  "From  Greenville  to  Greenville" 
was  the  watchword  when  bids  were  made  for  the  mail  lines  in 
those  days.  Each  Greenville  was  sixty  miles  from  Asheville. 
The  stops  between  Greenville,  S.  C.  and  Asheville  were,  first, 
at  C.  Montgomery's,  ten  miles  north  of  Greenville,  then  at 
Garmany's,  twenty  miles;  then  at  Col.  John  Davis's,  near  the 
State  line,  where  Col.  David  Vance  was  taken  to  die  after  his 
duel  with  Carson  in  1827;  then  at  Hendersonville;  then  at 
Shufordsville,  or  Arden,  12  miles,  then  at  Asheville.  Col. 
Ripley  sold  out  to  John  T.  Poole,  of  Greenville,  S.  C,  about 
1855,  and  he  ran  hacks  till  1865  when  Terrell  W.  Taylor  bought 
him  out  and  continued  to  run  hacks  till  the  Spartanburg  & 
Asheville  Railroad  reached  Tryon,  about  1876. 

Old  Stage  Coach  Contractors.  J.  C.  Hankins  of  Green- 
ville, Tenn.,  used  to  have  the  line  from  that  point  to  Warm 
Springs,  his  stages  starting  out  from  Greenville  nearly  oppo- 
site the  former  residence  of  the  late  Andrew  Johnson,  once 
President  of  the  United  States,  and  whose  son,  Andrew  John- 
son, Jr.,  married  Elizabeth,  the  second  daughter  of  Col.  J.  H. 
Rumbough  of  Hot  Springs.  He  stopped  running  this  line, 
however,  when  the  railroad  reached  Wolf  Creek  in  1868.  The 
late  Wm.  P.  Blair  of  Asheville,  who  used  to  run  the  old  Eagle 
hotel,  also  ran  the  stage  line  from  Asheville  to  Greenville, 
Tenn.,  (this  was  at  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War)  until  his 
stock  and  coaches  were  captured  by  Col.  G.  W.  Kirk.  In 
July,  1866,  Col.  Rumbough  ran  the  stage  line  from  Greenville, 
Tenn.,  to  Greenville,  S.  C.  The  ''stands,"  as  the  stopping 
places  were  called,  were  breakfast  at  Warm  Springs,  dinner 
at  Marshall,  supper  at  Asheville.  Owing  to  the  condition  of 
the  roads  Col.  Rumbough  cut  down,  the  toll  gate  at  Marshall 
in  July,  1866,  and  the  matter  was  compromised  by  allowing 
him  to  apply  the  tolls  to  keeping  the  road  in  condition,  in- 
stead of  letting  the  turnpike  company  do  it. 

Keen  Competitors.  Col.  Rumbough  ran  the  line  about 
a  year  and  a  half,  when  Hon.  A.  H.  Jones,  congressman,  got 
the  contract,  but  failed  to  carry  it  out,  and  Col.  Rumbough 
took  it  again. 

The  Morganton  Line.  The  stage  line  from  Morganton 
to  the   "head  of  the  railroad,"  as  the  various  stopping  place 


ROADS,  STAGE  COACHES  AND  TAVERNS  243 

along  the  line  as  the  road  progressed  toward  Asheville  were 
called,  was  running  many  years  before  the  Civil  War.  After 
that,  the  late  E.  T.  Clemmons  of  Salem  came  to  Asheville 
and  operated  the  line  from  Old  Fort  to  Asheville. 

Through  Hickory-Nut  Gap.  In  1834  Bedford  Sherrill 
secured  a  four  years'  contract  to  haul  the  mails  from  Salis- 
bury via  Linc'olnton,  Schenck's  Cotton  mills,  and  Ruther- 
fordton  to  Asheville.  He  moved  shortly  afterwards  to  Hick- 
ory Nut  gap,  for  years  thereafter  famous  as  one  of  the  old 
taverns  of  the  mountains.  Ben  Seney  of  Tennessee  succeeded 
him  as  mail  carrier  on  this  route,  but  he  did  not  complete  his 
contract,  giving  it  up  before  the  expiration  of  the  four  years. 
Old  fashioned  Albany  stage  coaches  were  used. 

Hacks  to  Murphy.  As  the  railroads  approached  Ashe- 
ville the  hacks  and  stages  were  taken  off.  The  late  Pinckney 
Rollins  ran  a  weekly  hack  hne,  which  carried  the  mail,  from 
Asheville  to  jVIurphy  from  about  1870,  and  shortly  afterward 
changed  it  to  a  daily  line.  But  he  failed  at  it,  and  lost  much 
money.  The  stopping  places  in  1871  were  Turnpike  for 
dinner,  Wa\niesville  for  supper,  where  a  stop  was  made  till 
next  day.  Then  to  Webster  for  dinner  and  Josh  Frank's, 
two  miles  east  of  Franklin,  for  supper  and  night.  The  third 
day  took  the  mail  through  Franklin  to  Aquone  for  dinner 
at  Stepp's,  at  the  bridge-^;  and  to  Mrs.  Walker's,  at  Old  Val- 
ley TowTi,  for  supper.  The  next  day  the  trip  was  made  to 
Murphy  for  dinner,  and  back  that  night  to  Old  Valley  Town. 
As  the  railroad  progressed  toward  Waynesville  the  hacks  ran 
from  the  various  termini  to  that  town. 

From  Salem  to  Jonesborough.  As  far  back  as  1840  stages 
or  hacks  ran  from  Salem  via  Wilkesboro,  Jefferson,  Creston, 
through  Ambrose  gap,  Taylorsville,  Term.,  to  Jonesboro, 
Tennessee;  but  they  were  withdrawn  at  least  ten  years  before 
the  Civil  War,  after  which  Samuel  Northington  ran  a  hne  of 
hacks  from  Jefferson  to  Taylorsville,  now  Mountain  City, 
Tennessee.  Stages  were  run  from  Lenoir  via  Blo\ving  Rock, 
Shulls  Mills  and  Zionville  from  1852  to  18G1. 

Moonlight  and  the  Old  Stage  Horn.  In  1828,  when 
"Billy"  Vance  kept  the  Warm  Springs  hotel,  old  fashioned 
stage  coaches  ran  between  Asheville  and  Greenville,  Tenn., 
and  Greenville,  S.  C.^*  According  to  the  recollection  of  Dr. 
T.  A.  Allen  of  Hendersonville,  N.  C,  "the  old  stage  line  back 


244        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

in  1840  was  operated  by  the  Stocktons  of  Maryland  from 
Augusta,  Ga.,  "via  Greenville,  S.  C,  Asheville,  N.  C.,  the 
Warm  Springs  and  across  Paint  Mountain  to  Greenville, 
Tennessee.  "The  line  from  Greenville,  S.  C.,  to  Greenville, 
Tenn.,  was  sold  to  the  late  Valentine  Ripley,  who  bought  it 
and  settled  in  Hendersonville  about  1845."  They  ran  Con- 
cord coaches — sometimes  called  Albany  coaches — which  were 
swung  on  leatlier  braces  and  carried  nine  passengers  inside, 
with  a  boot  behind  for  trunks,  and  space  on  top  and  beside 
the  driver  for  several  additional  passengers.  The  driver  was 
an  autocrat,  and  carried  a  long  tin  horn,  which  he  blew  as 
stopping  places  were  approached,  to  warn  the  inn-keepers  of 
the  number  of  passengers  to  be  entertained.  Nothing  was 
lovelier  on  a  moonlit,  frosty  night  than  these  sweet  notes 
echoing  over  hill  and  dale: 

"O,  hark,  O,  hear,  how  thin  and  clear, 
And  thinner,  clearer,  farther  going! 
O,  sweet  and  far  from  chff  and  scar 

The  horns  of  Elfland  faintly  blowing!" 

When  the  railroad  was  completed  to  Greenville,  S.  C,  in 
1855,  Col.  Ripley  ran  stages  from  Greenville,  Tenn.,  to  Green- 
ville, S.  C,  daily,  though  in  1853  he  had  been  limited  to  the 
run  from  Greenville,  S.  C,  to  Asheville,  N.  C'^s 

Jefferson  and  Wilkesborough  Turnpike.  In  1901 
the  Wilkesborough  and  Jefferson  Turnpike  company  was 
incorporated.  (Private  Laws,  ch.  286)  and  the  road  was 
completed  in  five  years.  The  State  simply  furnished  the 
convicts  and  the  stockholders  the  provisions  and  the  expenses 
of  the  guard. 

Other  Counties  Get  Good  Roads.  In  1911  Hon.  J.  H. 
Dillard  secured  the  passage  by  the  legislature  of  a  road  law 
under  which  Murphy  township  is  authorized  to  issue  $150,- 
000.00  of  six  per  cent  bonds  for  the  improvement  of  the  roads, 
and  the  four  main  streets  of  the  towTi  and  roads  leading  into 
the  countr}'.  Haywood  had  already  done  much  for  the 
improvement  of  its  roads,  while  Watauga  has  undoubtedly 
the  best  roads  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  the  roads  to  Blowing 
Rock,  Shull's  Mills,  Boone,  Valle  Crucis  and  Banners  Elk 
and  Elk  Cross  roads  being  unsurpassed  anyw^here. 

Carver's  Gap  Road.       Chapter  63   of  the   Private  laws 


ROADS.  STAGE  COACHES  AND  TAVERNS  245 

of  1881  aiiieiuk'd  fhaplcr  72  ul"  Private  laws  of  186G-G7  l)y 
allowing  John  L.  WiUlor,  John  E.  Toppan  and  others  to  build 
a  turnpike  from  WiKler's  forge  on  Big  Rock  creek  across 
Roan  mountain  to  Carver's  gap  on  the  Tennessee  State  line; 
and  to  make  a  turnpike  from  Carver's  gap  down  the  valley 
of  Little  Rock  creek  to  the  ford  of  said  creek  at  John  G.  Burli- 
son's  dwelling  house. 

Convicts  to  jNIake  County  Roads.  On  the  6th  of  Feb- 
raury,  1893,  the  Buncombe  county  commissioners  approved  a 
bill  which  had  been  introduced  in  the  legislature  by  CJen.  R. 
B.  Vance  to  use  convicts  for  working  county  roads,  which  has 
proven  beneficent,  except  that  negroes  and  whites  are  crowded 
together  in  too  small  quarters.  Convicts  prefer  work  in  the 
open  air  to  confinement  in  jails  and  penitentiaries. 

End  of  Toll  Gates.  On  the  5th  of  September,  1881, 
the  old  Buncombe  Turnpike  company  surrendered  and  the 
commissioners  accepted  its  charter.  The  turnpike  down  the 
French  Broad  river  having  been  turned  over  to  the  Western 
North  Carolina  railroad  company  for  stock  in  that  enterprise 
in  1869,  all  that  was  left  to  be  surrendered  was  the  road  from 
the  Henderson  county  line  to  Asheville,  passing  through  Lime- 
stone township.  Gradually  each  county  took  over  the  great 
Western  Turnpike  from  Asheville  to  Murphy,  thus  abolishing 
toll  gates  along  the  road,  the  legislature  having  authorized 
this  change.  There  are  still  toll  gates  on  some  roads,  but 
they  have  been  specially  authorized  bj^  legislative  enactment, 
and  are  comparatively  few,  Yonahlossee  and  Elk  Park  roads 
being  of  the  number. 

Rip  Vanw^inkle  Buncombe.  From  1880  to  1896  Asheville 
had  gone  ahead  by  leaps  and  bounds,  having  in  that  time 
paved  its  streets,  built  electric  railroads,  hotels  and  private 
residences  that  are  still  the  pride  of  all;  but  the  county  had 
stood  still.  Its  old  court  house,  jail  and  alms  house  were  a 
reflection  on  the  progress  of  the  times.  But  in  1896,  "Cousin 
Caney"  Bro\A'n  was  elected  chairman  of  the  board  of  county 
commissioners,  and  graded  a  good  road  from  Smith's  bridge 
in  the  direction  of  his  farm,  using  the  county  convicts  for  the 
work.^^  He  had  a  farm  at  the  end  of  the  road,  it  is  true, 
and  was  criticised  for  building  the  road;  but  it  was  such  a 
well  graded  thoroughfare  and  such  an  object  lesson  that  the 
people  not  only  forgave  him  for  providing  a  better  road  to 


246        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

his  home,  but  all  commissioners  who  have  followed  him  have 
been  afraid  not  to  contribute  something  to  what  he  began. 

Mark  L.  Reed.  Profiting  by  the  example  set  by  "Cousin 
Caney, "  M.  L.  Reed  spent  a  lot  of  good  money  building  other 
roads  which  were  macadamized,  placing  good  steel  bridges 
over  creeks  and  rivers  where  they  had  long  been  needed,  and 
in  replacing  the  disgraceful  old  court  house  by  a  modern 
structure,  and  providing  a  jail  that  is  ample  for  the  demands 
of  humanity  and  the  times.  A  decent  home  was  provided 
for  orphan  children  of  the  county.  The  old  alms  house  was 
given  up  and  better  quarters  provided  for  the  old  and  infirm 
of  the  county.  "Cousin  Caney"  had  set  the  pace,  and  soon 
other  good  roads  and  good  roads  sentiment  followed. 

Buncombe  Good  Roads  Association.  The  Good  Roads 
Association  of  Asheville  and  Buncombe  county  was  organized 
March  6,  1899,  Dr.  C.  P.  Ambler  was  the  president  and  B. 
M.  Jones  secretary  and  treasurer.  These  officers  have  been 
continued  in  their  positions  ever  since.  Their  object  is  the 
construction  and  improvement  of  roads.  They  have  suc- 
ceeded in  accomplishing  much  good — not  the  least  of  which 
are  mile  posts  and  sign  boards.  They  raised  S5,000.00  to 
improve  the  road  from  Asheville  to  Biltmore  soon  after  its 
organization  and  $550  for  the  survey  of  the  "crest  of  the 
Blue  Ridge  highway;"  and  constructed  a  horse-back  trail  to 
Mitchell's  Peak.  They  are  advocating  the  construction  of 
other  highways. 

YoNAHLOssEE  TuRNPiKE.  About  1890  the  Linville  Improve- 
ment company  was  formed,  having  among  its  stockholders 
Mr.  S.  T.  Kelsey,  formerly  of  Highlands,  N.  C,  and  before 
his  building  of  that  towm,  of  Kansas.  Through  his  instru- 
mentality, largely,  assisted  by  the  Messers.  Ravenel  and  Don- 
ald Macrae,  the  latter  of  Wilmington,  there  was  constructed  the 
most  picturesque  and  durable  highway  in  the  mountains  or  the 
State.  It  begins  at  Linville  City,  two  miles  from  Monte- 
zuma, Avery  county,  and  runs  around  the  eastern  base  of 
Grandfather  mountain  to  Blownng  Rock,  a  distance  of  twenty 
miles.  It  cost  about  $18,000  complete.  It  gave  an  impetus 
to  other  road-builders.  A  road  w^as  soon  thereafter  built 
from  Blowing  Rock  to  Boone,  and  from  Valle  Crucis  to  Ban- 
ners Elk.     There  are  no   finer   roads  in  the  State,  and  none 


ROADS.  STAGE  COACHES  AND  TAVERNS  247 


built  on  more  difficult  ground.     In  1912  they  were  the  delight 
of  numerous  automobile  owners. 

NOTES. 

'Ashcvillo's  Centenary. 

Till'  first  brakes  were  made  of  hickory  saplings  whose  brunches  were  twined  around 
the  front  axle  and  bent  around  the  hind  wheels;  afterwards  came  "  locking  chains"  attached 
to  the  body  of  wagons  and  then  passed  between  tlie  spokes  of  the  wlieels  to  retard  the 
vehicle's  going  down  steep  grades.     Voung  trees  dragged  on  the  road  also  served  at  tiinca. 

'A.sheville's  Centenary. 

♦Roosevelt  (\'ol.  I,  225)  records  the  fact  that  on  his  return  from  hii  first  visit  to  Watauga, 
in  the  fall  of  1770,  James  Robertson  lost  his  way,  and  for  14  days  lived  on  nuts  and  berries, 
and  abandoned  his  horse  among  impassible  precipices.  If  he  followed  up  the  left  bank  of 
the  Watauga  and  did  not  see  that  the  Doe  came  into  the  former  stream  at  what  is  now 
Elizabethton,  it  is  easy  to  see  how  he  followed  up  the  left  bank  of  the  latter  and  got  lost 
amid  the  precipices  of  what  is  now  Pardee's  Point. 

iRoosevelt,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  97-98. 

•"  Dropped  Stitches  in  Tennessee  History,"  p.  4. 

'Letter  from  Col.  W.  L.  Bryan  of  Boone  to  J.  P.  A.,  December  3,  1912. 

'.Asheville's  Centenary.     Wheeler's  History  of  North  Carolina,  p.  476. 

•Deed  Book  E.,  p.  121-2,  Buncombe. 

'"Statement  of  Francis  Marion  Wells  to  J.  P.  A.,  July  15,  1912.  Old  Newport  ia  three 
miles  above  the  present  town,  the  railroad  docs  not  pass  the  former  at  all. 

"This  must  have  been  a  local  name  for  this  part  of  the  range,  for  the  real  Unaka  moun- 
tains are  southwest  of  Little  Tennessee  river. 

'•This  is  spoiled  Neilson. 

"Deed  Book  E,  Buncombe,  p.  122. 

"Ibid.,  p.  123. 

".\shcville's  Centenary. 

"From  .Vsheville's  Centenary. 

"See  chapter  on  Cherokee  Indians. 

"Deed  Book  E,  Reg.  Deeds,  Buncombe  county,  pp.  122-123. 

"Davenport's  Diary  quoted  in  chapter  on  boundaries. 

'"Sketch  of  Graham  County  by  Rev.  Joseph  A.  Wiggins,  February  3,  1912. 

"Capt.  James  W.  Terrell  in  The  Commonwealth,  Asheville.  June  1.  1893. 

'^Condensed  from  Asheville's  Centenary.  18J8. 

'•But  from  1872  dinner  was  taken  at  Capt.  .\.  R.  Munday's. 

"Col.  J.  H.  Rumbough  to  J.  P.  A.,  November  13,  1912. 

s'Dr.  T.  A.  Allen  to  J.  P.  A.,  November  12,  1912. 

'•This  was  T.  Caney  Brown. 


CHAPTER  XI 
MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS 

Then  and  Now.  Probably  there  was  no  more  difference 
in  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  early  days  than  we  should 
now  see  in  a  community  of  modern  people  situated  as  were 
our  ancesters  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  There  was  a 
spirit  of  co-operation  then  that  made  conditions  much  easier 
to  bear  than  they  might  othermse  have  been.  Those  who 
remember  the  Civil  War  times  in  the  South  will  recall  that  it 
is  possible  to  get  on  without  many  things  ordinarily  consid- 
ered indispensible ;  and  that  when  it  is  the  "fashion"  to  do 
without,  simplicity  becomes  quite  attractive.  Calico  gowns 
and  ribbonless  costumes  used  to  look  well  on  pretty  women 
and  girls  during  the  war,  and  hopinjon  was  far  better  than 
no  hopinjon.  We  imagine  that  we  are  far  removed  from  a 
state  of  nature,  but  when  the  occasion  arises  we  readily  adapt 
ourselves  to  primitive  manners  and  customs. 

The  Rush  for  the  Mountains.  Long  before  the  treaty 
of  1785  white  men  had  passed  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge  to  hunt 
and  trap.  Ashe  was  sparsely  settled  long  before  Buncombe; 
but  as  soon  as  the  land  between  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the 
Pigeon  river  was  open  for  settlement  legally,  white  men  began 
to  settle  there,  too. 

Where  They  Came  From.  Most  of  these  early  settlers 
came  from  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  though  many  came  from 
the  Watauga  Settlements  in  what  is  now  Tennessee.  Wolf 
Hill,  now  Staunton,  contributed  its  quota,  most  of  them  going 
into  what  are  now  Ashe,  Alleghany  and  Watauga  counties. 
The  charm  of  hunting  lured  many,  but  most  who  sought  the 
mountains  doubtless  came  from  the  mountainous  regions  of 
Scotland.  After  the  French  and  Indian  War  several  families 
that  had  gone  into  the  Piedmont  region  of  South  Carolina, 
came  through  the  Saluda  gap  and  settled  in  what  was  then 
Buncombe,  though  now  called  Henderson  and  Transylvania. 
The  Whiskey  Rebellion  in  Pennsylvania  late  in  the  Eighteenth 
century  is  also  credited  with  having  sent  many  good  citizens 
into  the  mountains  of  western  North  Carolina. 
(248) 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  249 

The  Pioneer  Spirit  Persists.  Roosevelt  was  the  first 
historian  that  gave  to  the  pioneers  of  western  North  CaroHiia 
and  Tennessee  tlieir  rightful  place  in  reclaiming  from  savage 
Indians  the  boundless  resources  of  the  Great  West.  Sam 
Houston,  Davy  Crockett  and  Daniel  Boone  went  from  our 
sacred  soil,  and  added  Texas  and  Kentucky  to  the  galaxy  of 
our  starry  flag;  while  Joseph  Lane  of  Oregon  first  saw  the 
light  of  day  through  the  chinks  of  a  dirt-fioor  cabin  that  once 
stoodin  the  very  shadow  of  what  is  still  called  Lane's  Pinnacle 
of  the  rugged  Craggies — a  mute,  yet  eloquent,  monument  to 
that  spirit  of  liberty,  enterprize  and  adventure  that  still  fills 
our  army  and  navy  ^\^th  recruits  for  the  Sandwich  and  Phil- 
ippine Islands  of  the  Pacific.  Yet,  what  visitor  to  that  match- 
less canon  beyond  Hickory  Nut  pass,  knows  that  in  passing 
through  Mine  Hole  gap  six  miles  east  of  Asheville,  he  was 
within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  spot  where  Lane's  father  in  the 
dawn  of  the  last  century  spent  laljorious  days  while  mining  for 
the  precious  ore  that  was  to  furnish  horse-shoes,  plough-shares 
and  pruning-hooks  for  those  who  first  tilled  the  savannahs  of 
the  Swannanoa  and  the  French  Broad?  Did  the  pearls  of 
Henry  Grady's  eloquence,  erstwhile,  drop  scintilant,  and  thrill 
the  nation  from  the  Kcnnebeck  to  the  Willamette,  because  his 
lightest  gem  was  "shot  through  with  sunshine"?  Then  know, 
O  ye  fools  and  blind,  ye  who  never  cast  one  longing,  lingering 
look  behind,  that  his  grandfather  was  once  sheriff  of  that  Bun- 
coml)e  county  whose  people  are  classed  by  such  self-styled 
"national  journals"  as  Collier's  Weekly,  wath  the  scorners  of 
all  law  and  order,  because,  forsooth,  of  the  sporadic  Allen  epi- 
sode in  Virginia.  Wlio  discovered  that  wonderland — the 
matchless  valley  of  the  far-famed  Yosemite?  James  M.  Roan 
of  Macon  county.  North  Carolina,  in  March  of  Fifty-one.^ 
He,  with  the  Argonauts  of  the  world,  won  his  way  to  the 
Pacific  coast,  and  left  to  others  to  dig  from  the  dim  records 
of  the  past  some  frail  memorial  of  his  heroic  deeds.  The 
spirit  that  drove  him  forth  has  never  died,  and  todaj-,  the 
mountains  and  hills  of  Idaho,  Montana,  Washington  and  Col- 
orado, are  dotted  with  the  homes  and  ranches  of  those  whose 
feet  first  trod  "where  rolls  the  Oregon."  And  Onalaska's  ice- 
ribbed  hills  are  peopled  with  our  kin,  as  will  be  every  frontier 
region  till  Time  shall  be  no  more.  Our  ancestors  were  the 
Crusaders  of  American  civilization,  and  "as  long  as  the  fame 


250         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

of  their  matchless  struggle  shall  linger  in  tradition  and  in  song 
should  their  memories  be  cherished  by  the  descendants"  of  the 
peerless  "Roundheads  of  the  South."  Still,  the  incredulous 
may  ask  "Can  honor's  voice  provoke  the  silent  dust,  or  flat- 
tery soothe  the  dull,  cold  ear  of  death"?  No;  but  if  we  will 
but  heed  while  yet  we  may  the  silent  voices  of  our  worthy 
dead,  and  learn  the  lesson  of  the  days  now  gone,  we,  taking 
hope,  with  Tennyson  may  cry  : 

"Forward  to  the  starry  track, 
Glimmering  up  the  heights  beyond  me, 
On,  and  always  on!" 

The  First  Indian  Massacres.  Samuel  Davidson  was 
killed  by  Indians  in  1781  or  1782  at  the  head  of  the  Swan- 
nanoa  river,  near  what  is  now  Gudger's  ford;  and  Aaron 
Burleson  was  killed  on  Cane  creek  in  what  is  now  Mitchell 
county  about  the  same  time,  probably,  though  the  date  has 
been  lost.  He  was  an  ancestor  of  Postmaster-General  Burleson 
of  President  Wilson's  Cabinet  in  1914.  Davidson  had  belonged 
to  a  small  colony  of  whites  which  had  settled  around  what  is 
now  known  as  Old  Fort  at  the  head  of  the  Catawba  river  in 
what  is  now  McDowell  county.  Among  those  settlers  were 
the  Alexanders,  Davidsons,  Smiths,  Edmundsons,  and  Gudgers, 
from  whom  have  come  a  long  line  of  descendants  now  residing 
in  Western  North  Carolina.  Burleson  probably  belonged  to 
the  settlers  around  ]\Iorganton,  and  had  ventured  beyond  the 
Blue  Ridge  to  hunt  deer.  Davidson's  purpose,  however,  had 
been  permanent  settlement,  as  he  had  built  a  cabin  where  his 
family  was  living  when  he  was  killed." 

Ashe  County.  Except  in  a  few  localities,  there  are  few 
evidences  of  Indian  occupation  by  Indians  of  the  territory 
west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  North  of  the  Catawba.  At  the 
Old  Field  on  New  River,  near  the  mouth  of  Gap  creek,  in 
Ashe  county,  was  probablj^  once  a  large  Indian  town,  arrow- 
heads, spear  points,  pieces  of  pottery,  etc.,  still  being  found 
there;  but  this  section  of  the  mountains  had  not  been  popu- 
lated by  the  red  men  for  thirteen  years  before  the  treaty  of 
1785,  the  Indians  having  leased  those  lands  in  1772,  and  in 
1775,  conveyed  them  outright.^ 

Buffaloes.  Thwaite's  "Daniel  Boone"  gives  much  infor- 
mation as  to  the  buffaloes  that  once  were  in  this  section.  "At 
first  buffaloes  were  so  plenty  that  a  party  of  three  or  four  men 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  251 

with  dogs,  could  kill  from  ten  to  twenty  in  a  day;  but  soon  the 
sluggish  animals  receded  before  the  advance  of  white  men,  hid- 
ing themselves  behind  the  mountain  wall "  (pp.  17,  18).    "They 
exhiljited  no  fear  until  the  wind  blew  from  the  hunters  toward 
them,  and  then  they  would  tlash  wildly  away  in  large  droves 
and  disappear"    (p.  90).     BufTalo  trails  led  down  the  French 
Broad;  and  just  north  of  the  Toe  and  near  the  Indian  (Irave 
gap  the  trail  is  still  distinctly  visible  where  it  crossed  the 
mountain.   The  valley  of  the  French  Broad  was  a  well  recog- 
nized hunting  ground  and  probably  it  had  contained  many 
butYaloes;  but  as  the  Cherokees  occupied  most  of  the  territory 
west  of  the  Pigeon,  it  is  more  than  likely  that  the  bison  family 
was  not  so  numerous  there;  although  in  Graham  county  there 
are  two  large  creeks  which  have  been  called  Buffalo  time  out 
of  mind.     BufTalo  used  to  herd  at  the  head  of  the  Yadkin 
river,  and  their  trails  crossed  the  mountains  into  Tennessee 
at  several  places.     But  this  part  of  the  mountains  had  been 
free  of  Indians  for  many  years  before  1750,  when  the  whites 
began  to  settle  there.  Col.  Byrd,  in  his  "Writings"  (p.  225), 
says  that  when  near  Sugar-tree  creek  when  running  the  Divid- 
ing Line  that  his  party  met  a  lone  buffalo  two  years  old — a 
bull  and  already  as  large  as  an  ox,  which  they  killed.     He 
adds  that  "the  Men  were  so  delighted  with  the  new  dyet, 
that  the  Gridiron  and  Frying  Pan  had  no  more  rest  all  night 
than  a  Poor  Husband  Subject  to  Curtain  Lectures."     Roose- 
velt^ mentions  that  "When  Mansker  first  went  to  the  Bluffs 
(now  Nashville)  in  1769,  the  buffaloes  were  more  numerous 
than  he  had  ever  seen  them  before;  the  ground  literally  shook 
under  the  gallop  of  the  mighty  herds,  they  crowded  in  dense 
throngs  round  the  licks,  and  the  forest  resounded  with  their 
grunting  bellows." 

One  Virtue  in  Leather  Breeches.  Col.  Byrd  in  his 
"Writings"  (p.  212)  has  these  observations  upon  the  curing 
of  skins  by  means  of  "smoak,"  as  he  invariably  spells  it  : 
"For  Expedition's  Sake  they  often  stretch  their  Skins  over 
Smoak  in  order  to  dry  them,  which  makes  them  smell  so  dis- 
agreeably that  a  Rat  must  have  a  good  Stomach  to  gnaw 
them  in  that  condition;  nay,  'tis  said,  while  that  perfume  con- 
tinues in  a  Pair  of  Leather  Breeches,  the  Person  who  wears 
them  will  be  in  no  danger  of  that  Villainous  insect  the  French 
call  the  Morpion" — whatever  that  may  be. 


252        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Some  Insect  Pests  of  Pioneer  Days.  This  same  versa- 
tile and  spicy  writer  makes  these  sage  remarks  concerning  cer- 
tain wood  insects  that  have  since  that  time  cost  these  United 
States  millions  of  dollars:  "The  Tykes  (ticks)  are  either  Deer- 
tykes,  or  those  that  annoy  Cattle.  The  first  kind  are  long, 
and  take  a  very  Strong  Gripe,  being  most  in  remote  woods, 
above  the  Inhabitants.  The  other  are  round  and  more  gen- 
erally insinuate  themselves  into  the  Flesh,  being  in  all  places 
where  Cattle  are  frequent.  Both  these  Sorts  are  apt  to  be 
troublesome  during  the  Warm  Season,  but  have  such  an  aver- 
sion to  Penny  Royal,  that  they  will  attack  no  Part  that  is 
rubbed  with  the  juice  of  that  fragrant  Vegetable.  And  a 
strong  decoction  of  this  is  likewise  fatal  to  the  most  efficient 
Seedtikes,  which  bury  themselves  in  your  Legs,  where  they  are 
so  small  you  can  hardly  discern  them  without  a  Microscope. 
[Surely  the  man  is  talking  about  "chiggers. "] 

Horseflies  and  Musquetas.  He  says  (p.  213)  that  Dit- 
tany "stuck  in  the  Head-Stall  of  your  Bridle"  will  keep  horse 
flies  at  a  "respectful  Distance.  Bear's  Oyl  is  said  to  be  used 
by  Indians  (p.  214)  against  every  species  of  Vermin."  He 
also  remarks  that  the  "Richer  sort  in  Egypt"  used  to  build 
towers  in  which  they  had  their  bed-chambers,  in  order  to  be 
out  of  the  reach  of  musquetas,  because  their  wings  are  "so 
weak  and  their  bodies  so  light  that  if  they  mount  never  so 
little,  the  Wind  blows  them  quite  away  from  their  Course, 
and  they  become  an  easy  prey  to  Martins,  East  India  Bats," 
etc.  (p.  214). 

Fire-Hunting.  This  Gentleman  of  Old  Virginia  (p.  223)  de- 
scribes an  unsportsman-like  practice  of  the  early  settlers  of  set- 
ting the  woods  afire  in  a  circumference  of  five  miles  and  driving 
in  the  game  of  all  kinds  to  the  hunters  stationed  near  the  center 
to  slaughter  the  terrified  animals.  The  deer  are  said  "to 
weep  and  groan  like  a  Human  Creature"  as  they  draw  near 
their  doom.  He  says  this  is  called  Fire-Hunting,  and  that 
"it  is  much  practiced  by  Indians  and  the  frontier  Inhabit- 
ants." This,  however,  is  not  what  was  later  known  as  fire- 
hunting,  which  consisted  in  blinding  the  deer  with  the  light 
from  torches  at  night  only,  and  shooting  at  their  eyes  when 
seen  in  the  darkness. 

Primogeniture  Reversed.  So  hateful  and  unjust  to  our 
ancestors  seemed  the  English  rule  which  gave  the  eldest  son 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  253 

the  real  estate,  that  a  custom  sprang  up  of  giviaj^  the  young- 
est son  the  family  homestead,  which  persists  till  this  good 
hour.  Each  girl  got  a  cow,  a  mare  and  sufficient  "house- 
plunder"  with  which  to  set  up  house-keeping,  but  they  rarely 
got  any  land,  the  husband  being  expected  to  provide  that. 
This  latter  practice  still  exists,  though  girls  now  sometimes 
get  land  also. 

Game  and  Hunters.  According  to  Thwaite's  "Daniel 
Boone"  (p.  18),  "Three  or  four  men,  with  dogs,  could  kill 
from  ten  to  twenty  buffaloes  in  a  day,"  while  "an  ordinary 
hunter  could  slaughter  four  or  five  deer  in  a  day.  In  the 
autumn  from  sunrise  to  sunset  he  could  kill  enough  bears  to 
provide  over  a  ton  of  bear  meat  for  winter  use;  wild  turkeys 
were  easy  prey;  beavers,  otters  and  muskrats  abounded;  while 
wolves,  panthers  and  wildcats  overran  the  country." 
"Throughout  the  summer  and  autumn  deerskins  were  in  their 
best  condition.  Other  animals  were  occasionally  killed  to 
afTord  variety  of  food,  but  fur-bearers  as  a  rule  only  furnish 
fine  pelts  in  the  winter  season.  Even  in  the  days  of  abun- 
dant game  the  hunter  was  required  to  exercise  much  skill, 
patience  and  endurance.  It  was  no  holiday  task  to  follow 
this  calling.  Deer,  especially,  were  hard  to  obtain.  The  hab- 
its of  this  excessively  cautious  animal  were  carefully  studied; 
the  hunter  must  know  how  to  imitate  its  various  calls,  to  take 
advantage  of  wind  and  weather,  and  to  practice  all  the  arts 
of  strategy"  (p.  74). 

Commercial  Side  of  Hunting.  "Deerskins  were,  all 
things  considered,"  continues  Thwaite  (p.  74),  "the  most 
remunerative  of  all.  When  roughly  dressed  and  dried  they 
were  worth  about  a  dollar  each;  as  they  were  numerous  and 
a  horse  could  carry  for  a  long  distance  about  a  hundred  such 
skins,  the  trade  was  considered  profitable  in  those  primitive 
times,  when  dollars  were  hard  to  obtain.  Pelts  of  beavers, 
found  in  good  condition  only  in  the  winter,  were  worth  about 
two  dollars  and  a  half  each,  and  of  otters  from  three  to  five 
dollars.  Thus  a  horse-load  of  beaver  furs,  when  obtainable, 
was  worth  about  five  times  that  of  a  load  of  deerskins;  and 
if  a  few  otters  could  be  thrown  in,  the  value  was  still  greater. 
The  skins  of  buffaloes,  bears,  and  elks  were  too  bulky  to  carry 
for  long  distances,  and  were  not  readily  marketable.  A  few 
elk  hides  were  needed,  however,  to  cut  into  harness  and  straps, 
and  bear  and  buffalo  robes  were  useful  for  bedding." 


254        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

How  Game  and  Pelts  Were  Preserved.  Thwaite  con- 
tinues (p.  75),  "When  an  animal  was  killed  the  hunter  skinned 
it  on  the  spot,  and  packed  on  his  back  the  hide  and  the  best 
portion  of  the  meat.  At  night  the  meat  was  smoked  or  pre- 
pared for  'jerking,'  and  the  skins  were  scraped  and  cured. 
When  collected  at  the  camps,  the  bales  of  skins,  protected 
from  the  weather  by  strips  of  bark,  were  placed  upon  high 
scaffolds,  secure  from  bears  and  wolves.  Our  Yadkin  hunt- 
ers were  in  the  habit,  each  day,  of  dividing  themselves  into 
pairs  for  company  and  mutual  aid  in  times  of  danger,  usually 
leaving  one  pair  behind  as  camp-keepers. "  Tow,  rammed  into 
the  barrel  of  a  "dirty"  rifle  took  the  oder  of  burnt  powder, 
and  was  hung  in  trees  near  the  fresh  meat.  This  oder  kept  off 
wolves,  wild  cats,  etc. 

The  Plott  Dogs.  The  motive  which  prompted  the  settle- 
ment of  most  of  these  mountain  counties  was  the  desire  of 
the  pioneers  to  hunt  game.  To  that  end  dogs  were  necessary, 
the  long  bodied,  long  legged,  deep  mouthed  hound  being  used 
for  deer,  and  a  sort  of  mongrel,  composed  of  cur,  bull  and 
terrier,  was  bred  for  bear.  The  Plott  dog,  called  after  the 
famous  bear  hunter,  Enos  Plott,  of  the  Balsam  mountains  of 
Haywood  county,  was  said  to  be  the  finest  bear  dogs  in  the 
State.  A  few  of  them  still  exist  and  command  large  prices. 
Although  most  of  the  settlers  were  Scotch,  collies  and  shepherd 
dogs  did  not  make  their  appearance  in  these  mountains  till 
long  after  the  Civil  War.     They  are  quite  common  now. 

When  Land  Was  Cheap.  Land  was  plentiful  in  those 
primitive  times  and  as  fast  as  a  piece  of  "new  ground"  was 
worn  out,  another  "patch"  was  cleared  and  cultivated  until 
it,  in  its  turn,  was  given  over  to  weeds  and  pasturage.  In 
all  old  American  pioneer  communities  it  was  necessary  to 
burn  the  logs  and  trunks  of  the  felled  trees  in  order  to  get  rid 
of  them,  and  the  heavens  were  often  murky  with  the  smoke  of 
burning  log-heaps.  The  most  valuable  woods  were  often  used 
for  fence  rails  or  thro^\ai  upon  the  burning  pile  to  be  consumed 
with  the  rest.  Fences  built  of  walnut  and  poplar  rails  were 
not  uncommon.  "New  ground"  is  being  made  now  by  scien- 
tific fertilization. 

Crude  Cultivation.  The  ploughing  was  not  very  deep 
and  the  cultivation  of  the  crops  was  far  from  being  scientific. 
Yet  the  return  from  the  land  was  generally  ample,  the  seasons 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  255 


usually  provino;  propitious.  There  was  one  year,  however, 
that  of  18G3,  when  there  was  frost  in  every  month.  There 
was  still  another  year  in  which  there  could  not  have  been 
very  much  rain,  as  there  is  a  record  of  a  large  branch  near 
the  Sulphur  Springs  in  Buncombe  county  having  dried  up 
completely.  This  was  in  August  of  the  year  1830.  (Robert 
Henry's  Diary.) 

Unerring  Marksmen.  The  flint-lock,  long-barreled  Ken- 
tucky rifle  was  in  use  in  these  mountains  until  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Civil  War.  Game  was  abundant.  Indeed,  if  the 
modern  repeating  arms  had  been  in  use  in  those  days,  the 
game  upon  which  many  depended,  not  only  for  food  but  for 
clothing  as  well,  would  have  disappeared  long  before  it  did. 
The  fact  that  the  hunter  could  get  but  one  shot  from  his  gun 
resulted  in  making  every  Nimrod  a  sure  marksman,  as  he 
realized  that  if  he  missed  the  first  shot  the  game  would  be 
out  of  sight  and  hearing  long  before  he  could  "wipe  out"  his 
trusty  rifle,  charge  it  with  powder  and  with  his  slim  hickory 
ramrod  ram  down  the  leaden  bullet  encased  in  buckskin,  and 
"prime"  his  flint-lock  pan  with  powder. 

Useful  Peltries.  The  hams  of  the  red  deer  were  cured 
and  saved  for  market  or  winter  use,  while  the  skins  of  both 
deer  and  bears  were  "dressed"  with  the  hair  left  on  them  and 
made  into  garments  or  used  as  rugs  or  mats  for  the  children 
to  play  upon  before  the  wide  fireplace,  for  bed  coverings,  or 
cut  into  plough  lines  and  bridles,  or  made  into  moccasins. 
Out  of  the  horns  and  hoofs  of  cows  they  made  spoons  and 
buttons,  while  from  hollow  poplar  logs  they  constructed  bee- 
hives, cradles  for  their  children,  barrels  for  their  grain,  ash 
hoppers,  gums  for  their  bees  and  what  not. 

Cotton.  Small  patches  of  cotton  were  planted  and  culti- 
vated in  sandy  and  sheltered  spots  near  the  dwellings,  which 
generally  reached  maturity,  was  gathered  and  "hand-picked," 
carded  and  made  into  batting  for  quilts  and  cloaks,  or  heavy 
skirts  for  the  women  and  girls. 

Jacks  of  All  Trades.  The  men  were  necessarily  "handy" 
men  at  almost  every  trade  known  at  that  day.  They  made 
shoes,  bullets  and  powder,  l^uilt  houses,  constructed  tables, 
chairs,  cupboards,  harness,  saddles,  bridles,  buckets,  barrels, 
and  plough  stocks.  They  made  their  own  axe  and  hoe-han- 
dles, fashioned  their  oun  horseshoes  and  nails  upon  the  anvil, 


256        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

burnt  wood  charcoal,  made  wagon  tires,  bolts,  nuts  and  every- 
thing that  was  needed  about  the  farm.  Some  could  even  make 
rifles,  including  the  locks,  and  Mr.  John  C.  Smathers,  now 
(1912)  86  years  old,  is  still  a  good  rock  and  brick  mason,  car- 
penter, shoemaker,  tinner,  painter,  blacksmith,  plumber,  har- 
ness and  saddle  maker,  candle  maker,  farmer,  hunter,  store- 
keeper, bee  raiser,  glazier,  butcher,  fruit  grower,  hotel-keeper, 
merchant,  physician,  poulterer,  lawyer,  rail-splitter,  politician, 
cook,  school  master,  gardener,  Bible  scholar  and  stable  man. 
He  lives  at  Turnpike,  halfway  between  Asheville  and  Waynes- 
ville,  and  brought  the  huge  trees  now  growing  in  front  of  his 
hotel  on  his  shoulders  when  they  were  saplings  and  planted 
them  where  they  now  stand,  nearly  seventy  years  ago.  He 
can  still  run  a  foot  race  and  "throw"  most  men  in  a  wrestle 
"catch  as  catch  can."  He  is  the  finest  example  of  the  old 
time  pioneer  now  alive. 

Industrious  Women.  But  it  was  the  women  who  were  the 
true  heroines  of  this  section.  The  hardships  and  constant  toil 
to  which  they  were  generally  subjected  were  blighting  and  ex- 
acting in  the  extreme.  If  their  lord  and  master  could  find 
time  to  hunt  and  fish,  go  to  the  Big  Musters,  spend  Saturdays 
loafing  or  drinking  in  the  settlement  or  about  the  country 
"stores,"  as  the  shops  were  and  still  are  called,  their  wives 
could  scarcely,  if  ever,  find  a  moment  they  could  call  their 
own.  Long  before  the  palid  dawn  came  sifting  in  through 
chink  and  window  they  were  up  and  about.  As  there  were 
no  matches  in  those  days,  the  housewife  "unkivered"  the 
coals  which  had  been  smothered  in  ashes  the  night  before  to 
be  kept  "alive"  till  morning,  and  with  "kindling"  in  one  hand 
and  a  live  coal  held  on  the  tines  of  a  steel  fork  or  between  iron 
tongs  in  the  other,  she  blew  and  blew  and  blew  till  the  splinters 
caught  fire.  Then  the  fire  was  started  and  the  water  brought 
from  the  spring,  poured  into  the  "kittle,"  and  while  it  was 
heating  the  chickens  were  fed,  the  cows  milked,  the  chil- 
dren dressed,  the  bread  made,  the  bacon  fried  and  then  coffee 
was  made  and  breakfast  was  ready.  That  over  and  the  dishes 
washed  and  put  away,  the  spinning  wheel,  the  loom  or  the 
reel  were  the  next  to  have  attention,  meanwhile  keeping  a 
sharp  look  out  for  the  children,  hawks,  keeping  the  chickens 
out  of  the  garden,  sweeping  the  floor,  making  the  beds,  churn- 
ing, sewing,  darning,  washing,  ironing,  taking  up  the  ashes, 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  257 

aiul  luukiiig  lye,  \vatc'hin«;  for  tho  hccs  to  swarm,  ki'e])ing  tlie 
cat  out  of  tlie  milk  pans,  dosing  the  sick  children,  tyinji;  up 
the  hurt  fingers  and  toes,  kissing  the  sore  places  well  again, 
making  soap,  robbing  the  bee  hives,  stringing  beans,  for  -win- 
ter  use,  working  the  garden,  planting  and  tending  a  few  hardy 
flowers  in  the  front  yard,  such  as  princess  feather,  pansies, 
sweet- Williams,  dahUas,  morning  glories;  getting  dinner,  darn- 
ing patching,  mending,  milking  again,  reading  the  Bil)le, 
prayers,  and  so  on  from  morning  till  night,  and  then  all  over 
again  the  next  day.  It  could  never  have  been  said  of  them 
that  they  had  "but  fed  on  roses  and  lain  in  the  Ulies  of  life." 

Fashion  on  a  Back  Seat.  There  was  little  thought  of 
"finery,"  no  chance  to  display  the  latest  fashions,  few  drives 
or  rides  for  pleasure,  and  only  occasionally  a  dance,  a  quilt- 
ing party  or  a  camp  meeting.  No  wonder  the  sons  and  daugh- 
ters of  such  mothers  are  the  best  citizens  of  the  "Old  North 
State"! 

Pewter  Platters  and  Pottery.  The  early  settlers 
"burned  their  own  pottery  and  delftware, "^  but  most  of 
their  dishes  and  spoons  were  of  pewter,  though  horn  spoons 
were  also  in  evidence.  "They  made  felt  hats,  straw  hats  and 
every  other  article  of  domestic  consumption."  Most  young 
people  never  saw  a  bolster,  and  pewter. plates  are  tied  up  with 
blue  ribbons  these  days  and  hung  on  parlor  walls  as  curiosi- 
ties. 

Frontier  Kitchens  and  Utensils.'^  "Dishes  and  other 
utensils  were  few — some  pewter  plates,  forks  and  spoons; 
wooden  bowls  and  trenchers,  with  gourds  and  hard-shelled 
squashes  for  drinking  mugs.  For  knife,  Boone  doubtless  used 
his  belt  weapon,  and  scorned  the  crock  plates  now  slowly 
creeping  into  the  valley,  as  calculated  to  dull  its  edge. "  .  .  . 
Grinding  corn  into  meal,  or  cracking  it  into  hominy,  were,  as 
usual  with  primitive  peoples,  tasks  involving  the  most  machin- 
ery. Rude  mortars  and  pestles,  some  of  the  latter  ingeni- 
ously worked  by  springy  "sweeps,"  were  commonly  seen;^  a 
device  something  like  a  nutmeg  grater  was  often  used  when 
the  com  was  soft;^  two  circular  millstones,  worked  by  hand, 
were  effective,  and  there  were  some  operated  by  water  power. 

Medicine  and  Superstition.  "Medicine  was  at  a  crude 
stage,  many  of  the  so-called  cures  being  as  old  as  Egypt,  while 
others  were  borrowed  from  the  Indians.     The  borderers  firmly 

W.  X.  C.-17 


258        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

believed  in  the  existence  of  witches;  bad  dreams,  eclipses  of 
the  sun,  the  howling  of  dogs,  the  croaking  of  ravens,  were 
sure  to  bring  disasters  in  their  train.  "^  Teas  made  of  bur- 
dock, sassafras,  catnip,  and  other  herbs  are  still  in  use.  Lye 
poultices  were  considered  sovereign  remedies  for  wounds  and 
cuts.  Hair  bullets  shot  from  guns  against  barn  doors  were 
sure  to  drive  away  witches.  Tangled  places  in  a  horse's  mane 
or  tail  were  called  "witches'  stirrups,"  in  which  the  witches 
were  thought  to  have  placed  their  feet  when  riding  the  animals 
over  the  hills.  ^^  Mullein  was  cultivated  for  medicine  for  horses 
and  cows. 

Nailless  Houses.  Nails  were  scarce  in  those  days  and 
saw  mills  few  and  far  between,  rendering  it  necessary  for  them 
to  use  wooden  pins  to  hold  their  ceiling  and  shelving  in  place 
and  to  rive  out  their  shingles  or  "boards"  for  their  roof  cov- 
ering and  puncheons  for  their  door  and  window  "shutters" 
and  their  flooring.  Thin  boards  or  shingles  were  held  in  posi- 
tion upon  the  roof  rafters  by  long  split  logs  tied  upon  them 
with  hickory  withes,  or  held  in  place  by  laying  heavy  stones 
upon  them.  There  is  still  standing  in  the  Smoky  mountains  a 
comfortable  cabin  of  one  large  room,  floored  and  ceiled  on  the 
inside,  and  rain  and  wind  proof,  in  the  construction  of  which 
not  a  single  nail  was  used.  This  cabin  was  built  in  1859  and 
is  on  the  Mill  Creek  Fork  of  Noland  Creek  in  Swain  county. 

First  Houses.  A  single  room  was  as  much  as  could  be 
built  at  first,  then  followed  a  shed,  a  spring  house,  a  stable 
and  crib.  Then  would  come  the  "double"  log  house.  In 
some  of  these  houses  there  might  be  as  many  as  six  rooms, 
including  two  garret  or  loft  rooms  above  the  two  main  rooms 
of  the  house,  and  two  shed  rooms  or  lean-tos.  After  saw  mills 
became  more  general,  frame  houses  were  erected,  often  of 
from  eight  to  twelve  rooms,  with  the  kitchens  detached  from 
the  main  dwelling.  But  the  log  cabin  in  which  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  born,  and  now  enshrined  in  a  marble  palace  at 
Hogdensville,  Ky.,  is  a  fair  sample  of  the  average  home  of 
pioneer  clays. 

"Chinked  and  Dobbed."  The  walls  of  these  log  houses 
were  "chinked  and  daubed."  That  is,  the  spaces  between 
the  logs  were  filled  with  blocks  or  scraps  of  wood  and  the 
interstices  left  were  filled  with  plain,  undisguised  mud — lime 
being  too  expensive  to  be  used  for  that  purpose. 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  259 

The  Great  "War  Governor's"  Home.  The  house  in 
which  Hon.  Zol)ulon  Baird  Vance,  the  great  War  Governor 
and  statesman  of  the  Old  North  State  Hved  for  many  years 
is  on  Reems  Creek  in  Buncombe  county.  It  consisted  of  a 
single  large  room  below  and  a  garret  or  loft  above,  reached  by 
rude  stairs,  almost  a  ladder,  running  up  in  one  corner  near  the 
chimney.  There  was  also  a  shed  room  attached  to  the  rear 
of  this  house.  Some  of  us  are  quite  "swagger"  nowadays, 
but  we  are  all  proud  of  our  log-cabin  ancestry. 

Unglazed  Windows.  Windows,  as  a  rule,  were  scarce. 
The  difficulty  and  expense  of  glazing  them  were  so  great  as 
to  preclude  the  use  of  many.  Most  of  those  which  found 
place  in  the  walls  of  the  house  were  made  by  removing  about 
18  inches  from  one  of  the  wide  logs  running  the  length  of  the 
house  and  usually  opposite  the  huge  fire  place.  It  rarely  con- 
tained any  sash  or  glass  and  was  closed  by  a  sliding  shutter 
running  in  grooves  inside  the  wall.  It  was  rare  that  upstairs 
or  loft  rooms  contained  any  windows  at  all. 

Primitive  Portiers.  Privacy  was  obtained  by  hanging 
sheets  or  counterpanes  from  the  overhead  sleepers  or  "jists," 
as  the  joists  were  almost  universally  called.  Behind  these 
screens  the  women  and  girls  dressed  when  "men  folks"  were 
present,  though  their  ablutions  were  usually  performed  at  the 
"spout"  or  spring,  or  in  the  room  after  the  male  element  had 
gone  to  their  work.  Sometimes  a  board  partition  divided  the 
large  downi-stairs  room  into  two,  but  as  this  made  a  very  dark 
and  ill-ventilated  bedroom  far  removed  from  the  light  of  the 
front  and  back  doors  and  cut  off  from  the  heat  of  the  fire 
place,  this  division  was  not  popular  or  general. 

The  Living  Room.  Usually,  in  more  primitive  days,  the 
beds,  mostly  of  feathers,  were  ranged  round  the  room,  leav- 
ing a  large  open  space  in  the  middle.  The  dining  table  stood 
there  or  against  a  wall  near  the  fireplace.  The  hearth  was 
wide  and  projected  into  the  room  two  feet  or  more.  A  crane 
swung  from  the  back  of  the  chimney  on  which  pots  were  hung 
from  "pot  hooks," — familiar  to  beginners  in  writing  lessons — 
and  the  ovens  were  placed  on  live  coals  while  their  lids,  or 
as  they  were  generally  called  "leds, "  were  covered  with  other 
live  coals  and  left  on  the  broad  hearth.  In  the  kitchen  of  the 
old  Alitchell  Alexander  hotel  or  "Cattle  stand,"  eleven  miles 
below  Asheville  on  the  French  Broad,  there  is  still  standing 


260        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

and  in  daily  use  a  deep  old  fireplace  ten  feet  wide,  the  hearth 
of  which  projects  into  the  room  eight  or  nine  feet.  The  water 
bucket  with  a  curved  handled  gourd  stood  on  a  shelf  just 
inside  the  door.  Usually  there  was  no  wash  pan,  the  branch 
or  spout  near  by  being  deemed  sufficient  for  all  purposes.  A 
comb  in  a  box  under  a  small  and  imperfect  looking-glass  was 
usually  hung  on  the  wall  over  the  water  bucket.  Around  the 
walls  behind  the  beds  on  pegs  were  hung  the  skirts  of  the 
girls  and  women;  and,  if  the  men  of  the  house  o^\^led  any 
extra  coats  or  trousers,  they  hung  there,  too.  On  the  tops  of 
boxes  or  trunks,  usually  called  "chists, "  were  folded  and  piled 
in  neat  order  the  extra  quilts,  sheets  and  counterpanes.  Some 
of  these  counterpanes  or  "coverlids"  were  marvels  of  skill 
and  beauty  in  color  and  design  and  all  were  woven  in  the 
loom  which  stood  at  one  end  of  the  porch  or  shed  in  front  of 
the  house.  There  was  also  a  wooden  cupboard  nailed  against 
the  wall  which  contained  racks  for  the  plates  and  dishes. 
Beneath  this  was  a  place  for  the  pots  and  pans,  after  the  cook- 
ing was  over. 

Where  Colonial  Art  Survives.^^  Mrs.  Eliza  Calvert 
Hall  has  discovered  recently  that  "in  the  remote  mountains 
of  the  South,  where  civilization  has  apparnetly  stood  still  ever 
since  the  colonial  pioneers  built  their  homes  there,"  they  still 
make  coverlets  that  are  rich  "in  texture  and  coloring"  and 
are  "real  works  of  art,"  Of  course  we  are  also  told  that  this 
art  was  first  brought  to  America  through  New  England ;  but  she 
fails  to  state  that  it  was  also  brought  to  Philadelphia,  Charles- 
ton and  every  other  American  port  through  which  English, 
Scotch  or  Irish  women  were  admitted  to  America.  That  it 
has  perished  everywhere  else,  and  still  survives  among  us, 
might  indicate  that  civilization  instead  of  having  stood  still, 
in  the  mountains  has  at  least  held  its  owm  there,  while  it  has 
receded  in  New  England.  That,  however,  is  immaterial.  Cer- 
tain it  is  that  Mrs.  Finley  Mast  of  Valle  Crucis  is  now  at 
work  on  an  order  from  President  Wilson,  and  expects  soon  to 
see  specimens  of  her  handiwork  in  the  White  House  of  the 
nation. 

Slanders  by  the  "unco'  Guid."  Because  in  the  spring  of 
1912  the  Allen  family  of  the  mountains  of  Virginia  "shot  up" 
the  court  at  Hillville,  the  entire  "contemporary  mountaineer" 
is  condemned  as  resenting  "the  law's  intrusion,"  partly,  per- 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  261 

haps,  because  he  himself  enjoys  few  of  the  benefits  of  civilized 
society.^-  We  regret  the  ignorance  of  this  self-styled  "national 
weekly"  and  others  who  defame  us,  and  in  view  of  the  exploits 
of  the  "gunmen"  of  Broadway  a  few  months  later''  recall 
with  complacency  the  louse  that  gave  occasion  for  that  im- 
mortal prayer  :  "Oh,  wad  some  power  the  giftie  gie  us  to 
see  ourselves  as  others  see  us."  Little  of  good  about  the 
mountain  whites  is  ever  published  North  of  Mason  and  Dixon's 
line.  The  Walauga  Democrat  of  July  10,  1913,  records  the  fact 
that  a  few  days  before  a  journalist  of  New  Canaan,  Conn., 
and  a  photograi)her  and  illustrator  of  New  York,  had  visited 
Boone,  and  that  they  had  distinctly  stated  that  their  sole 
object  in  visiting  these  mountains  was  to  look  up  "the  des- 
titution, ignorance  and  vice  among  the  mountain  whites." 
They  were  surprised  to  learn  that  the  Applachian  Training 
School  was  located  in  Boone,  and  wanted  no  facts  as  to  the 
good  it  was  accomplishing.  Their  names  were  stated  in  the 
Democrat.  In  "The  Child  That  Toileth  Not,"  Thomas  R. 
Dawley,  Jr.,  (1912)  has  presented  many  photographs  of  the 
most  destitute  and  degenerate  of  the  mountain  population, 
ignoring  the  splendid  specimens  of  health  and  prosperity  he 
met  every  day.  About  1905  a  "lady"  from  New  York  had 
two  photographs  taken  of  the  same  children  at  Blowing  Rock. 
In  the  first  they  were  dressed  in  rags  and  outlandish  clothing; 
in  the  second,  they  wore  most  tasteful  and  becoming  garb. 
She  labeled  the  first  "Before  I  Began,"  and  the  second,  "After 
Three  Weeks  of  Uplift  Work."  She  had  offered  a  prize  to 
the  child  who  should  appear  for  the  first  picture  in  the  worst 
clothing,  and  another  prize  for  the  child  who  should  dress 
most  becomingly  for  the  second.  The  work  of  Miss  Prudden 
and  of  Miss  Florence  Stephenson  is  appreciated  by  us;  but 
our  slanderers  only  make  our  blood  boil.  For,  in  the  Outlook 
for  April  26,  1913,  appeared  "The  Case  of  Lura  Sylva,  "show- 
ing the  filth,  destitution,  depravity  and  degrading  surround- 
ings of  a  twelve-year-old  girl  "which"  we  are  told  is  "not  an 
unusual"  story  of  similar  conditions  "in  a  prosperous  farming 
community  of  the  Hudson  river  valley."  Nothing  worse  has 
ever  been  written  of  any  of  the  "mountain  whites"  than  is 
there  recorded  of  this  girl.  Let  your  charity  begin  at  your 
own  home.  Charles  Dudley  Warner  made  a  horseback  trip 
from  Abingdon,  Va.,  to  Asheville  in  August,  1884.     He  saw 


262        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

absolutely  nothing  on  that  trip  which  he  could  commend. 
("On  horseback,"  1889)  except  two  pianos  he  found  in  the 
home  of  the  Worths  at  Creston.  He  was,  however,  lavish 
with  his  fault  finding. 

Every  Home  a  Factory.  Manufacture  means  hand-made. 
Therefore,  since  few  homes  manufacture  anything  today,  we 
have  made  no  progress  in  manufactures,  but  have  receded 
from  the  time  when  every  home  was  a  factory.  We  have 
instead  simply  adopted  machinery  and  built  factories. 

Some  Lost  Arts.  Those  who  never  lived  in  a  mountain- 
ous country  are  often  surprised  at  the  sight  of  what  we  call 
sleds,  slides  or  sledges,  made  of  the  bodies  of  small  trees  with 
crooked  ends,  turning  upward  like  those  of  sleigh  runners, 
though  much  more  slumsy  and  heavy.  As  these  runners  wore 
down  they  were  "shod"  by  tacking  split  saplings  under  them. 
Sleds  can  be  hauled  on  steep  hill-sides  where  wheeled  vehicles 
would  turn  over  or  get  beyond  control  going  down  hill.  Our 
"Union"  carpenters  of  this  day  could  not  build  a  house  with 
the  materials  and  tools  of  their  pioneer  ancestors,  nearly  all 
of  whom  were  carpenters.  Modern  carpenters  would  not 
know  what  "cracking"  a  log  was,  for  instance;  and  yet,  the 
pioneer  artizans  of  old  had  to  make  their  boards  by  that 
method.  It  consisted  in  driving  the  blade  of  an  ax  or  hatchet 
into  the  small  end  of  a  log  by  means  of  a  maul,  and  inserting 
w^ooden  wedges,  called  "gluts."  On  either  side  of  this  first 
central  "crack"  another  crack  was  made,  and  gluts  placed 
therein.  There  were  usually  two  gluts  placed  in  each  crack 
and  each  was  tapped  in  turn,  thus  splitting  the  log  uniformly. 
These  two  riven  pieces  were  next  placed  in  "snatch-blocks," 
which  were  two  parallel  logs  into  which  notches  had  been  cut 
deep  enough  to  hold  the  ends  of  these  pieces,  which  were  held 
in  position  with  "keys"  or  wedges.  The  upper  side  of  this 
riven  piece  was  then  "scored"  with  a  broad  ax  and  then 
"dressed"  with  the  same  tool,  the  under  edges  being  beveled. 
The  length  of  these  pieces,  now  become  puncheons,  w^as  usu- 
ally half  the  length  of  the  floor  to  be  covered,  the  two  ends 
resting  on  the  sleeper  running  across  the  middle  of  the  room. 
The  beveled  edges  were  placed  as  near  together  as  possible, 
after  which  a  saw  was  run  between  them,  thus  reducing  the 
uneven  edges  so  that  they  came  snugly  together,  and  were  air 
tight  when  pinned  into  place  with  wooden  pegs  driven  through 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  263 

augur-holes  into  the  sills  and  sleepers.  Hewed  logs  were  first 
"scalped,"  that  is  the  bark  was  removed  with  an  ax,  after 
which  the  trunk  was  "lined"  with  a  woolen  cord  dipped  in 
moist  charcoal,  powdered,  which  had  been  made  from  locust 
bark.  This  corresponded  to  what  is  now  called  a  chalk-line. 
Then  four  of  these  lines  were  made  ilown  the  length  of  the 
log,  each  pair  being  as  far  apart  as  the  hewed  log  was  to  be 
thick — usually  four  to  six  inches — one  pair  being  above  and 
the  other  pair  below;  after  which  the  log  was  "blocked"  with 
an  ax,  by  cutting  deep  notches  on  each  side  about  four  feet 
apart.  These  sections  were  then  split  from  the  sides  of  the 
log,  thus  reducing  its  thickness  to  nearly  that  desired.  Then 
these  sides  were  "scored"  and  then  dressed  till  they  were 
smooth.  The  block  on  which  the  "Liberty  Bell"  of  Phila- 
delphia rests  still  shows  this  "scoring,"  or  hacks  made  by  the 
broad-ax.  Houses  were  framed  on  the  ground  by  cutting  the 
ends  of  the  logs  into  notches  called  "saddles"  which,  when 
placed  in  position,  fitted  like  joiner  work — each  log  having 
been  numbered  while  still  on  the  ground.  When  the  logs 
were  being  placed  in  position  they  were  lifted  into  place  on 
the  higher  courses  by  means  of  what  were  called  "bull's-eyes." 
These  were  made  of  hickory  saplings  whose  branches  had  been 
plaited  into  rings  and  then  slipped  over  the  logs,  their  stems 
serving  as  handles  for  pulling,  etc. 

Roofing  Log  Houses.  Modern  carpenters  would  be  puz- 
zled to  roof  a  house  without  nails  or  shingles  or  scantling;  but 
their  forbears  accomplished  this  seemingly  impossible  task 
with  neatness  and  dispatch.  After  the  main  frame  or  "pen"  of 
the  house  was  up,  two  parallel  poles  were  laid  along  and  above 
the  top  logs,  and  "gable"  logs  were  placed  under  these,  the 
gable  logs  being  shorter  than  the  end  logs  of  the  house.  This 
was  continued  till  the  gable  end  was  reached,  when  the  "ridge 
pole"  was  placed  in  position,  being  held  there  with  pegs  or 
pins.  The  frame  of  the  roof  was  now  ready,  and  "boards," 
or  rough  shingles  were  riven  from  the  "blocks"  or  sections  of 
chestnut,  poplar  or  white  oak,  though  the  latter  would  "cup" 
or  twist  into  a  curved  shape  if  "laid"  in  the  "light"  of  the 
moon.  The  lower  ends  of  the  lowest  row  of  "boards"  rested 
against  the  flat  side  of  a  split  log,  called  the  "butting  pole," 
because  the  boards  butted  upon  it.  Upon  the  lower  row  of 
boards,  which  were  doubled  in  order  to  cover  the  cracks  in 


264        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

the  under  tier,  a  single  row  of  boards  was  then  laid,  the  first 
row  being  held  in  place  by  a  split  log  laid  on  them  and  made 
fast  by  pegs  driven  through  their  ends  and  into  the  ends  of 
the  poles  under  the  boards.  These  were  also  supported  by 
''knees."  The  various  pieces  of  roofing  were  called  eve- 
bearers,  rib-poles,  weight  poles,  etc.,  etc. 

Tanning  Hides  and  Making  Shoes.  According  to  Col. 
W.  L.  Bryan,  every  farmer  had  his  tan-trough,  which  was 
an  excavation  dug  out  of  a  poplar  or  chestnut  log  of  large 
size,  while  some  had  two  troughs  in  one  log,  separated  by 
leaving  a  division  of  the  log  in  place.  Into  these  troughs 
ashes  or  lime  was  placed,  diluted  with  water.  Skins  should 
always  be  salted  and  folded  together  a  few  days  till  all  the 
blood  has  been  drawn  out;  but  salt  was  high  and  scarce, 
and  this  process  was  often  omitted.  When  "green"  hides 
were  to  be  tanned  at  once,  they  were  first  "fleshed,"  by 
being  placed  on  the  "fleshing  block"  and  scraped  with  a 
fleshing  knife — one  having  a  rounded  edge.  This  block  was 
a  log  with  the  upper  surface  rounded,  the  lower  end  rest- 
ing on  the  ground  and  the  upper  end,  supported  on  pegs, 
reaching  to  a  man's  waist.  Fleshing  consisted  in  scraping 
as  much  of  the  fat  and  blood  out  of  the  hide  as  possible. 
When  hides  were  to  be  dried  before  being  tanned,  they 
were  hung  lengthwise  on  poles,  with  the  flesh  side  upper- 
most, and  left  under  shelter  till  dry  and  hard.  Hair  was 
removed  from  green  and  dry  hides  alike  by  soaking  them  in 
the  tan-trough  in  a  solution  of  lime  or  wood  ashes  till  the 
hair  would  "shp" — that  is,  come  off  easily.  They  were  then 
soaked  till  all  the  hme  or  ashes  had  been  removed,  after  which 
they  were  placed  again  on  the  fleshing  bench  and  "broken"  or 
made  pliable,  with  a  breaking-knife.  They  then  went  into 
the  tan-trough,  after  having  been  split  lengthwise  into  two 
parts,  each  of  which  was  called  a  "side."  The  bottom  of 
the  tan-trough  was  lined  with  a  layer  of  bark,  after  which  a 
fold  of  a  "side"  was  placed  on  the  bark  and  another  layer  of 
bark  placed  above  the  upper  fold  of  the  side;  then  the  side 
was  folded  back  again  and  another  layer  of  bark  placed  on 
it,  and  so  on  till  the  tan-trough  had  been  filled.  Then  water 
was  turned  or  poured  in,  and  the  mass  allowed  to  remain  two 
months,  after  which  time  the  bark  and  water  were  renewed 
in  the  same  manner  as  before.     This  in  turn  remained  another 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  265 

two  months,  when  the  l)ark  ami  water  were  again  renewed. 
Two  niontlis  longer  completed  the  process,  making  six  months 
in  all.  This  was  called  "the  cold-ooze"  process,  and  while  it 
required  a  much  longer  time  it  made  better  leather  than  the 
present  hot-ooze  process,  which  cooks  and  injures  the  leather. 
The  hide  of  every  animal  bearing  fur  is  thicker  along  the 
back-bone  than  elsewhere,  and  after  the  tanning  process  this 
was  cut  off  for  sole  leather,  while  the  rest  was  blacked  for 
"uppers,"  etc.  The  under  side  of  the  thin  or  "uppers" 
leather  w'as  then  "curried"  with  a  knife,  thus  making  it  as 
smooth  as  the  upper  side.  Sole  leather,  however,  was  not 
curried  ordinarily.  "Buffing"  was  the  removal  of  the  "grain" 
or  upper  surface  of  the  hide  after  it  had  been  tanned,  thus 
making  both  sides  alike.  Smaller  skins  w^ere  tanned  in  the 
same  way,  and  those  of  dogs,  coons,  ground  hogs,  etc.,  were 
used  for  "whang"  leather — that  is,  they  were  cut  into  strings 
for  sewing  other  leather  with.  Horse  collars,  harness  and 
moccasins  thus  joined  will  outlast  those  sewed  with  thread. 
The  more  valuable  hides  of  smaller  animals  were  removed 
from  the  carcass  without  being  split  open,  and  were  then 
called  "cased"  hides.  This  was  done  by  splitting  open  the 
hind  legs  to  the  body  and  then  pulling  the  skins  from  the 
carcass,  fore  legs  and  head,  after  w^hich  they  were  "stretched" 
by  inserting  a  board  or  sticks  inside,  now^  the  fur-side,  and 
hanging  them  up  "in  the  dry"  till  dried.  Other  less  valu- 
able skins  were  stretched  by  means  of  sticks  being  stuck  into 
the  four  "corners"  of  the  hide,  tacked  to  the  walls  of  the 
houses  under  the  eaves  and  allowed  to  dry.  The  women 
made  moccasins  for  the  children  by  doubling  the  tanned  deer 
skin  along  the  back,  laying  a  child's  stocking  along  it  so  that 
the  sole  of  the  stocking  was  parallel  with  the  fold  in  the  skin, 
and  then  marking  around  the  outline  of  the  stocking,  after 
which  the  skin,  still  doubled,  was  cut  out  around  the  out- 
line, sewed  together  with  "whang"  leather,  placed  on  a  last 
till  it  was  "shaped,"  after  wiiich  it  was  ready  for  wear.  The 
new  moon  in  June  was  the  best  time  for  taking  the  bark  from 
trees.  White  and  chestnut  oak  bark  was  preferred,  the  outer 
or  rough  part  of  the  bark  having  been  first  removed  with  a 
drawing  knife,  which  process  was  called  "scurfing"  or  "scruf- 
fing. "  The  bark  was  then  piled,  inside  up,  under  shelter,  and 
allowed   to   dry.     Among   the    personal   effects   of   Abraham 


266        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Lincoln's  grandfather  were  "a  drawing-knife,  a  currying- 
knife,  and  a  currier's  knife  and  barking  iron."''*  Lime  was 
scarce  in  most  localities  in  this  section,  and  ashes  were  used 
instead.  Every  deer's  head  was  said  to  have  enough  brains 
to  "dress"  its  hide.'^  The  brains  were  rubbed  into  the  hair 
of  the  hide,  after  which  the  hide  was  folded  together  till  the 
hair  would  "shp,"  when  the  hide  was  placed  in  the  tan- 
trough  and  tanned,  the  brains  thus  taking  the  place  of  lime 
or  ashes.     After  vats  came  in  bark  mills  came  also. 

Elizabethan  English?  Writers  who  think  they  know, 
have  said  that  our  people  have  been  sequestered  in  these 
mountains  so  long  that  they  speak  the  language  of  Shake- 
speare and  of  Chaucer.  It  is  certain  that  we  sometimes  say 
"hit"  for  it  and  "taken"  for  took;  that  we  also  say  "plague" 
for  tease,  and  when  we  are  willing,  we  say  we  are  "consent- 
able."  If  we  are  asked  if  we  "care  for  a  piece  of  pie,"  we 
say  "yes,"  if  we  wish  to  be  helped  to  some;  and  if  we  are 
invited  to  accompany  anyone  and  wish  to  do  so,  we  almost 
invariably  say  "I  wouldn't  care  to  go  along,"  meaning  we  do 
not  object.  We  also  say  "haint"  for  "am  not"  "are  not"  and 
"have  not,"  and  we  invite  you  to  "Ught"  if  you  are  riding  or 
driving.  We  "pack"  our  loads  in  "pokes,"  and  "reckon  we 
can't"  if  invited  "to  go  a  piece"  with  a  passerby,  when  both 
he  and  we  know  perfectly  well  that  we  can  if  we  will.  Chaucer 
and  Shakespeare  may  have  used  these  expressions  :  we  do  not 
know.  We  are  absolutely  certain,  though,  that  "molases"  is  as 
plural  as  measles;  and  ask  to  be  helped  to  "them"  just  as  con- 
fident that  we  shall  be  understood  as  people  of  greater  cul- 
ture hope  their  children  will  soon  recover  from  or  altogether 
escape  "them,"  meaning  only  one  thing,  the  measles.  Though 
we  generally  say  we  "haven't  saw,"  it  is  the  rarest  thing  in 
the  world  when  we  do  things  "we  hadn't  ought  to,"  and  we 
never  express  surprise  or  interest  by  exclaiming,  "Well,  I 
want  to  know."  On  the  other  hand  we  have  Webster  for 
our  authority  that  "hit"  is  the  Saxon  for  it;  and  we  know 
ourselves  that  "taken"  is  more  regular  that  "took";  Webster 
also  gives  us  the  primary  meaning  of  "plague":  anything 
troublesome  or  vexatious;  but  in  this  sense  applied  to  the 
vexations  we  suffer  from  men,  and  not  to  the  unavoidable 
evils  inflicted  on  us  by  divine  providence;  while  "tease" 
means  to  comb  or  card,  as  wool;  to  scratch,  as  cloth  in  dress- 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  267 

ing,  for  the  purpose  of  raising  a  nap;  and  to  vex  with  impor- 
tunity or  impertinence."  Surely  one  may  be  in  a  mood  or 
condition  of  consent,  and  when  so,  why  is  not  he  "consent- 
able"?  Webster  also  says  that  "care"  means  "to  be  inclined 
or  disposed;  to  have  regard  to;  with  "for"  before  a  noun,  and 
"to"  before  a  verb;"  while  "alight"  is  "to  get  do^v^l  or  descend, 
as  from  horseback  or  from  acarriage, "  the  very  sense  in  which 
we  invariably  use  it,  our  only  fault  consisting  in  keeping  the 
"a"  silent.  Webster  does  not  authorize  the  use  of  "pack" 
as  a  verb  transitive,  in  the  sense  of  bearing  a  burden,  but  he 
gives  "burden  or  load"  as  the  meaning  of  the  noun  "pack"; 
while  a  "poke"  is  "a  pocket;  a  small  bag;  as,  a  pig  in  a  poke." 
A  "piece"  is  a  fragment  or  "part  of  anything,  though  not 
separated,  or  separated  only  in  idea,"  in  which  sense  going 
"a  piece"  (of  the  way,  understood)  is  quite  intelligible  to 
some  of  us  who  do  not  know  our  letters.  Being,  in  our  o^vn 
estimation,  at  least,  "as  well  as  common,"  in  this  respect  as 
in  many  others," we  still  manage  to  understand  and  to  be 
understood";  and  claim  that  when  we  "want  in,"  we  gener- 
ally manage  to  "get"  in,  whether  we  say  "get"  or  not.  Still, 
in  these  respects,  we  may  "mend,"  not  improve;  and  who 
shall  say  that  our  "mend"  is  not  a  simpler,  sweeter  and  more 
significant  word  than  "improve"?  But  we  do  mispronounce 
many  words,  among  which  is  "gardeen"  for  guardian,  "col- 
ume"  for  column,  and  "pint"  for  point.  The  late  Sam  Lovin 
of  Graham  was  told  that  it  was  improper  to  say  Rocky 
"Pint,"  as  its  true  name  is  "Point."  When  next  he  went  to 
Asheville  he  asked  for  a  "point"  of  whiskey.  We  even  take 
our  mispronounciation  to  proper  names,  and  call  Aletcalf 
"Madcap";  Pennell  "Pinion";  Pilkington  "Pilkey";  Cutbirth 
"Cutbaird";  Mast  "Moss";  Presnell  "Pressly";  Moretz 
"Morris";  and  Morphew  "Murphey."  "Mashed,  mum- 
micked  and  hawged  up,"  means  worlds  to  most  of  us.  Finally, 
most  of  us  are  of  the  opinion  of  the  late  Andrew  Jackson, 
who  thought  that  one  who  could  spell  a  word  in  only  one 
way  was  a  "mighty  po'  excuse  for  a  full  grown  man." 

Horse  Tr.\ding. '®  "It  is  an  interesting  sight  to  watch 
the  proceedings  of  a  shooting-match.  If  it  is  to  be  in  the 
afternoon,  the  long  open  space  beside  the  creek,  and  within 
the  circle  of  chestnut  trees,  where  the  shooting  is  to  be  done, 
is  empty;  but,  just  as  the  shadow  of  the  sun  is  shortest,  they 


268        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

begin  to  assemble.  Some  of  them  come  on  foot;  others  in 
wagons,  or,  as  is  most  generally  the  case,  on  horseback  gal- 
loping along  through  the  woods.  The  long-haired  denizen  of 
the  hidden  mountain  cove  drops  in,  with  his  dog  at  his  heels. 
The  young  blacksmith,  in  his  sootj^  shirt-sleeves,  walks  over 
from  his  way-side  forge.  The  urchins  who,  with  their  fish- 
rods,  haunt  the  banks  of  the  brook,  are  gathered  in  as  great 
force  as  their  ''daddies"  and  elder  brothers. 

"A  unique  character,  who  frequently  mingles  with  the 
crowd,  is  the  'nat'ral-born  hoss-swopper.'  He  has  a  keen  eye 
to  see  at  a  glance  the  defects  and  perfections  of  horse  or  mule 
(in  his  own  opinion),  and  always  carries  the  air  of  a  man  who 
feels  a  sort  of  superiority  over  his  fellow  men.  At  a  prancing 
gait,  he  rides  the  result  of  his  last  sharp  bargain,  into  the 
group,  and  keeps  his  saddle,  with,  the  neck  of  his  horse  well 
arched,  by  means  of  the  curb-bit,  until  another  mountaineer, 
with  like  trading  propensities,  strides  up  to  him,  and  claps 
his  hand  on  the  horse's  mane. 

"An  examination  on  the  part  of  both  swappers  always 
results  in  a  trade,  boot  being  frequently  given.  A  chance  to 
make  a  change  in  horseflesh  is  never  let  slip  by  a  natural- 
born  trader.  The  life  of  his  business  consists  in  quick  and 
frequent  bargains;  and  at  the  end  of  a  busy  month  he  is  either 
mounted  on  a  good  saddle  horse,  or  is  reduced  to  an  old  rack, 
bhnd  and  lame.  The  result  will  be  due  to  the  shrewdness  or 
dullness  of  the  men  he  dealt  with,  or  the  unexpected  sickness 
on  his  hands  of  what  was  considered  a  sound  animal." 

Frolics.  ^^  The  banjo  and  the  fiddle  have  been  as  con- 
stant companions  of  the  pioneers  of  the  mountains  of  North 
Carolina  as  the  Bible  and  the  HjTim  Book.  The  country 
"frolics"  or  "hoe-downs",  were  necessarily  less  recherche 
than  the  dances,  hops  and  germans  of  the  present  day,  for, 
as  a  rule,  the  dancing  had  to  take  place  on  the  uneven  punch- 
eon floors  and  in  a  very  restricted  space,  often  procured  by 
the  removal  of  the  furniture  of  the  kitchen  or  bed  room,  for 
usually  a  dwelling  rarely  had  more  than  these  two  apart- 
ments, in  the  earlier  days. 

Poor  Illumination.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  kerosene  was 
unknown  in  the  pioneer  days,  there  was  but  poor  illumination 
for  those  little  mountam  homes,  generally  consisting  of  but 
one  large  room  and  a  shed  or  lean-to  in  the  rear.     Tin  candle 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  269 

molds  and  heavy  wicks  were  used  with  tlie  tuiluw  of  beeves 
and  deer  for  making  of  candles,  which  gave  but  a  poor  light. 
Bear's  oil  in  a  saucer,  with  a  spun  cotton  thread  wick  also 
served  to  light  the  houses.  As  there  were  only  a  few  books, 
the  early  settlers  did  not  feel  the  want  of  good  lights  as  much 
as  we  would  at  this  time.  So,  when  the  days  grew  short  and 
the  nights  long,  our  forbears  usually  retired  to  their  beds  soon 
after  dark,  which  meant  almost  fourteen  hours  in  bed  if  they 
waited  for  daylight.  But,  usually,  they  did  not  wait  for  it, 
arising  long  before  the  sun  came  above  the  horizon,  building 
huge  fires  and  beginning  the  day  by  the  light  of  the  blazing 
logs. 

This  is  one  reason  so  many  of  those  people  saw  the  "falling 
of  the  stars"  on  the  early  morning  of  the  thirteenth  of  Novem- 
ber, 1833.  Twenty  years  ago  there  were  still  living  scores  of 
people  who  \ntnessed  this  extraordinary  and  fearful  sight. 

Danger  from  Wild  Animals.  Panthers,  wild  cats,  wolves 
and  bear  were  the  most  troublesome  depredators  and  they 
were  the  means  of  much  serious  damage  to  the  stock  of  the 
settlers,  most  of  which  was  driven  to  the  mountain  ranges, 
where  luxuriant  grasses  abounded  from  May  till  October. 
Colts,  calves  and  pigs  were  frequently  attacked  and  destroyed 
by  these  "varmints,"  as  the  settlers  called  them.  But  while 
there  was  little  or  no  danger  to  human  beings  from  these  ani- 
mals, the  black  bear  being  a  notorious  coward,  unless  hemmed 
up,  the  "women  folk"  were  "pestered"  by  the  beautiful  and, 
on  occasion,  malodorous  pole-cat  or  skunk,  the  thieving  o'pos- 
sum,  the  mink,  weasel,  etc.,  which  robbed  the  chicken  roosts 
after  dark.  Moles  and  chipmunks,  also  destroyed  their  "gar- 
den truck"  in  early  summer,  while  hawks  and  eagles  played 
havoc  with  their  fowls,  and  crows  pulled  up  the  young  corn 
and  small  grain  which  had  not  been  sown  deep  enough. 

The  Original  "Houn  Dawg."  Hounds  were  the  princi- 
pal breed  of  dogs  employed  by  the  pioneer.  Crossed  with  the 
more  savage  species,  the  hound  also  made  a  good  bear  dog, 
and  the  Plott  bear  dogs  were  famous  in  the  pursuit  of  Bruin. 
Some  settlers  kept  a  pack  of  ten  or  jBfteen  hounds  for  deer 
dogs. 

The  Dark  Side  of  the  Cloud.  But  from  Thwaite's 
"Daniel  Boone"  we  gather  much  that  robs  the  apparent 
charm    of    pioneer    hfe    of    something    of    its    attractiveness. 


270        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

"Among  the  outljdng  settlers,  much  of  the  family  food  came 
from  the  woods,  and  often  months  would  pass  without  bread 
being  seen  inside  the  cabin  walls"  (p.  58).  "For  head  cov- 
ering, the  favorite  was  a  soft  cap  of  coon-skin,  with  the  bushy- 
tail  dangling  behind;  but  Boone  himself  despised  this  gear, 
and  always  wore  a  hat.  The  women  Avore  huge  sunbonnets 
and  loose  gowns  of  homemade  cloth;  they  generally  went 
barefoot  in  summer,  but  wore  moccasins  in  winter"  (p.  29). 
These  moccasins  were  "soft  and  pliant,  but  cold  in  winter, 
even  when  stuffed  with  deer's  hair  and  leaves,  and  so  spongy 
as  to  be  no  protection  against  wet  feet,  which  made  every 
hunter  an  early  victim  to  rheumatism."  That  many  prison- 
ers were  massacred  is  also  an  evidence  of  the  harshness  of 
these  times. 

Touchstone  and  Terpsichore.  There  were  shooting 
matches  at  which  a  young  steer  was  divided  and  shot  for, 
foot  races,  \ATestling  bouts,  camp-meetings,  log-rollings,  house- 
raisings  and  the  "Big  Musters"  where  cider  and  ginger  cakes 
were  sold,  which  drew  the  people  together  and  promoted  social 
intercourse,  as  well  as  the  usual  religious  gatherings  at  the 
"church  houses."  Singing  classes  and  Sunday  Schools,  now 
so  common,  were  not  at  first  known  in  these  mountains,  and, 
indeed,  even  Sunday  Schools  are  of  comparatively  recent  origin. 
When  a  young  couple  were  married  they  were  usually  sere- 
naded with  cow  horns,  tin  pans  and  other  unearthly  noises. 
This  is  still  the  custom  in  many  parts  of  the  mountains.  Agri- 
cultural fairs  were  unknowTi  in  the  olden  daj^s.  Horse-racing 
over  ordinary  roads,  horse-swapping  and  good  natured  con- 
tests of  strength  among  the  men  were  also  in  vogue  generally. 

Before  the  Days  of  "Bridge."  Among  the  women  and 
girls  there  were  spinning,  carding,  reeling  and  knitting  matches, 
and  sometimes  a  weaving  match.  ^  ^  Quilting  parties  were 
very  common,  and,  indeed,  the  quilting  frame  can  still  be 
observed  in-  many  a  mountain  house,  suspended  from  the 
ceiling  above,  even  in  the  modern  parlor  or  company  room. 
All  sorts  of  superstitions  attended  a  quilting — the  first  stitch 
given  being  usually  emblematic  of  the  marriage  of  the  one 
making  it  and  the  last  of  the  death  of  the  person  so  unfor- 
tunate as  to  have  that  distinction.  Of  course  the  coverlid  or 
top  of  the  quilt,  usually  a  patchwork  of  bright  scraps  of  cloth 
carefully  hoarded  and  gathered  from  all  quarters,  had  been 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  271 

prepared  in  advance  of  the  gathering  of  the  quilting  party, 
and  the  quilting  consisted  in  spreading  it  above  the  wool  or 
cotton  rolls  spread  uniformly  on  a  white  clotii  and  stitching 
the  upper  and  lower  cloths  together.  Hence  the  great  con- 
venience of  the  quilting  frame  which  held  the  quilt  and  was 
lowered  to  a  point  about  waist  high. 

The  "Causus  Belli."  At  school  it  was  customary  for  the 
larger  boys  to  bar  the  teacher  out  when  a  holiday  was  ardently 
desired.  This  was  accomplished  by  placing  themselves  inside 
the  school  room  and  barring  the  door  by  placing  the  rude  and 
backless  benches  agamst  it  and  refusing  to  remove  them.  As 
there  was  but  one  door  and  no  windows  the  teacher  was  help- 
less, and,  after  threatening  and  bullying  for  a  time,  usually  left 
the  boys  in  possession  of  the  school  house  till  the  following 
day,  when  no  one  w^as  punished.  For  anyone,  be  he  friend  or 
foe,  but  especially  a  stranger  to  holler  "school  butter"  near  a 
school  was  to  invite  every  urchin  to  rush  from  the  room;  and 
the  offender  had  either  to  treat  the  scholars  or  be  soundly 
thrashed  and  pelted.  In  Monroe  county,  Tennessee,  near 
Madisonville,  in  the  year  of  grace  1893,  this  scribe  was  dared 
and  double-dared  to  holler  those  talismanic  words  as  he  passed 
a  county  school,  but  ignominiously  declined. 

"Ant'ny  Over."  A  game  almost  universal  with  the  chil- 
dren of  that  day  was  called  "  Ant'ny  Over. "  Sides  were  chosen, 
one  side  going  to  one  side  of  the  house  and  the  other  to  the 
other.  A  ball  was  tossed  over  the  roof  by  one  side,  the  prob- 
lem being  whether  it  would  reach  the  comb  of  the  roof  and 
fall  on  the  other  side.  If  it  did  so  and  was  caught  by  one  on 
that  side,  that  side  ran  around  the  house  and  tried  to  hit 
somebody  on  the  other  side  with  the  ball;  if  they  succeeded 
the  one  hit  had  to  join  the  other  side,  and  the  side  catching 
the  ball  had  to  throw  it  over  the  house  and  so  on  until  one 
side  lost  all  children.  The  rule  was  for  the  side  tossing  the 
ball  to  cry  "Ant'ny!"  as  they  were  ready  to  throw  the  ball 
and  when  the  other  side  hollered  "Over!"  the  ball  was  thrown. 

Mountain  Lager  Beer.  Methiglen,  a  mildly  intoxicating 
drink,  made  by  pouring  water  upon  honey-comb  and  allowing 
it  to  ferment,  was  a  drink  quite  common  in  the  days  of  log 
rollings,  house  raisings  and  big  musters.  It  was  a  sweet  and 
pleasant  beverage  and  about  as  intoxicating  as  beer  or  wine. 

Lawflt,  Moonshine.     "Ardent  spirits  were  then  in  almost 


272        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

universal  use  and  nearly  every  prosperous  man  had  his  whis- 
key or  brandy  still.  Even  ministers  of  the  gospel  are  said  in 
some  instances  to  have  made  and  sold  liquor.  A  barroom  was 
a  place  shunned  by  none.  The  court  records  show  license  to 
retail  issued  to  men  who  stood  high  as  exemplary  members  of 
churches.  On  November  2,  1800,  Bishop  Asbury  chronicles 
that  "Francis  Alexander  Ramsey  pursued  us  to  the  ferry, 
franked  us  over  and  took  us  to  his  excellent  mansion,  a  stone 
house;  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  mention  that  our  host  has  built 
his  house,  and  taken  in  his  harvest  without  the  aid  of  whiskey. " 
MooNSHiNiNG.  Before  railroads  were  constructed  in  these 
mountains  there  was  no  market  for  the  surplus  corn,  rye  and 
fruit;  and  it  was  considered  right  to  convert  these  products 
into  whiskey  and  brandy,  for  which  there  was  always  a  market. 
When,  therefore,  soon  after  the  Civil  War,  the  United  States 
government  attempted  to  enforce  its  internal  revenue  laws, 
much  resistance  was  manifested  by  many  good  citizens.  Grad- 
ually, however,  illicit  distilling  has  been  relegated  to  a  few 
irresponsible  and  ignorant  men;  for  the  penalty  inflicted  for 
allowing  one's  land  to  be  used  as  the  location  for  a  still,  or  to 
grind  corn  or  malt  for  illicit  stillers,  or  to  aid  them  in  any  way, 
is  great  enough  to  deter  all  men  of  property  from  violating 
the  law  in  this  regard.  IMoonshining  is  so  called  because  it 
is  supposed  that  it  is  only  while  the  moon  is  shining  that 
illicit  stilling  takes  place,  though  that  is  erroneous,  as  much  of 
it  is  done  during  the  day.  But,  as  these  stills  are  located, 
usually,  in  the  most  out-of-the-way  places  possible,  the  smoke 
arising  during  the  day  from  the  stills  attracts  attention  and 
final  detection.  Stills  are  usually  located  on  small,  cold 
streams,  and  on  wild  land  little  adapted  to  cultivation.  Some- 
times, however,  stills  are  situated  in  the  cellar  or  kitchen  or 
other  innocent  looking  place  for  the  purpose  of  diverting  sus- 
picion. Neighbors,  chance  visitors,  the  color  the  slops  give  to 
the  streams  into  which  they  drain,  and  other  evidence  finally 
lead  to  the  arrest  of  the  operators  and  the  destruction  of  the 
stilling  plant  and  mash.  The  simplest  process  is  to  soak  corn 
till  it  sprouts,  after  which  it  is  dried  and  ground,  making  malt. 
Then  corn  is  ground  into  meal,  and  it  and  the  malt  are  placed 
in  tubs  with  water  till  they  sour  and  ferment,  making  mash. 
This  mash  is  then  placed  in  the  still  and  boiled,  the  steam 
passing  through  a  worm  or  spiral  metal  tube  which  rests  in  a 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  273 


cooling  tub,  into  which  a  stream  of  running  water  pours  con- 
stantly. This  condenses  the  steam,  which  falls  into  the 
"singling  keg";  and  when  a  sufficient  quantity  has  been  pro- 
duced, the  mash  is  removed  from  the  still,  and  it  is  washed 
out,  after  which  the  "singlings"  are  poured  into  the  still  and 
evaporated,  passing  througii  the  worm  a  second  time,  thus 
becoming  '"doublings,"  or  high  proof  whiskey.  It  is  then 
tested  or  proofed — usually  by  shaking  it  in  a  bottle — when  its 
strength  is  determined  by  the  bubbles  or  "beads"  which  rise 
to  the  top.  It  is  then  adulterated  with  water  till  it  is  "right, " 
or  mild  enough  to  be  drunk  without  blistering  the  throat. 
Aj^ples  antl  peaches  are  first  mashed  or  ground,  fermented  and 
evaporated,  thus  becoming  brandy.  Still  slops  are  used  to 
feed  cattle  and  hogs,  when  practicable,  but  moonshiners 
usually  have  to  empty  their  slops  upon  the  ground,  from  which 
it  is  sure  to  drain  into  some  stream  and  thus  lead  to  dis- 
covery. Still  slop-fed  hogs  do  not  produce  as  firm  lard  as 
corn-fed  animals,  just  as  mash-fed  hogs  do  not  produce  as 
good  lard  as  corn-fed  hogs,  though  the  flesh  of  mast-fed  hogs 
is  considered  more  delicate  and  better  flavored  than  that  of 
any  other  kind. 

Blockading  is  usually  applied  to  the  illegal  selling  of  moon- 
shine whiskey  or  brandy. 

The  Strength  of  Union.  The  following  account  of  the 
cooperation  common  among  the  early  settlers  is  taken  from 
"  A  Brief  History  of  Macon  County"  by  Dr.  C.  D.  Smith, 
published  in  1905,  at  Franklin: 

"It  was  the  custom  in  those  early  days  not  to  rely  for  help  upon  hired 
labor.  In  harvesting  small  grain  crops  the  sickle  was  mostly  used.  When 
a  crop  was  ripe,  the  neighbors  were  notified  and  gathered  in  to  reap  and 
shock  up  the  crops.  The  manner  was  for  a  dozen  or  more  men  to  cut 
through  the  field,  then  hang  their  sickles  over  their  shoulders  and  bind 
back.  The  boys  gathered  the  sheaves  together  and  the  old  men  shocked 
them  up.  The  corn  crops  were  usually  gathered  in  and  thrown  in  great 
heaps  alongside  the  cribs.  The  neighbors  were  invited  and  whole  days 
and  into  the  nights  were  often  spent  in  husking  out  a  single  crop.  I  have 
seen  as  many  as  eighty  or  ninety  men  at  a  time  around  my  father's  corn 
heap.  If  a  house  or  barn  wa.s  to  be  raised  the  neighbors  wore  on  hand  and 
the  building  was  soon  under  roof.  Likewise,  if  a  man  had  a  heavy  clear- 
ing, it  was  no  trouble  to  have  an  ample  force  to  handle  and  put  in  heaps 
the  heaviest  logs.  It  was  no  unusual  thing  for  a  man  to  need  one  or  two 
thousand  rails  for  fencing.  All  ho  had  to  do  was  to  proclaim  that  he 
would  have  a  'rail  mauling'  on  a  given  day,  and  bright  and  early  the 

W.  N.  C— 18 


274        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


neighbors  were  on  the  ground  and  the  rails  were  made  before  sun-down. 
This  custom  of  mutual  aid,  cultivated  a  feeling  of  mutual  dependence  and 
brotherhood,  and  resulted  in  the  most  friendly  and  neighborly  intercourse. 
Indeed,  each  man  seemed  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  his  neighbor's  comfort 
and  welfare  as  well  as  his  own.  It  made  a  community  of  broad,  liberal- 
minded  people,  who  despite  the  tongue  of  gossip  and  an  occasional  fist- 
icuff in  hot  blood,  lived  in  peace  and  good  will  one  toward  another.  There 
was  then  less  selfishness  and  cold  formality  than  now.  ...  I  am 
free  to  admit  that  there  has  been  improvement  along  some  lines,  such, 
for  instance,  as  that  of  education,  the  building  of  church-houses,  style  of 
dress,  etc.,  but  I  am  sure  that  there  has  been  none  in  the  sterner  traits  of 
character,  generosity,  manliness,  patriotism,  integrity,  and  public  spirit." 

Giants  in  Those  Days.  It  also  appears  from  the  same 
very  admirable  sketch  of  Macon  county,  that  when  a  new 
road  was  desired  a  jury  was  appointed  to  lay  it  off  and  divide 
it  into  sections  as  nearly  equal  as  possible,  the  work  on  each 
section  being  assigned  by  lot  to  the  respective  captains  of 
militia  companies,  and  that  the  work  was  done  without  com- 
pensation. Dr.  Smith  cites  an  instance  when  he  saw  "  men  taking 
rock  from  the  river  with  the  water  breast  deep  to  aid  in  build- 
ing wharves.     They  remained  until  the  work  was  finished." 

Fist  and  Skull. 

"There  was  another  custom  in  those  bygone  days  which  to  the  pres- 
ent generation  seems  extremely  primitive  and  rude,  but  which,  when  an- 
alyzed, shows  a  strong  sense  of  honor  and  manliness  of  character.  To 
settle  minor  disputes  and  differences,  whether  for  imaginary  or  real  per- 
sonal wrongs,  there  were  occasional  fisticuffs.  Then,  it  sometimes  oc- 
curred in  affairs  of  this  kind,  that  whole  neighborhoods  and  communities 
took  an  interest.  I  have  known  county  arrayed  against  county,  and 
state  against  state,  for  the  belt  in  championship,  for  manhood  and  skill 
in  a  hand-to-hand  tussel  between  local  bullies.  When  these  contests  took 
place  the  custom  was  for  the  parties  to  go  into  the  ring.  The  crowd  of 
spectators  demanded  fairness  and  honor.  If  anyone  was  disposed  to 
show  foul  play  he  was  withheld  or  in  the  attempt  promptly  chastised  by 
some  bystander.  Then,  again,  if  either  party  in  the  fight  resorted  to 
any  weapons  whatever,  other  than  his  physical  appendages,  he  was  at 
once  branded  and  denounced  as  a  coward,  and  was  avoided  by  his  former 
associates.  While  this  custom  was  brutal  in  its  practice,  there  was  a  bold 
outcropping  of  character  in  it,  for  such  affairs  were  conducted  upon  the 
most  punctilious  points  of  honor.  .  .  .  This  custom  illustrates  the 
times  and  I  have  introduced  it  more  for  the  sake  of  contrast  than  a  desire 
to  parade  it  before  the  public." 

HoEN  AND  Bone.  Buttons  were  made  from  bones  and  cow's 
horns,  while  the  antlers  of  the  red  deer  were  almost  indispen- 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  275 

sable  as  racks  for  the  loiijz;  harreli'd  flint-lock  rifle,  hats,  cloth- 
ing or  other  articles  usually  suspended  from  pegs  and  hooks. 
Dinner  anil  powiler  horns  were  from  cow's  horns,  from  which 
the  "picker"  and  "charger"  hung.  Ink  bottles  were  made 
from  the  small  ends  of  cow's  horns,  powder  was  carried  in 
these  water-proof  vessels,  while  hounds  were  called  in  from 
the  chase  or  "hands"  were  summoned  from  the  fields  by 
toots  upon  these  far-sounding  if  not  musical  instruments. 
During  the  Civil  War,  William  Silvers  of  Mitchell  county 
made  combs  from  cow's  horns,  filing  out  each  separate  tooth 
after  boiling  and  "spreading"  the  horns  into  flat  surfaces. 
He  sold  these  for  good  prices,  and  once  made  a  trip  to  Ashe- 
ville  M'ith  a  wagon  for  a  full  load  of  horns  as  the  neighbor- 
hood did  not  supply  the  demand. 

Gunpowder  Bounty.  ^^  "In  1796  Governor  Ashe  issued 
a  proclamation  announcing  that  in  pursuance  of  an  Act  to 
provide  for  the  public  safety  by  granting  encouragement  to 
certain  manufactures,  Jacob  Byler,  of  the  county  of  Bun- 
combe, had  exhibited  to  him  a  sample  of  gunpowder  manu- 
factured by  him  in  the  year  1799  and  also  a  certificate  prov- 
ing that  he  had  made  six  hundred  and  sixty-three  pounds  of 
good,  merchantable,  rifle  gunpowder;  and  therefore,  he  was 
entitled  to  the  bounty  under  the  Act  (2  Wheeler's  History 
of  North  Carolina,  52).  This  Jacob  Byler,  or  rather  Boyler, 
was  afterward  a  member  of  Buncombe  County  court,  and  in 
the  inventory  of  his  property  returned  by  his  administrator 
after  his  death  in  October,  1804,  is  mentioned  "Powder  mill 
irons. " 

Elizabethton's  Battle  Monument.  On  a  massive  monu- 
ment erected  in  1910  at  Elizabethton,  Tenn.,  to  the  soldiers 
of  all  the  wars  in  which  Tennessee  has  participated  is  a  marble 
slab  to  the  memory  of  Mary  Patton  who  made  the  powder 
with  which  the  battle  of  Kings  Mountain  was  fought.  This 
was  made  on  Powder  Mill  branch.  Carter  county,  Tennessee. 
On  what  is  still  known  as  Powder  Mill  creek  in  old  Mitchell, 
so  long  ago  that  the  date  cannot  now  be  fixed  with  certainty, 
Dorry  and  Loddy  Oaks  made  powder  near  where  the  creek 
empties  into  Toe  River.     Zeb  Buchanan  now  owns  the  land. 

Wanderlust.  Alexander  Thomas,  A.  J.  ]\IcBride,  and 
Marion  Wilson,  all  of  Cove  creek,  Watauga  county,  went  to 
California  in  1849,  crossing  the  plains  in  ox  carts,  and  mined 


276        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

for  gold.  Captain  Young  Farthing  helped  to  carry  the  Chero- 
kees  to  the  West  in  1838,  as  did  also  William  Miller,  Col. 
James  Horton  and  others  of  Watauga.  They  were  paid  in 
land  warrants  to  be  located  in  Kansas,  but  the  warrants  were 
usually  sold  for  what  they  would  bring,  which  was  little. 
Jacob  Townsend  of  near  Shull's  ]\Iills  was  a  pensioner  of  the 
War  of  1812.  Colonel  J.  B.  Todd,  Peter  Hoffman  and  Jason 
Martin  of  Watauga  were  in  the  Mexican  war.  A  number  of 
others  volunteered  from  these  mountains,  but  were  never 
called  out. 

Forge  Bounty  Land  Grants.  One  of  the  first  needs  of 
these  pioneers  was  iron,  and  in  1788  (Ch.  293,  Laws  of  N.  C. 
as  revised  by  Potter  J.  L.  Taylor  and  Bart  Yancey,  Esqs., 
1821)  the  legislature  passed  an  act  by  which  3,000  acres  of 
vacant  lands  "not  fit  for  cultivation  most  convenient  to  the 
different  seats  is  hereby  granted  for  every  set  of  iron  works, 
as  a  bounty  from  this  State  to  any  person  or  persons  who  will 
build  and  carry  on  the  same."  One  or  more  tracts  for  each 
set  of  works  was  to  be  entered  and  a  copy  of  the  entry  trans- 
mitted to  the  next  court  that  should  be  held  in  the  county, 
when  a  jury  of  twelve  persons  of  good  character  should  view 
the  land  and  certify  that  it  was  not  fit  for  cultivation.  Iron 
works  were  then  to  be  erected  -within  three  years,  and  when 
it  should  be  made  to  appear  to  the  court  that  5,000  weight 
of  iron  had  been  made  the  grant  was  to  be  issued.  "Three 
forges  where  it  was  made  grew  up  in  Buncombe  county,  one 
on  Hominy  creek,  upon  the  old  Solomon  Luther  place,  which 
belonged  to  Charles  Lane;  another  on  Reems  Creek  at  the 
Coleman  mill  place,  which  belonged  to  the  same  man,  but 
was  sold  by  him  in  1803,  to  Andrew  Baird;  the  third  was  on 
Mills  river,  now  in  Henderson  county  on  what  has  ever  since 
been  called  the  Forge  mountain,  on  which  are  also  the  Boils- 
ton  gold  mines.  The  iron  ore  for  this  purpose  was  procured 
at  different  places  in  Buncombe  county."  ^^  The  State 
granted  to  Thomas  Calloway,  November  21,  1807,  3,000  acres 
of  land  in  Ashe  county  (Deed  Book  D,  p.  88)  and  to  William 
Daniel,  David  Worth,  IMoses  L.  Michael  and  R.  Murchison 
2,000  acres  in  Ashe  county,  in  1854.  (Deed  Book  U,  p.  62.) 
Grants  were  also  issued  to  the  late  Messer  Fain  in  Cherokee, 
and  some  of  the  pigs  are  still  in  existence  there. 

Dates  of  Working  Old  Iron  Mines.        From  "  The  Iron 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  277 


Manufacturer's  Guide"  (1859.  l)y  J.  P.  Lesley)  we  find  that 
Harbard's  Blooniory  Forge  near  the  mouth  of  Helton  creek 
was  built  in  1807  and  washed  away  in  1817;  that  the  Cran- 
berry liloonicry  For^^e  on  Cranberry  was  built  in  1820,  and 
rebuilt  in  1850;  that  North  Fork  Bloomery  Forge  eight  miles 
northwest  of  Jefferson  on  New  river,  was  built  in  1825;  aban- 
doned  in    1829;   washed   away   in    1840;   Ballou's   Bloomery 
Forge,  at  Falls  of  North  Fork  of  New  river,  12  miles  north- 
east of  Jefferson,  was  built  in  1817;  washed  away  in  1832  by 
an  ice  freshet;  Helton  Bloomery  Forge,  on  Helton  creek,  12 
miles  north-northwest  of  Jefferson,  was  built  in  1829;  washed 
away  in   1858;  another  forge  was  built  one  and  one-fourth 
miles  further  down  in  1802,  but  did  not  stand  long;  Laurel 
Bloomery  Forge,  on  Laurel  creek,  15  miles  west  of  Jefferson, 
built  in  1847;  abandoned  in  1853;  Toe  river  Bloomery  Forge, 
five  miles  south  of  Cranberry  Forge,  built  in  1843;  Johnson's 
Bloomery  Forge,  six  miles  south  of  Cranberry  Forge,  built  in 
1841;  Lovingood  Bloomery  Forge,  on  Hanging  Dog,  Cherokee 
county,  two  miles  above  Fain's  Forge,   built  from   1845  to 
1853;  Lower  Hanging  Dog  Bloomery  Forge,  five  miles  north- 
west of  :\Iurphy,  built  in  1840;  Killian  Bloomery  Forge  one- 
half  miles  below  Lower  Hanging  Dog  Forge,  built  in  1843, 
abandoned   1849;  Fain  Bloomery  Forge,  on  Owl  creek,  two 
miles  below  Lovingood  Forge,  built  in  1854;  Persimmon  creek 
Bloomery  Forge,  on  Persimmon  creek  12  miles  southwest  of 
Murphy,  built  in  1848;  Shoal  creek  Bloomery  Forge,  on  Shoal 
creek,  five  miles  -west  of  Persimmon  creek  Forge,  built  about 
1854;  Palsey  Forge,  built  by  John  Ballon  at  mouth  of  Helton 
in  1859  and  rebuilt   by  W.  J.  Pasley  in  1871  (it  is  now  aban- 
doned); New  River  Forge  on  South  Fork  of  New  river,  one- 
half  mile  above  its  junction  with  North  Fork;  built   1871, 
washed  away  in  1878.     Uriah  Ballon  of  Crumpler,  N.  C,  has 
gold  medals  for  the  best  magnetic  iron  ore  from  the  Louis- 
iana Purchase  Exposition  and  from  the  World's  Fair  at  Paris 
inmiediately  afterwards,  which  was  taken  from  these  mines. 
The  lands  are  now  the  property  of  the  Virginia  Iron  &  Coke 
Company. 

Pioneer  Thors  and  Forges.  Iron  was  manufactured  at 
these  old  time  forges  about  as  follows  :  When  the  ore  was  in 
lumps  or  mixed  with  rock  and  dirt  it  was  crushed  by  "stomp- 
ers, "  consisting  of  hardwood  beams  6x6  inches,  which  were  raised 


278        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

and  dropped  by  a  cogged  horizontal  revolving  shaft.  When  the 
ore  was  fine  enough  it  was  washed  in  troughs  to  separate  it  from 
as  much  foreign  matter  as  possible.  It  was  then  ready  for  the 
furnace,  which  consisted  of  a  rock  base  6x6  feet  and  two 
and  one-half  feet  high.  On  three  sides  of  this  base  walls  of 
rock  were  erected  two  and  one-half  feet  high,  leaving  one  side 
open.  A  nest  was  left  in  the  bottom  of  this  base  or  hearth, 
through  the  middle  of  which  a  two  inch  blast  pipe  ran,  and 
projecting  above  it.  Air  was  furnished  to  this  pipe  by  a 
stream  of  water  passing  through  wooden  tubes  12x12  inches. 
A  small  fire  of  chips  was  started  in  this  nest  above  the  mouth  of 
the  blast  pipe.  Over  this  fire  three  or  four  bushels  of  char- 
coal was  placed  and  blown  into  a  white  heat.  Upon  this 
charcoal  a  layer  of  ore  was  spread,  and  as  it  was  heated,  an 
other  layer  of  charcoal  was  placed  above,  and  on  it  still  another 
layer  of  ore.  This  was  gradually  melted,  the  molten  ore  set- 
tling into  the  nest  and  the  silica  remaining  on  top.  Into  the 
mass  of  melted  iron  an  iron  bar  would  be  thrust.  This  bar 
was  used  simply  to  form  a  handle  for  the  turning  of  the  ore 
that  adhered  to  it  after  it  had  been  withdrawn  and  placed  on 
the  anvil  to  be  hammered.  The  melted  ore  thus  drawn  out 
was  called  a  "loop." 

The  hammer  and  the  anvil  were  about  the  same  weight,  750 
pounds  each,  with  an  eye  through,  6x12  inches.  They  were  in- 
terchangeable. The  anvil  was  placed  on  white-oak  beams,  about 
the  size  of  a  railroad  cross-tie,  which  spanned  a  pit  dug  in 
the  ground  in  order  to  give  spring  to  the  blow  made  by  the 
hammer.  Through  the  eye  of  the  hammer  a  beam  of  strong 
wood  was  fastened,  the  other  end  working  on  a  pivot  or  hinge. 
Near  this  hinged  end  was  a  revolving  shaft  shod  with  four  large 
iron  cogs,  each  about  six  inches  long  and  five  inches  square, 
and  each  having  a  rounded  corner.  These  cogs  lifted  the  ham- 
mer handle  rapidly,  while  above  the  handle  a  wooden  "bray" 
overcame  the  upward  thrust,  and  gravity  drove  the  hammer 
downward  upon  the  heated  mass  awaiting  it  on  the  anvil. 
The  blows  thus  dealt  were  rapid  and  heavy  and  could  be 
heard  under  favorable  conditions  ten  or  more  miles. 

Silent  Finger  Signals.  It  was  the  duty  of  the  "tender," 
the  chief  assistant  of  the  hammerman,  to  withdraw  the  loop 
from  the  furnace  and  place  it  on  the  anvil,  when  the  hammer- 
man took  the  end  of  the  handle  and  signaled  with  his  fingers 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  279 

laid  on  the  handle  to  the  teniler  to  i)egin  hammering,  which 
was  done  by  the  latter  allowing  the  water  to  strike  the  wheel 
which  worked  the  hammer  shaft.  Two  fingers  indicated  more 
rapid  hammering,  tiiree  still  more  rapid  hammering,  and  the 
withdrawal  of  all  fingers  meant  that  the  hammering  should 
cease.  When  the  foreign  matter  had  been  hammered  out  of 
the  looj),  it  was  divided  into  two  or  more  loops  of  25  to  30 
pounds  each ;  a  short  iron  bar,  to  serve  as  handles,  was  welded 
to  each  piece,  and  they  were  again  placed  in  the  furnace  and 
re-heated  and  then  hammered  into  bars  from  9  to  12  feet  in 
length,  or  divided  into  smaller  pieces  for  wagon-tires,  hoe- 
bars,  axe-bars,  plough-shares,  plough-molds,  harrow-teeth  bars, 
horse-shoe  irons,  and  gun"skelps. "  There  was  an  extra 
charge  for  "bandage"  in  the  case  of  wagon-tires,  because  they 
were  hammered  out  thinner.  In  finishing  up  each  bar  or 
smaller  piece  of  iron  the  tender  would  pour  cokl  water  on  its 
surface  to  give  it  a  hard  and  smooth  finish. 

Giant  "Hammermen."  The  hammerman  soon  became  a 
veritable  giant  in  his  arms,  and  it  is  related  of  one  of  the  older 
Duggers  that  he  could  insert  an  arm  into  the  eye  of  the  hammer 
and  another  into  that  of  the  anvil  and  strike  the  two  together. 
For  miles  below  the  water  powers  which  drove  these  forges 
the  streams  were  muddy  with  the  washings  from  the  ore. 
For  years  iron  thus  made  was  the  principal  commodity  of 
trade.  The  ends  of  the  iron  bars  were  bent  like  the  runners 
of  a  sled,  and  as  many  of  these  bars  were  bound  together  by 
iron  bands  as  could  be  dragged  over  the  rough  trails  by  a 
single  ox.  In  this  crude  fashion  many  tons  of  iron  found  a 
market  on  farms  remote  from  wagon  roads. 

Expensive  Hauling.  It  took  from  three  weeks  to  a 
month  to  go  from  Asheville  to  Charleston  or  Augusta  by 
wagon  before  the  Civil  War.  The  roads  were  bad,  and  those 
in  charge  of  the  wagons  camped  on  the  roadside,  cooking  their 
own  meals.  No  wonder  freight  rates  were  high,  and  that  peo- 
ple did  without  much  that  seems  indispensible  now.  It  is 
said  that  Waugh,  INIurchison  &  Poe,  early  merchants  of  Jef- 
ferson, hauled  their  goods  from  Wilmington,  N.  C.  The  late 
Albert  T.  Summey  says  that  :  "goods  were  hauled  from  Au- 
gusta and  Charleston  and  cost  from  S1.75  to  $2.00  per  hun- 
dred. Salt  cost  in  Augusta  SI. 25  for  a  sack  of  200  lbs.  Add 
S4.00  for  hauling,  and  it  is  easy  to  understand  why  people 


280        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

thought  it  cheap  when  they  could  buy  it  for  $5.00."  As 
late  as  the  spring  of  1850  it  took  Deacon  WiUiam  Skiles  of 
Valle  Cruces  three  weeks  to  ride  horseback  from  Plymouth, 
N.  C.  to  Watauga.  ^  i 

Rifle  Guns. ^^  The  word  "rifle"  is  too  generic  a  term  for 
the  average  mountaineer;  but  he  knows  what  a  "rifle-gun" 
is.  Some  of  the  older  men  have  seen  them  made — lock,  stock 
and  barrel.  The  process  was  simple  :  a  bar  of  iron  the  length 
of  the  barrel  desired  was  hammered  to  the  thickness  of  about 
three-sixteenths  of  an  inch  and  then  rolled  around  a  small 
iron  rod  of  a  diameter  a  little  less  than  the  caliber  desired. 
After  this,  the  rolled  iron  was  welded  together  gradually — 
only  three  or  four  inches  being  wielded  at  a  time  because  it 
was  not  practicable  to  do  more  at  a  single  "heating"  without 
also  welding  the  rod  which  was  inside.  This  rod  was  with- 
drawn from  the  barrel  while  it  was  being  heated  in  the  fur- 
nace and  alloW'Cd  to  cool,  and  when  the  glowing  barrel  was 
withdrawn  from  the  fire  the  rod  was  inserted  and  the  weld- 
ing would  begin  and  be  kept  up  till  the  bar  inside  began  to  get 
too  hot,  after  which  it  was  withdra^vn  and  cooled  while  the 
barrel  was  being  heated  again,  and  then  the  same  process  was 
repeated  till  the  work  was  clone.  The  caliber  of  the  barrel 
was  now  smaller  than  desired,  but  it  was  enlarged  by  drilling 
the  hole  with  a  steel  bit  operated  by  water-power.  The  spiral 
grooves  inside  the  barrel  were  made  by  small  pieces  of  steel, 
two  inches  long,  with  saw-teeth  on  the  edges,  which  served 
the  purpose  of  filing  the  necessary  spiral  channels.  The  cali- 
ber was  determined  by  the  number  of  bullets  which  could  be 
molded  from  a  pound  of  lead,  and  usually  ran  from  80  to  140. 
The  caliber  of  rifles  is  now  measured  by  the  decimels  of  an 
inch,  regardless  of  the  number  of  bullets  to  the  pound  of  lead. 
No  hand-made  rifle  was  ever  knowm  to  burst.  The  locks, 
hammers,  triggers,  guards,  ramrods,  etc.,  were  all  made  on 
the  common  anvil.  ^  ^ 

Primitive  Tools  and  Methods.  Dutch  scythes  for  cut- 
ting grass  have  been  in  the  mountains  time  out  of  mind,  but 
English  scythes  for  the  same  purpose  did  not  come  into  use 
in  some  of  the  counties  till  about  1856-7.  Cradles  for  cutting 
small  grain  were  employed  about  1846;  before  which  time 
reaping  hooks  had  been  used  entirely.  Before  thrashing  ma- 
chines arrived  small  grain  was  separated  from  the  stems  by 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  281 

means  of  flails,  as  in  the  old  Bible  days  of  the  threshing  floors — 
only  in  western  North  Carolina  a  smooth  place  was  made  in 
the  hillside,  if  there  was  no  level  ground  elsewhere,  cloth  was 
spread  dowTi  over  it,  and  the  grain  beaten  out  by  flails.  After 
this  had  been  done,  what  was  known  as  a  ''riddle"  was  used 
to  free  the  grain  of  straw  and  chaff,  sheets  or  coverlids  of  beds 
being  used  to  fan  the  chaff  away  as  the  grain  fell.  Tlien 
came  the  sieve  to  separate  the  grain  from  all  heavy  foreign 
matter,  after  which  it  was  ground  in  grist  mills,  and  bolted 
by  sifting  it  through  thin,  loosely  woven  cloth  wound  over  a 
cylindrical  wooden  frame  revolved  by  hand,  a  labor  often  im- 
posed by  the  indolent  miller  on  the  boy  who  had  brought  the 
grist  to  mill.  The  miller  never  made  any  deduction  from  his 
toll  because  of  this  labor,  however. 

Ground  Hog  Threshers.  When  the  threshing  machine 
came,  about  1850,  it  was  a  seven  days  wonder.  It  was  what 
was  known  as  the  "ground-hog"  thresher,  and  required  eight 
horses  to  pull  it  from  place  to  place.  It  was  operated  by 
horse  power  also,  which  power  was  communicated  to  the  ma- 
chine by  means  of  a  tarred  cotton  rope  in  place  of  a  band  or 
sprocket  chain,  both  of  which  came  later.  The  grain  and 
straw  came  from  the  machine  together  and  were  caught  in  a 
big  sheet  surrounded  by  curtains.  The  straw  was  raked  from 
the  top  of  the  grain  by  wooden  forks  made  from  saplings  or 
the  limbs  of  trees.  Steel  pitchforks  did  not  come  into  gen- 
eral use  in  these  mountains  till  about  1850.  A  ground  hog 
thresher  could  thresh  out  about  100  bushels  a  day  with  the 
help  of  about  16  hands,  while  the  modern  machine  can  easily 
thresh  out  over  400  bushels  with  the  assistance  of  10  hands; 
but  as  the  extra  hands  of  the  olden  time  charged  nothing  for 
their  labor,  and  felt  honored  by  being  allowed  to  take  part  in 
such  glorious  work,  no  complaint  was  ever  heard  on  that  score. 
Mowing  machines  did  not  come  into  general  use  in  this  sec- 
tion till  1869  or  1870.  Even  the  North  refused  them  till 
England  took  them  up.  -  •* 

The  Handy  Blacksmith.  Tools  of  all  kinds  were  made  by 
the  ordinary  blacksmiths  of  the  country  at  ordinary  forges. 
They  made  axes,  hatchets,  drawnng-knives,  chisels,  augurs, 
horse-shoes,  horse-shoe  nails,  bolts,  nuts  and  even  pocket 
knives! 

Fish  and  Fish  Traps.       Fish  abounded  in  all  mountain 


282        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

streams,  and  "a  good  site  for  a  fish  trap"  was  the  greatest 
recommendation  which  a  piece  of  land  could  have.  These 
places  were  always  the  first  entered  and  granted.  In  them 
fish  by  the  barrelful  would  sometimes  be  caught  in  a  single 
night  where  the  trap  was  well  situated  and  strongly  built. 
Fishing  at  night  in  canoes  by  torchlight  with  a  gig  was  a  fa- 
vorite sport  as  well  as  profitable  practice  and  it  was  much  in- 
dulged in. "  -  ^  Above  vertical  falls  trout  could  not  pass.  Elk 
river,  above  the  Great  Falls,  had  no  trout  till  1857  (D.  L. 
Low  in  Watauga  Democrat,  June  26,  1913),  when  men  placed 
them  there. 

Grist  Mills.  "The  first  consideration,  however,  with 
these  primitive  inhabitants,  was  the  matter  of  grist  mills. 
Hence  at  the  first  session  of  the  [Buncombe]  county  court  we 
find  it  'Ordered  that  William  Davidson  have  liberty  to  build 
a  grist  mill  on  Swannanoa,  near  his  saw  mill.  Provided  he 
builds  said  mill  on  his  own  land.'  This  was  in  April,  1792. 
In  January,  1793,  it  was  'Ordered  that  John  Burton  have 
liberty  to  build  a  Grist  mill  on  his  own  land,  on  a  branch  of 
French  Broad  River,  near  Nathan  Smith's,  below  the  mouth 
of  Swannanoa,'  Apparently  Davidson's  mill  was  not  built, 
*'but  John  Burton's  was  on  Glenn's  creek  a  short  distance 
above  its  mouth. " 

When  the  Clock  Stopped.  There  were  a  few  old  seven- 
day  clocks  brought  by  the  first  settlers,  but  as  a  rule  watches 
and  clocks  were  few.  Men  and  women  learned  to  guess  the 
time  with  some  accuracy  by  looking  at  the  sun  on  clear  days, 
and  guessing  at  it  on  cloud}^  Following  is  a  description  of  the 
usual  time-piece  :  "The  clock  consisted  of  a  knife  mark,  ex- 
tending north  from  one  of  the  door-facings  across  the  punch- 
eon next  to  it.  When  the  mark  divided  the  sunshine  that 
fell  in  at  the  door  from  the  shadow  of  the  facing,  it  was  noon. 
All  other  hours  were  guessed  at  :  on  cloudy  days  the  clock 
stopped."  2^ 

Culture  and  Manufacture  of  Flax.  The  flax  seed  were 
sown  thick,  and  when  the  plant  was  mature  it  was  pulled  up 
by  the  roots  and  spread  on  the  ground  to  dry.  Then  it  was 
bound  in  bundles  and  pilaced  in  a  dry  place  till  the  envelope 
surrounding  the  fiber  was  decomposed.  Sometimes  it  was 
scattered  over  the  snow  to  bleach  the  lint.  It  was  then  re- 
bound in  small  bundles  and  when  the  farmer  was  ready  it 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  283 

was  opened  and  placed  on  the  "brake,"  which  consisted  of 
four  or  five  wooden  slats  parallel  to  each  other  through  which 
wooden  knives  passed,  driving  the  flax  stems  between.  After 
the  flax  was  thus  broken  a  handful  of  it  was  placed  on  the 
end  of  an  upright  board  which  had  been  driven  into  the  ground, 
and  struck  smartly  by  a  wooden  swingling  knife  in  order  to 
knock  off  the  small  pieces  of  straw  from  the  fiber.  Then  the 
fiber  was  drawn  through  the  hackle,  which  consisted  of  a 
board  from  whose  surface  projected  five  or  six  inches  a  row 
of  iron  spikes,  which  served  to  separate  the  tow  from  the  flax. 
The  tiax  was  then  spun  on  the  low  wheels,  now  sometimes 
seen  in  drawing  rooms,  gilded  and  beribboned,  but  never  used. 
Then  it  was  wound  on  spools  from  which  it  was  reeled  into 
hanks.  In  the  elder  day  the  women  had  to  count  the  revo- 
lutions of  the  reels,  but  before  the  Civil  War  a  device  was 
invented  by  which,  after  100  revolutions,  the  reel  would 
crack,  and  the  housewife  thus  knew  a  hank  had  been  reeled 
off.  The  flax  thread  was  then  ready  to  be  spooled  and  placed 
on  the  warping  bars  from  which  it  was  wound  on  the  beam  of 
the  loom.  From  this  beam  it  was  put  through  gears  and 
slays  of  split  reeds,  thus  making  the  warp.  After  this,  other 
flax  thread  was  reeled  off  on  quills  from  the  hanks  and  placed 
in  shuttles  which  were  shot  through  the  warp  as  the  tread 
opened  it,  and  the  thread  thus  placed  between  the  warp  was 
driven  back  against  the  first  thread  by  means  of  the  battern, 
thus  making  loose  cloth.  Wool  was  shorn,  washed,  dried, 
picked,  carded,  spun,  reeled  on  to  brooches  with  shuck  cores 
from  the  spinning  wheel,  when  it  was  ready  to  be  woven  or 
knitted. 

Churches  and  Schools.  The  early  settlers  were  Scotch- 
Irish,  as  a  whole,  and  their  descendants  are  a  hardy,  hospit- 
able and  enterprising  pouplation.  They  were  about  equally 
divided  in  the  War  between  the  States  and  are  still  almost 
equally  divided  in  politics.  Until  the  coming  of  the  railroads 
there  had  been  necessarily  much  of  primitiveness  in  their 
houses,  clothing  and  manners;  but  religion  has  always  been  a 
strong  and  controUing  factor  in  their  lives.  Churches  have 
always  existed  here;  but  school-houses  had  been  few  and 
small  and  very  little  attention  had  been  given  to  education. 
But,  since  the  railroads  have  penetrated  into  this  region,  all 
this  has  changed,  and  dwelling  houses  have  improved,  cloth- 


284        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ing  and  manners  have  changed,  and  it  is  the  exception  nowa- 
days to  find  a  boy  or  girl  of  twelve  years  of  age  who  cannot 
read  and  write. 

Militia  Muster  Days.  On  the  second  Saturday  of  Oc- 
tober each  year  there  was  a  general  muster  at  each  county 
seat,  when  the  various  companies  drilled  in  battalion  or  regi- 
mental formation;  and  each  separate  company  met  on  its 
local  muster  grounds  quarterly,  and  on  the  fourth  of  July 
the  commanding  officers  met  at  the  court  house  to  drill.  The 
Big  Musters  called  most  of  the  people  together,  and  there  was 
much  fun  and  many  rough  games  to  beguile  the  time.  Cider 
and  ginger  cakes  were  sold,  and  many  men  got  drunk.  There 
was  also  some  fighting,  but  seldom  with  stones  or  weapons. 

Salable  Products.  Apples,  hog  meat,  deer  hams,  chest- 
nuts, chinquapins,  butter,  honey,  wax,  lard,  eggs  were  the 
commodities  they  usually  took  to  market,  returning  heavily 
laden  with  salt,  yarn,  pins,  needles,  tools,  crockery  ware,  am- 
munition and  a  few  cooking  utensils.  They  relied  principally 
upon  herbs  for  such  medicines  as  they  used;  they  wove  their 
own  cloth  upon  hand  looms,  spinning  the  wool  into  thread 
and  hetcheling  or  hatcheling  out  the  flax.  As  sewing  machines 
had  not  yet  been  invented,  the  women  and  girls  cut  out  and 
sewed  together  all  the  garments  used  by  themselves,  their 
children  and  "  the  men  folks"  generally. 

No  Money.  According  to  Col.  A.  T.  Davidson  in  The 
Lyceum,  for  January,  1891,  the  older  people  "had  no  money 
to  buy  with.  .  .  .  All  the  necessaries  of  life  were  pro- 
cured from  the  markets  in  Georgia  and  South  Carolina.  It 
was  a  three  weeks'  trip  with  a  wagon  to  Augusta,  Georgia. 
For  this  market  the  neighborhood  would  bunch  their  prod- 
ucts, bring  their  forces  together  and  make  trips  to  Augusta 
loaded  with  bacon,  peltries  and  such  other  marketable  arti- 
cles as  would  bear  transportation  in  this  simple  way.  The 
return  for  these  products  was  sugar,  coffee,  salt  and  molasses; 
and  happy  was  the  family  on  the  return  of  the  wagons  to  be 
able  to  have  a  jugful  of  New  Orleans  black  molasses.  And 
how  happy  the  children  were  to  meet  their  fathers  and  broth- 
ers again,  and  have  them  recite  the  many  stories  of  the  trip. 
We  then  bought  salt  by  the  measure,  a  bushel  weighing  about 
seventy  pounds.  The  average  price  on  the  return  of  the 
wagon  was  about  three  dollars  per  bushel.     It  was  interesting 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  285 

to  see  the  people  meet  to  get  from  the  wagons  their  portion 
of  the  retvu-n  load;  and  happy  was  the  small  family  that  got 
a  half  hushel  of  salt,  oO  cents  worth  of  coffee  and  a  gallon  of 
molasses.  There  was  a  general  rejoicing,  all  going  home  sat- 
isfied and  happy,  content  with  their  small  cargoes,  confident 
that  they  hatl  enough  to  do  them  for  the  next  year.  It  is 
remarkable  how  simply  and  carefully  they  lived,  and  with 
what  earnestness  and  hope  they  went  to  their  daily  toil,  ex- 
pecting nothing  more  than  this  small  contribution  to  their 
luxury  for  a  year  to  come. 

Stock  Raising.-'  "The  borders  in  the  valley  of  Virginia 
and  on  the  western  highlands  of  the  Carolinas  were  largely 
engaged  in  raising  horses,  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs,  which  grazed 
at  ^^^ll  upon  the  broad  slopes  of  the  eastern  foothills  of  the 
Alleghanies,  most  of  them  being  in  as  wild  a  state  as  the  great 
roving  herds  now  to  be  seen  upon  the  semi-arid  plains  of  the 
far  West."  The  same  occupation  was  followed  by  those  who 
passed  west  of  the  foothills  of  the  Alleghanies,  and  is  kept 
up  till  this  day.  Those  who  had  bought  up  the  wild  lands  at 
low  figures  encouraged  cattle  herders  to  pasture  or  "range" 
their  stock  there.  In  the  first  place  it  gained  their  good  will, 
and  in  the  second  it  enabled  landowners  to  become  aware  of 
the  presence  of  any  squatters  who  might  seek  to  hold  by  ad- 
verse possession.  Two  other  reasons  were  that  landowners 
could  not  have  prevented  the  ranging  of  cattle  except  by  fenc- 
ing in  their  lands,  an  impossible  task  at  that  time,  and  the 
suppression  of  fires  in  their  incipiency.  Certain  it  is,  that  all 
sorts  of  stock  were  turned  into  the  mountains  in  May,  where 
they  remained  till  October,  with  weekly  visits  from  their  own- 
ers for  purposes  of  salting  and  keeping  them  gentle.  After 
awhile  a  market  was  found  on  the  coast  for  the  cows,  sheep, 
horses  and  hogs,  and  they  were  driven  there  in  the  late  sum- 
mer and  during  the  fall.  "There  annually  passed  through 
Buncombe  county  an  average  of  150,000  hogs,  driven  on  foot 
about  eight  miles  daily,  which  required  24  bushels  daily  for 
each  1,000  and  were  fed  on  corn  raised  in  Buncombe."-^ 

Stock  "Stands."  There  were  many  "stock  stands"  along 
the  French  Broad  river  in  ante-railroad  days,  for  the  turnpike 
from  Asheville  to  the  Paint  Rock  was  a  much  traveled  thor- 
oughfare. Its  stockholders  made  money,  so  great  was  the 
travel.  -  ^     James  Garrett  had  -a  stand  about  one  mile  below 


286        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

the  Hot  Springs.  Then  there  was  another  opposite  the  Hot 
Springs,  known  as  the  White  House,  and  kept  by  the  late 
John  E.  Patton.  At  the  mouth  of  Laurel  creek  was  still 
another  stand  kept  by  David  Farnsworth.  Just  above  the 
railroad  station  now  called  Putnam's  is  where  Woolsey  had 
a  stand,  while  Zach.  Candler  had  another  at  Sandy  Bottoms. 
Then  came  Hezekiah  A.  Barnard's  stand  at  what  is  still  called 
Barnards,  though  it  used  to  be  called  "Barnetts, "  and  oppo- 
site the  mouth  of  Pine  creek  Samuel  Chunn  gave  bed  and 
board  to  the  weary  drovers  and  feed  to  "his  dumb  driven" 
cattle,  sheep,  hogs,  horses,  mules  or  turkeys.  At  the  lower 
end  of  what  is  now  Marshall,  Joseph  Rice  lived  and  at  the 
upper  end  of  that  narrow  village  David  Vance  kept  a  tav- 
ern— a  long  one — probably  150  feet  in  length,  huddled  be- 
tween the  stage  road  and  the  mountains.  Samuel  Smith 
accommodated  all  travelers  and  their  belongings  at  the  mouth 
of  Ivy,  and  Mitchell  Alexander  was  the  Boniface  at  Alex- 
ander's. 

Hezekiah  Barnard  used  to  boast  that,  while  David  Vance  at 
Lapland,  now  Marshall,  had  fed  90,000  hogs  in  one  month, 
he  himself  had  fed  110,000  in  the  same  period  of  time. 
Aquilla  Young,  of  Kentucky,  also  made  his  boast — he  had 
driven  2,785  hogs  from  Kentucky  to  North  Carolina  in  a 
single  drove.  ^ " 

Old  Road  Houses.  "The  stock  stands,  as  the  hotels  be- 
tween Asheville  and  Warm  Springs  were  called,  were  generally 
'well  kept.'  They  began  four  miles  below  Asheville,  at  five 
miles  there  was  another,  at  seven  and  a  half  miles  still  an- 
other, at  ten  another,  and  another  at  thirteen  and  a  half. 
After  this,  at  16,  18,  21,  22,  28,  33,  36,  37,  40  and  47  mile- 
posts  there  were  still  other  hotels.  "Many  of  them  have 
entirely  gone,  and  actually  the  ground  upon  which  some  of 
them  stood  has  disappeared.  The  road,  with  a  few  points 
excepted,  is  but  a  A\Teck  of  its  former  self.  It  was  once  a 
great  connecting  link  between  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  South 
Carolina  and  Georgia,  and  the  travel  over  it  was  immense. 
All  the  horses,  mules,  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs  were  driven  over 
this  route  from  the  first  mentioned  States  to  the  latter,  and 
the  quantities  of  each  and  all  used  then  was  very  much 
greater  than  now.  In  October,  November  and  December 
there  was    an    almost  continuous  string  of  hogs  from  Paint 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  287 

Rock  to  Asheville.  1  have  known  ten  to  twelve  droves,  con- 
taining from  300  to  one  or  two  thousand  stop  over  night  and 
feed  at  one  of  these  stands  or  hotels.  Each  drove  was  'lot- 
ted' to  itself,  and  'corned'  by  the  wagon-load,  the  wagon 
being  driven  through  each  lot  with  ten  or  a  dozen  men  scat- 
tering the  corn  right,  left  and  rear,  the  load  emptied  and  the 
ground  literally  covered.  The  drivers  of  these  hogs  were 
furnished  large  rooms,  with  immense  log-heap  fire-places  and 
a  blanket  or  two  each,  that  they  furnished  themselves.  They 
would  form  a  semi-circle  upon  the  bare  floor,  their  feet  to  the 
fire,  and  thus  pass  the  night;  that  they  slept,  I  need  not  tell 
you.  After  driving  20  to  50  hogs  from  daylight  to  dark  they 
could  eat  without  coaxing  and  sleep  without  rocking.  The 
travel  over  this  thoroughfare  was  the  life  of  the  country."'' 

Old  Time  Country  Stores.  "Corn,  sixty  years  ago,  was 
'the  staple  production';  the  culture  of  tobacco  was  not 
thought  of.  These  hotel  men,  manj'  of  them,  kept  little 
stores,  bartered  or  sold  everything  on  a  credit;  and  in  the  fall 
they  would  advertise  that  on  certain  days  they  would  receive 
corn  in  payment  of  'store  accounts,'  and  then  the  farmers 
would  bestir  themselves.  They  would  commence  dehvering 
frequently  by  daylight  and  continue  it  until  midnight.  I 
have  seen  these  corn  wagons  strung  out  for  a  mile  and  as 
thick  as  they  could  be  wedged.  They  were  more  anxious  to 
pay  accounts  then  than  some  of  us  are  now;  but  it  was  pay 
or  no  credit  next  year.  Each  merchant  had  his  'trade,' 
and  there  was  no  getting  in  debt  to  one  and  then  skip  to  an- 
other. The  price  allowed  for  corn  was  almost  invariably 
fifty  cents  per  bushel,  the  hotel  men  furnishing  it  to  drovers 
at  about  75  cents.  They  charged  the  drovers  from  twenty 
to  twenty-five  cents  'per  diet,'  meaning  per  meal  for  their 
drivers,  asking  the  whole  in  lame  hogs  at  so  much  per  pound, 
or  a  due-bill  from  the  manager  to  be  paid  as  he  returned  home 
after  having  made  sale  of  his  stock,  cash  being  only  rarely  if 
ever  paid.  These  lame  hogs  taken  on  bills  were  kept  until 
a  suitable  time  for  killing — a  cold  spell  being  necessary  to 
save  the  meat — when  they  were  slaughtered  and  converted 
into  bacon  and  lard. " ' ' 

Hog-Killin'  Time.  "This  hog  killin'  was  a  big  time,  and 
'away  'fo'  day'  as  the  negroes,  who  were  the  principal  partic- 
ipants, would  say,  twenty  to  thirty  hands  would  build  im- 


288        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

mense  log-heap  fires;  \\'ith,  first,  a  layer  of  wood  and  then  a 
layer  of  stones,  which  continued  till  satisfactory  dimensions 
were  reached,  when  the  fire  was  applied  and  kept  burning 
until  the  stones  reached  a  red-heat.  In  the  meantime,  a 
platform  would  have  been  made  out  of  puncheons,  slabs  or 
heavy  plank,  at  one  end  of  which  and  very  near  the  fire  a 
large  hogshead  (or  scalding  tub),  filled  with  water,  was  placed. 
Then  the  hot  stones  were  transferred  to  the  water  till  a  proper 
temperature  for  scalding  was  reached,  and  a  certain  number 
of  hogs  having  been  shot  and  'stuck'  (bled  by  sticking  long 
knives  in  the  throat),  two  stout  men  would  plunge  each  hog 
into  the  hot  water  and  twist  and  turn  it  about  until  the  hair 
would  'slip,'  when  it  would  be  drawn  out  and  turned  over 
to  other  hands,  who,  with  knives,  would  remove  all  the  hair 
from  the  hog,  and  then  hang  it  by  its  hind  legs,  head  down, 
on  a  long  horizontal  pole,  where  it  would  we  washed  and 
scraped  down,  opened,  the  entrails  removed,  and  after  cool- 
ing, be  cut  to  pieces,  thus  making  hams,  shoulders  and  mid- 
dlings. Then  it  would  be  salted  down,  the  fat  having  been 
taken  from  all  parts.  This  fat  was  stewed  into  lard,  from 
which  the  boy's  dainty  'cracklings'  was  removed.  How  well 
I  remember  the  enjoyment  I  had  on  these  occasions,  in  broil- 
ing upon  the  hot  stones  the  'melts,'  making  a  delicacy  that 
I  think  would  be  relished  even  now;  and  in  blowing  up  and 
bursting  the  'bladders,'  frequently  saving  up  a  lot  of  them 
for  Christmas  'guns.'  "  ^ ^ 

Our  Depots  Sixty  Years  Ago.  "Forty  years  ago  Char- 
leston and  Augusta  were  our  depots;  think  of  it — thirty  to 
sixty  days  in  going  and  returning  from  market!  Our  people 
then  thought  little  or  nothing  of  hitching  up  four  or  six  mules, 
once  or  twice  a  year,  and  starting  to  market  .  .  .  with 
forty  to  fifty  hundred  pounds  of  bacon  and  lard,  flour  and 
corn  meal,  dried  fruit,  apples  and  chestnuts  .  .  .  and 
bring  back  a  barrel  or  two  of  molasses  and  sugar,  a  keg  or 
so  of  rice,  a  few  sacks  of  salt  and  coffee,  a  little  iron,  a  hun- 
dred or  two  pounds  of  nails  and  a  box  or  so  of  dry-goods. "  ^  ^ 

Roads  Sixty  Years  Ago.  "But  the  roads  then  were 
charming.  I  can  remember  when  the  road  from  Asheville  to 
Warm  Springs,  every  foot  of  it,  was  better  than  any  half-mile 
of  Asheville  streets.  Old  Colonel  Cunningham's  'mule  and 
cart'  and  two  or  three  hands  traversed  it  from  beginning  to 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  289 


end  of  year,  removing  every  loose  stone  and  smoothing  up 
every  place.  All  travel  was  then  by  private  conveyance  or 
stage,  there  being  several  four-horse  coaches  out  from  Ashe- 
ville  daily. "  ^  ■• 

Agriculture  and  Wit  Sixty  Years  Ago.  Of  tho  farming 
along  the  French  Broad  between  Ashoville  and  Warm  Springs 
sixty  years  ago,  we  road  that  "the  lands  were  in  a  high  state 
of  cultivation,  exceedingly  high  a  great  deal  of  it,  as  one  would 
infer  in  passing  along  the  foot  of  many  steep  hills  and  looking 
up  to  the  top,  seemingly  almost  perpendicular;  and  yet  I  have 
ploughed  over  some  of  the  worst  of  them  many  a  day,  and 
was  often  indignant  at  the  surprise  expressed  and  sarcastic 
remarks  made  by  the  passer-by.  One  would  ask  if  we  did 
our  planting  with  'shot-guns'!  Another,  when  were  we  go- 
ing to  move,  as  he  saw  that  we  had  our  land  rolled  up  ready 
for  a  start!  The  Kentucky  horse-drovers  would  say  the  water 
of  the  French  Broad  was  so  worn  out  by  splashing  and  dash- 
ing over  and  against  the  rocks  that  it  was  actually  not  fit 
for  a  horse  to  drink!" 

Herbs  and  Roots.  Ginseng  was  for  years  the  principal 
herb  that  commanded  cash  in  this  section,  but  at  first  it 
brought,  when  green,  only  seven  cents  a  pound.  It  is  now 
worth  six  dollars  or  more. '  ^  But  gradually  a  market  was 
developed  for  many  other  native  herbs,  such  as  angelico, 
blood  root,  balm  of  gilead  buds,  yellow  and  white  sarsaparilla, 
shamonium  (Jamestowm  or  gympsum  weed),  corn  silk  (from 
maize),  corn-smut  or  ergot,  hverwort,  lobelia,  wahoo  bark, 
Solomon's  seal,  polk  root  and  berries,  pepper  and  spear-mint, 
poppy  and  rose  leaves,  and  raspberry  leaves.  Dried  black- 
berries since  the  Civil  War  also  find  a  ready  market.  Arthur 
Cole  on  Gap  creek  in  Ashe  county  once  did  an  immense  l)usi- 
ness  in  herbs,  and  the  large  warehouses  still  standing  there 
were  used  to  store  the  herbs  which  he  baled  and  shipped 
north.  Ferns,  galax  leaves  and  other  evergreens  are  gathered 
by  women  in  the  fall  and  winter  and  find  ready  sale. 

A  Low  rvIoNEY  Wage.  Laborers  and  lawyers  were  poorly 
paid  in  the  old  days,  and  the  doctors  of  medicine  fared  httle 
better.  A  fee  of  one  hundred  dollars  in  a  capital  case  was 
considered  the  "top  notch"  by  many  leaders  of  the  bar,  while 
the  late  David  Ballard  of  Ox  creek.  Buncombe  county,  who 
died  about  1905  at  the  age  of  eighty-odd  years,  used  to  say 

W.  N.  C— 19 


290        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

that,  when  he  was  a  young  man,  he  "had  worked  many  a 
day  for  25  cents  a  day  and  found  himself."  But  25  cents  in 
those  days  would  buy  more  than  a  dollar  would  now,  and,  as 
most  of  the  trading  was  by  barter,  money  was  not  missed  as 
much  as  might  be  imagined.  Stores  were  few  and  most  of 
the  things  we  now  consider  indispensable  were  unknown  to 
many  of  the  poorer  people.  Besides,  everything  that  was 
indispensable  was  made  at  home,  and  things  that  were  not 
indispensable  were  cheerfully  dispensed  with. 

Dyes.  Madder  dyed  red;  walnut  bark  and  roots  dyed 
brown;  bedewood  bark  dyed  purple;  dye-flowers  and  snuff 
weed  dyed  yellow;  copperas  dyed  yellow,  and  burnt  copperas 
dyed  nearly  red.  All  black  dyes  rot  wool.  Dyes  fade  unless 
"set"  in  the  thread — that  is,  made  fast  before  the  thread  is 
placed  in  the  loom.  Laurel  leaves,  copperas,  alum,  and  salt 
set  dyes.  The  ooze  from  boiled  walnut  roots  and  bark  was 
used  to  dye  the  wool  before  it  was  spun.  It  was  dipped  and 
dried,  and  dipped  and  dried  again  and  again  till  the  proper 
color  had  been  attained.  The  dye  pot  stood  on  the  hearth 
nearly  all  the  time,  as  it  had  to  be  kept  warm.  Some  dye 
plants  were  grown  in  the  gardens,  but  they  usually  grew  wild. 

NOTES. 

iThe  Century  Magazine  for  September,  1890. 

sAsheville's  Centenary. 

3Fifth  Eth.,  Rep.  147. 

^Roosevelt,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  225. 

^Asheville's  Centenary. 

sThwaites,  p.  30. 

'Hominy  creek  in  Buncombe  got  its  name  from  a  hominy  mill  with  a  pestle  worked  by 
water. 

sThese  graters  are  still  used  in  many  places. 

sThwaites,  p.  32. 

loThwaites,  p.  32.  The  late  Col.  Allen  T.  Davidson  used  to  tell  of  a  famous  hunter 
named  "Neddy"  McFalls  who  traveled  from  Cataloochee  to  Waynesville  to  have  a  witch 
doctor — a  woman — remove  a  "spell"  he  thought  someone  had  put  on  his    Gillespie  rifle. 

ii"Book  of  Hand-woven  Coverlets,"  by  Eliza  Calvert  Hall. 

i^CoUier's  Editorial,  April  6,  1912.     John  Fox,  Jr.'s  novels. 

"The  murder  of  the  gambler,  Rosenthal,  in  August,  1912,  on  Broadway,  New 
York,  N.  Y. 

uTarbell,  Vol.  I,  p.  5 

isByrd,  212. 

i^Zeigler  &  Grosscup,  p.  96. 

I'Ibid.,  94-96. 

i^There  is  a  spinning-wheel  on  Grassy  Branch  in  Buncombe  county  on  which  PoUy 
Henry  spun  mon^  thread  than  Judge  Burton's  daughter  in  1824. 

I'Asheville's  Centenary. 

2  "Ibid. 

siProm  "A  Life  of  Deacon  William  West  Skiles." 

22Asheville's  Centenary. 

^^Description  furnished  by  Col.  David  J.  Farthing  of  Butler,  Tenn.  This  applies  only 
to  the  guns  whose  barrels  were  not  bored  out.  The  late  Col.  Allen  T.  Davidson  used  to 
tell  of  a  famous  gun-maker,  who  lived  near  Cherry  Fields  at  the  head  of  the  French  Broad 
river,  whose  "rifle  guns"  were  much  sought.  The  iron  bars  from  which  they  were  made 
were  called  "gunskelps."     His  name  was  Gillespie. 

24Mace's  "School  History  of  U.  S.,"  1904,  p.  287. 

2  ^Asheville's  Centenary. 

26"Balsam  Groves,"  p.  17. 

2'Thwaites,  p.  35. 

28A.  T.  Summey  in  Ashe\'ille's  Centenary. 

29John  A.  Nichols'  statement  to  J.  P.  A.,  July,  1912. 


MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  291 


y  ••Upon  the  organization  of  the  Western  Division  of  the  W.  N.  C.  R.  R.  Co.,  the  stock 
and  property  ol  the  Huncoinbe  Turnpike  Co.  wen-  exchanged  for  an  equal  amount  of  stock 
in  tho  Western  Division.     Shipp'.s  Liuid  Com.  Report,  pp.  284-285. 

t"Col.  J.  .\t.  Ray  in  Lyceum,  p.  16,  December,  1890. 
1^  »nbid..  p.  17. 
t.4>''>Ibid.,  p.  16. 

JQj  >«The  reference  was  to  a  time  .shortly  before  any  pnvinK  had  been  done  in  Aslieville. 
•  K-  "In  the  ".Autobiography  of  Rev.  C.  D.  Smith,"  p.  2,  we  find  that  gin-seng  was  "  manu- 
factured," and  Col.  A.  T.  Davidson  in  the  Lyceum  for  Jaiiuary,  1891,  p.  5,  speaks  of  the 
"factory."  Dr.  Smith  also  says  this  herb  was  gathered  "in  Nladison,  Yancey,  a  portion 
of  Buncombe,  Mitchell,  Watauga,  .\she,  and  .\llogliany  counties."  Col.  Davidson  speaks 
of  Dr.  Ilailen  and  Dr.  Smith,  of  Lucius  &  Heylin  of  Philadelphia,  as  the  merchants  to  whom 
it  was  shipped.  • 


CHAPTER  XII 

EXTRAORDINARY    EVENTS 

JuNALUSKA.     In  the  fall  of  1910  the  General  Joseph  Wm- 
ston  Chapter,  D.  A.  R.,  unveiled  at  Robbinsville,  Graham 
county,  a  metal  tablet,  suitably  inscribed,  to  Junaluska  and 
Nicie  his  wife.     The  tablet  was  attached  to  a  large  boulder 
which  had  been  placed  on  the  graves  of  these  two  Cherokees. 
Mrs.  George  B.  Walker  of  Robbinsville  read  a  paper  in  which 
was  given  the  chief  facts  of  the  career  of  this  noted  Indian 
chieftain;  among  which  was  the  recovery  by  him  of  an  Indian 
maiden  who  had  been  sold  into  slavery  and  taken  to  Charles- 
ton, S.  C,  by  proving  by  microscopic  tests  that  her  hair  had 
none  of  the  characteristics  of  the  negro's.     He  also,  on  sep- 
arate occasions,  saved  the  lives  of    Rev.  Washington  Lovin- 
good  and  Gabriel  North,  whom  he  found  perishing  from  cold  in 
the  mountains.     He  went  with  the  Cherokees  to  the  west  in 
1838,  but  returned,  and  was  allowed  to  remain,  the  legislature 
of  North  Carolina  of  1847  having,  by  special  act,  made  him  a 
citizen  and  granted  him  337  acres  of  land  near  what  is  now 
Robbinsville.     The    Battle    of   the    Horse    Shoe    was    fought 
August  27,   1814,  according  to  Alfred  M.  Williams'  Life  of 
Sam  Houston  (p.  13),  and  on  March  27th,  according  to  others. 
It  was  called  the  Battle  of  To-ho-pe-ka,  and  was  fought  in  a 
bend  of  the  Tallapoosa  river,  Alabama,  by  Gen.  Andrew  Jack- 
son in  the  Creek  War.     It  was  fortified  across  the  neck  of  the 
peninsula  by  a  fort  of  logs   against  which  Jackson's  small 
cannon  were  ineffective.     But  in  the  rear  there  were  no  forti- 
fications except  the  river  itself,  so  that  Gen.  Coffey,  Jackson's 
coadjutor,  could  not  cross.     But  Junaluska  sw^am  the  river 
and  stole  the  canoes  of  the  Creeks,  strung  them  together  and 
paddled  them  to  the  opposite  shore,  where  he  filled  them  with 
a  large  number  of  Cherokees,  recrossed  the  river,  led  by  him- 
self, and  attacked  in  the  rear  while  Jackson  attacked  in  front, 
Sam  Houston  and  his  Tennesseans  scaling  the  walls  and  grap- 
pling the  Creeks  hand  to  hand.     The  Creeks  asked  and  received 
no    quarter,    Houston    himself    being    desperately    wounded. 
This  ended  the  last  hope  of  the  Creeks  as  a  nation.     I-su-nu- 
la-hun-ski,  which  has  been  improved  into  Junaluska,  is  Cher- 

(292) 


EXTRAORDINARY  EVENTS  293 


okee  for  "I  tried  but  failed,"  and  was  given  this  chief  because 
at  the  outset  of  the  Creek  War  lie  had  boasted  that  he  would 
exterminate  the  Creeks,  but,  at  first,  had  failed  to  keep  his 
promise.     The    following    is    the    inscription    on    the    tablet: 
"Here  lie  the  bodies  of  the  Cherokee  chief  Junalusku,  and 
Nicie,  his  ^\ife.    Together  with  his  warriors,  he  saved  the  life 
of  General  Jackson,  at  the  Battle  of  Horseshoe  Bend,  and  for 
his  bravery  and  faithfulness  North  Carolina  made  him  a  citi- 
zen and  gave  him  land  in  Graham  county.      He  died  Novem- 
ber 20,  1858,  aged  more  than  one  hundred  years.     This  monu- 
ment was  erected  to  his  Memory  by  the  General  Joseph  Win- 
ston Chapter,  D.  A.  R.,  1910."     Before  his  death  Junaluska 
conveyed  his  land  to  R.  M.  Henry.     But  Sheriff  Hayes  admin- 
istered on  the  estate  of  the  deceased  Indian  and  got  an  order 
from  the  court  for  the  sale  of  the  land  to  make  assets.     Under 
the  sale  Gen.  Smythe  of  Ohio  became  the  purchaser,  and  took 
possession.     The  case  was  carried  to  the  United  States  court, 
where  Henry  won.     But  Judge  Dick  held  that  it  was  a  case 
in  equity,  and  set  aside  the  verdict  of  the  jury,  heard  the 
evidence  himself  and  decided  it  in  favor  of  Smythe.     Henry 
did  not  appeal.     See  record  in  office  of  clerk  of  United  States 
court,  Asheville.     It  was  decided  in  the  seventies. 

Peyton  Colvard.  This  pioneer  was  of  French  extraction, 
the  name  originally  having  been  spelt  Calvert,  according  to 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Verdigans  of  the  Methodist  Church,  South. 
Peyton  Colvard  came  to  Ashe  county  after  the  Revolutionary 
War.  The  Colvards  of  Cherokee  and  Graham  are  descend- 
ants, as  is  also  Dr.  J.  W.  Colvard  of  Jefferson,  Ashe  county. 

Part  of  Negro  Mountain  Falls.  About  the  year  1830 
Peyton  Colvard  lived  in  a  log  building  which  stood  on  the  site 
of  the  present  Jefferson  Cash  store  of  Dr.  Testerman,  and  on 
the  morning  of  February  19,  1827,  the  day  his  daughter  Rachel, 
now  the  wife  of  Russell  Wilbar  of  Texas,  was  born,  a  huge  mass 
of  rock  fell  from  the  top  of  Negro  mountain  and  ploughed  a 
deep  furrow,  still  visible,  do\\Ti  its  side  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 
The  main  mass  of  this  rock,  almost  intact,  is  still  visible,  with 
a  small  tree  growing  on  it,  while  large  trees  have  since  grown 
in  the  ravine  left  by  the  fall  of  this  immense  boulder. 

The  Falling  of  the  Stars.  Several  people  still  living 
remember  this  wonderful  and  fearful  event.  Col.  John  C. 
Smathers,  who  then  lived  on  Pigeon  river  above  Canton,  remem- 


294        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

bers  it  distinctly.  He  remembers  hearing  women  wailing  and 
men  praying.  Francis  Marion  Wells,  still  living  on  Grass 
creek  in  Madison  county,  remembers  it  also.  He  is  now  over 
ninety-two  years  of  age.  Mrs.  Eliza  Burleson,  still  living  on 
the  head  of  Cane  creek  in  Mitchell  county,  remembers  the 
occurrence.     She   also  is  over  ninety-two  years  of  age. 

Frankie  Silver's  Crime  and  Confession.  According 
to  Mrs.  Lucinda  Norman,  the  only  living  sister  of  Charles 
Silver,  now  (1912)  88  years  of  age  and  residing  at  Ledger, 
Mitchell  county,  N.  C,  Frances  Stewart  Silver  murdered  her 
husband,  Charles  Silver,  at  what  is  now  Black  Mountain 
Station  on  the  Carohna,  Clinchfield  and  Ohio  Railroad — the 
mouth  of  the  South  Toe  river — on  the  night  of  December  22, 
1831.  ^  She  was  tried  before  Judge  Donnell,  June  Term,  1832, 
and  convicted  at  Morganton,  where  she  was  executed  July 
12,  1833.  On  appeal  her  conviction  was  affirmed  by  Judge 
Ruffin  (14  N.  C,  332).  She  escaped  from  jail  but  was  recap- 
tured. She  cut  her  husband's  head  off  with  an  ax,  and  then 
dismembered  the  body,  after  which  she  tried  to  burn  portions 
of  it  in  the  open  fireplace  of  her  home.  She  left  a  poem  lament- 
ing her  fate,  in  which  she  refers  to  "the  jealous  thought  that 
first  gave  strife  to  make  me  take  my  husband's  life."  She 
also  pleads  that  her  "faults  shall  not  her  child  disgrace."  She 
also  relates  in  the  poem  that 

"With  flames  I  tried  him  to  consume 
But  time  would  not  admit  it  done. " 

She  must  have  been  educated  better  than  the  average  woman 
of  that  day.  Finding  that  she  could  not  get  rid  of  the  body 
by  burning  it,  she  concealed  portions  of  it  under  the  floor,  in 
rock  cliffs  and  elsewhere,  claiming  that  he  had  gone  off  for 
whiskey  with  which  to  celebrate  Christmas,  and  had  probably 
fallen  into  the  river,  which  had  soon  thereafter  frozen  over. 
A  negro  with  a  "magic  glass"  was  brought  from  Tennessee, 
and  as  the  glass  persisted  in  turning  downward,  the  floor  was 
removed  and  portions  of  the  body  found.  The  weather 
growing  warmer  other  parts  of  the  remains  revealed  them- 
selves, a  little  dog  helping  to  find  some. 

Two  Baird  Families.  Indicative  of  the  almost  utter 
desolation  of  these  early  scattered  mountain  communities  is 
the  story  of  the  two  Baird  families.     On  the  20th  of  April, 


EXTRAORDINARY  EVENTS  295 

1795,  John  Burton  sold  to  Zcbulon  and  Bedent  Baird  all  his 
lots  in  Asheville  "except  what  lots  is  [already]  sold  and  maid 
over. "  ^  In  1819  Bedent  Baird  represented  Ashe  county  in  the 
House  of  Commons.  He  was  not  the  Bedent  who  had  bought 
the  lots  from  John  Burton.  ••  Certain  it  is  that  another  Bedent 
Baird  lived  at  Valle  Crucis  in  what  is  now  Ashe  county,  and 
his  descendants  constitute  a  large  and  influential  family  in 
that  county  at  this  time,  just  as  the  Bairds  of  Buncombe  do 
in  that  county.  But  these  two  families  seem  never  to  have 
heard  of  the  existence  of  the  other  till  the  28th  of  January, 
1858,  when  Bedent  E.  Baird  wrote  to  Adolphus  E.  Baird 
at  Lapland,  now  Marshall,  in  answer  to  Baird's  note  of 
enquiry,  which  he  had  penciled  on  the  margin  of  a  news- 
paper. In  that  note  he  had  claimed  Bedent  as  a  relative 
and  stated  that  he  resided  at  Lapland;  but  he  failed  to 
sign  his  name  or  state  the  county  in  which  Lapland  was 
situated.  A.  E.  Baird  received  the  letter  promptly,  but 
seems  never  to  have  answered  it.  In  it  Bedent  gave  a 
full  family  history;  and  the  letter  was  published  in  full 
in  the  Asheville  Gazette  News  on  February  20,  1912.  This 
letter  was  read  and  preserved  by  the  numerous  Bairds  in 
Buncombe  but  no  one  seems  to  be  able  to  trace  the  exact 
relationship  between  the  Buncombe  and  the  Watauga  Bairds. 
That  they  are  the  same  family  no  one  who  knows  them  can 
doubt,  as  they  look,  and,  in  many  things,  act  alike,  besides 
having  the  same  given  names  in  many  cases.  ^ 

The  Cold  Saturday.  This  date  is  fixed  in  Watauga  by  the 
fact  that  John  Hartley  was  born  on  that  day,  which  is  set 
down  in  his  family  Bible  as  February  8,  1835.  On  June  5, 
1858,  a  freeze  killed  corn  knee-high,  and  all  fruits,  vegetables 
and  white  oak  trees  between  Boone  and  Jefferson,  according 
to  the  recollections  of  Col.  W.  L.  Bryan  of  Boone.  There 
was  a  slight  frost  at  Blowing  Rock  on  the  night  of  July  2G,  1876. 
There  was  snow  on  the  Haywood  mountains  June  10,  1913. 

"The  Big  Sno"w\"  Just  when  occurred  what  old  people  call 
the  "big"  snow  cannot  be  determined  to  the  satisfaction 
of  everyone.  Mrs.  Eliza  Burleson,  of  Hawk,  Mitchell  county, 
and  the  mother  of  Charles  Wesley  Burleson  of  Plum  Tree, 
was  born  on  the  5th  of  April,  1820,  on  Three  Mile  creek,  her 
father  having  been  Bedford  Wiseman.  She  married  Thomas 
Burleson,  now  deceased,  in  1840,  and  after  the  Big  Snow,  and 


296        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

still  remembers  the  hunters  who  came  to  her  father's  house 
from  Ivlorganton  with  guns  and  dogs  and  w^ell  nigh  exter- 
minated the  deer,  which  could  not  run  on  the  frozen  surface 
of  the  deep  snow,  their  sharp  hoofs  plunging  through  the  crust, 
thus  rendering  locomotion  impossible.  Strange  to  say,  near 
this  very  place  is  now  the  largest  private  collection  of  deer  in 
the  mountains — Bailey's  deer-park  being  well  stocked,  while 
a  small  number  of  deer  still  wander  wild  in  the  neighborhood 
and  are  hunted  every  fall.  George  W.  Vanderbilt's  and  the 
Murchison  deer  parks  also  contain  a  number  of  these  animals, 
as  well  as  several  other  smaller  collections. 

"Snew,  Blew  and  Friz."  T.  L.  Lowe,  Esq.,  of  Banner 
Elk,  thinks  that  two  hundred  years  ago  elk,  moose  or  caribou 
roamed  these  mountains,  and  that  there  was  little  or  no  under- 
brush or  laurel  or  ivy  then.  He  speaks  of  a  big  snow  which 
fell  during  the  Fifties  which  recalled  Dean  Swift's  great  snow 
in  England,  when  he  said  "first  it  blew,  then  it  snew  and  then 
it  friz."  A  large  number  of  deer  were  killed  at  this  time  for 
the  same  reason,  the  frozen  crust.  In  Watauga  they  still  tell 
of  a  big  snow  which  entirely  obliterated  all  evidence  of  fences 
and  shrubbery;  but  the  year  seems  to  have  been  prior  to  1850. 

Other  Weather  Extravagancies.  From  Robert  Henry's 
diary  we  learn  that  in  "the  summer  of  1815  no  rain  fell  from 
the  8th  of  July  till  the  8th  of  September.  Trees  ched. "  Also 
that,  "on  the  28th  day  of  August,  1830,  Caney  branch  (which 
runs  by  Sulphur  spring  five  miles  west  of  Asheville)  ceased  to 
run.  Tom  ]\Ioore's  creek  and  Ragsdale's  creek  had  ceased 
to  run  some  days  before ;  the  corn  died  from  the  drouth.  This 
has  been  the  driest  summer  in  sixty  years  to  my  knowledge. 
Our  spring  ceased  to  run  for  some  weeks  previous  to  the  above 
date."  Again:  "The  summer  of  1836  was  the  wettest 
summer  in  seventy  years  in  my  remembrance."  This  is  the 
climax:  "Thursday,  Friday,  and  Saturday  next  before 
Christmas,  1794,  were  the  coldest  days  in  seventy  years," 
though  as  he  had  been  born  in  1765  he  could  not  then  have 
been  quite  thirty  years  of  age  himself. 

A  Modern  "Big  Snow."  On  the  2d  and  3d  of  December, 
1886,  a  snow  three  feet  in  depth  fell  in  Buncombe  and  adjoin- 
ing counties.  On  December  6th  the  newly  elected  officers  of 
Buncombe  county  were  required  by  law  to  present  their  offi- 
cial bonds  to  the  county  commissioners  for  approval;  but, 


EXTRAORDINARY  EVENTS  297 

owing  to  tlie  suuw,  it  was  impossible  to  travel  vwy  far.  As  a 
consequence  R.  H.  Cole,  who  had  been  elected  register  of  deeds, 
aiul  .).  v.  Hunter,  who  had  been  elected  treasurer,  could  not 
provide  bonds  acceptable  to  the  commissioners,  and  .1.  H. 
Patterson  who  had  been  defeated  was  appointed  register  of 
deeds,  and  J.  IT.  Courtney,  who  had  also  been  defeated,  was 
appointed  treasurer. 

Two  Recent  Cold  Snaps.  On  the  night  of  February 
7,  1895,  there  was  a  dangerous  fire  on  Pack  Square,  Ashe- 
ville,  threatening  for  awhile  the  entire  southeastern  section  of 
the  city.  The  thermometer  was  seven  degrees  below  zero. 
On  the  morning  of  February  13,  1899,  the  thermometer  was 
13^  below  zero  at  Asheville. 

Mount  Mitchell.  «  In  1835  Prof.  Elisha  Mitchell  made 
the  first  barometrical  measurements  of  our  mountains,  and 
his  report  was  the  first  authoritative  announcement  of  the 
superior  altitude  of  the  highest  southern  summit  to  that  of 
Mount  Washington  in  New  Hampshire.  In  1844  he  and 
Gen.  T.  L.  Clingman  took  observations  in  the  Balsam,  Smoky 
and  Black  mountains,  and  Gen.  Clingman  subsequently  pub- 
lished a  statement  to  the  effect  that  he  had  found  a  higher 
peak  in  the  Blacks  than  the  one  measured  by  Dr.  Mitchell. 
"It  was  admitted  that  Gen.  Clingman  had  measured  the  high- 
est point,  the  only  question  being  whether  that  peak  was  the 
same  as  that  previously  measured  by  Dr.  Mitchell." 

Discoverers  Dispute.  To  settle  the  matter  Dr.  Mitchell 
ran  a  series  of  levels  from  the  terminus  of  the  railroad  near 
Morganton  to  the  half-way  house  built  by  Mr.  William  Patton 
of  Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1856.  From  this  place  Dr.  Mitchell 
started  alone  to  Big  Tom  Wilson's  in  Yancey  by  the  route  he 
had  followed  in  1844.  He  intended  to  meet  his  son  Charles 
at  an  appointed  place  on  the  Blacks  the  following  Monday, 
he  having  left  the  half-way  house  Saturday,  June  27,  1857. 
His  son  waited  and  searched  for  him  till  Friday  following, 
when  news  of  the  professor's  disappearance  reached  Ashe- 
ville, and  many  men  set  out  to  search  for  him.  On  the  fol- 
lowing Tuesday  Big  Tom  Wilson,  who  had  been  the  professor's 
guide  in  1844,  discovered  his  trail  and  found  the  body  in  a 
pool  of  water  at  the  foot  of  a  waterfall,  since  called  Mitchell's 
creek  and  Mitchell's  fall.  The  body  was  taken  across  the 
top  of  the  Blacks  to  Asheville  and  there  interred  in  the  Pres- 


298        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

byterian  church  yard;  but  a  year  later  it  was  taken  back  to 
the  Peak  and  buried  there.  ^  ^ 

The  Merits  of  the  Controversy.  Dr.  Arnold  Guyot 
of  Princeton  College,  in  an  article  published  in  the  Asheville 
News,  July  18,  1860:  "The  statements  Dr.  Mitchell  made,  at 
different  times,  of  the  results  of  his  measurements  failed  to 
agree  with  each  other,  and,  owing  to  unfavorable  circum- 
stances and  the  want  of  proper  instruments,  the  precise  loca- 
tion of  the  points  measured,  especially  of  the  highest,  had 
remained  quite  indefinite,  even  in  the  mind  of  Dr.  Mitchell 
himself,  as  I  learned  it  from  his  own  mouth  in  1856.  ...  I 
may,  perhaps,  be  permitted  to  express  it  as  my  candid  opinion 
(without  wishing  in  the  least  to  revive  a  controversy  happily 
terminated)  that  if  the  honored  name  of  Dr.  Mitchell  is  taken 
from  Mount  Mitchell  and  transferred  to  the  highest  peak,  it 
should  not  be  on  the  ground  that  he  first  made  kno\vn  its 
true  elevation,  which  he  never  did,  nor  himself  ever  claimed 
to  have  done;  for  the  true  height  was  not  known  before  my 
measurement  of  1854,  and  the  coincidence  made  out  quite 
recently  may  be  shown,  from  abundant  proofs  furnished  by 
himself,  to  be  a  mere  accident.  Nor  should  it  be  on  the  ground 
of  his  having  first  visited  it;  for,  though,  after  his  death,  evi- 
dence which  made  it  probable  that  he  did  [came  out,]  he  never 
could  convince  himself  of  it.  Nor,  at  last,  should  it  be  because 
that  peak  was,  as  it  is  alleged,  thus  named  long  before;  for  I 
must  declare  that  neither  in  1854,  nor  later,  during  the  whole 
time  I  was  on  both  sides  of  the  mountain,  did  I  hear  of  another 
Mount  Mitchell  than  the  one  south  of  the  highest,  so  long 
visited  under  that  name;  and  that  Dr.  Mitchell  himself,  before 
ascending  the  northern  peak,  in  1856,  as  I  gathered  it  from  a 
conversation  with  him,  believed  it  to  be  the  highest.  Dr. 
Mitchell  has  higher  and  better  claims,  which  are  universally  and 
cheerfully  acknowledged  by  all,  to  be  forever  remembered 
in  connection  with  the  Black  Mountain.  .  .  .  From  these 
facts  it  is  evident  that  the  honorable  senator  [T.  L.  Clingman] 
could  not  possibly  know  when  he  first  ascended  it 
that  anyone  had  visited  or  measured  it  before  him,  nor  have 
any  intention  to  do  any  injustice  to  Dr.  Mitchell.  . 
As  to  the  highest  group  in  the  Great  Smoky  Mountains,  how- 
ever, I  must  remark  that,  in  the  whole  valley  of  the  Tucka- 
seegee  and  Oconaluftee,  I  heard  of  but  one  name  applied  to  the 


EXTRAORDINARY  EVENTS  299 

liighest  point,  and  it  is  that  of  Mount  Clingnuui.  'I'hc  great- 
est authority  arountl  the  peak,  Robert  CoUins,  Esq.,  knows 
of  no  other.  .  .  .  Gen.  Chngnian  was  the  leader  of  a  party 
which  made,  in  1858,  the  first  measurement,  and  the  party 
was  composed,  besides  himself,  of  Mr.  S.  P.  Buckley  and  Dr. 
S.  L.  Love.  He  caused  Mr.  Collins  to  cut  a  i)ath  six  miles  to 
the  top,  which  enabled  me  to  carry  there  the  first  horse  . 
ever  seen  on  these  heights.  .  .  .  The  central  or  highest  peak 
is  therefore  designated  as  Clingman's  Dome,  the  south  peak, 
the  next  in  height,  as  JMount  Buckley,  the  north  peak  as 
Mount  Love." 

The  Monument.  The  monument  to  Professor  Elisha 
]\Iitchell,  on  the  crest  of  the  highest  peak  east  of  the  Rocky 
mountains,  was  completed  August  18,  1888.  It  is  bolted  to  the 
betl-rock  itself,  is  of  white  bronze — an  almost  pure  zinc — 
treated  under  the  sandblast  to  impart  a  granular  appear- 
ance, cause  it  to  resemble  granite,  and  prevent  discoloration; 
and  was  made  by  the  Monumental  Bronze  Company,  of 
Bridgeport,  Conn.  It  was  erected  by  Mrs.  E.  N.  Grant,  a 
daughter,  and  other  members  of  Prof.  Mitchell's  family.  Its 
dimensions  are  about  two  and  one-half  feet  at  the  base  and 
about  twelve  feet  high.  It  is  a  hollow  square  and  without  any 
ornamentation.  Vandals  have  shot  bullet  holes  in  it  and  an 
ax  blade  has  been  driven  into  one  of  its  sides.  Professor  W. 
B.  Phillips,  now  the  professor  of  Geology  at  the  University 
of  Texas,  had  charge  of  its  erection.  It  contains  the  follow- 
ing inscriptions: 

Upon  the  western  side,  in  raised  letters  is  the  single  word: 

"  iMITCHELL" 

On  the  side  toward  the  grave  is  the  following: 

"Erected  in  1888. 
"Here  lies  in  hope  of  a  blessed  resurrection  the  body  of  Rev.  Elisha 
Mitchell,  D.D.,  who,  after  being  for  39  years  a  professor  in  the  Univer- 
sity of  North  Carolina,  lost  his  Hfe  in  the  scientific  exploration  of  this 
mountain  in  the  64th  year  of  his  age,  June  27th,  1857."'' 

A  Memorable  Riot.  During  the  Seymour  and  Blair  cam- 
paign of  1868  a  riot  occurred  on  the  public  square  at  Asheville 
in  which  one  negro  was  killed  and  two  others  seriously  wounded. 
Trouble  had  been  expected,  and  when  a  negro  knocked  a  young 
Mississippian  down,  twenty  or  more  pistols  were   discharged 


300        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

into  the  crowd  of  negroes,  while  from  several  store  doors  and 
second-story  windows  shotguns  and  rifles  were  discharged 
into  the  fleeing  blacks.  That  night  a  drum  was  beaten  in  the 
woods  where  now  is  Aston  park  and  a  crowd  of  negroes  assem- 
bled there,  and  reports  spread  that  they  would  burn  the  town. 
Messengers  were  sent  to  surrounding  to^vns,  and  by  daylight 
three  hundred  armed  white  men  from  adjoining  counties 
arrived.  For  two  weeks  the  streets  were  patrolled  at  night. 
Oscar  Eastman,  in  charge  of  the  Freedman's  Bureau,  had  an 
office  in  the  Thomas  building  on  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
square;  but  after  the  riot  Eastman  could  not  be  found  for 
several  days,  as  it  was  thought  he  had  incited  the  negroes  to 
arm  themselves  with  stout  hickory  sticks  and  shout  for  Grant 
and  Colfax,  the  immediate  casus  belli.  Giles  McDowell,  a 
large,  bushy -headed  negro  and  a  Democrat,  came  up  South 
Main  street  and  shouted  "Hurrah  for  Seymour  and  Blair," 
whereupon  the  other  negroes  made  a  rush  for  him,  during 
which  the  young  Mississippian  was  knocked  down.  Giles 
fled;  but  another  darky  by  the  name  of  Jim  Greenlee  fell  on  his 
face  at  the  first  shot,  groaning  and  hollering.  After  the  shoot- 
ing was  over  it  developed  that  Jim  was  unhurt,  but  had  wisely 
pretended  to  be  hurt  in  order  to  keep  anyone  from  firing  at 
him.  In  1874,  Eastman,  who  had  made  himself  very  obnox- 
ious, was  indicted  in  Buncombe  Superior  court  twenty-five  times 
for  retailing  whiskey  and  once  for  gambling.  At  the  Spring 
Term  of  1869  George  H.  Bell,  William  Blair,  Erwin  Hardy, 
Gaston  McDowell,  Ben.  Young,  Natt  Atkinson,  J.  M.  Alex- 
ander, J.  W.  Shartle,  E.  H.  Merrimon,  Henry  Patton,  Simon 
Henry,  Robert  Patton,  John  Lang  and  Armistead  Dudley, 
pleaded  guilty  to  the  charge  of  riot,  and  were  taxed  with  the 
costs. 

A  Backwoods  Abelard  and  Eloise.  The  tomb  of  the 
Priest  Abelard  and  his  sweetheart  Eloise,  in  Paris,  is  visited 
by  greater  numbers  than  that  of  Napoleon.  But  the  grave  of 
poor,  ignorant  and  deluded  Delilah  Baird  near  Valle  Crucis 
is  neglected  and  unknown.  Yet  she  as  truly  as  Eloise  gave 
her  life  for  love;  for  although  she  knew  that  John  Holsclaw 
was  a  married  man,  she  thought  he  was  taking  her  to  Kentucky 
when  as  a  child  of  fifteen  she  followed  him  to  the  Big  Bottoms 
of  Elk  in  the  spring  of  1826,  where  she  lived  a  life  of  faithful- 
ness and  devotion  to  her  lover  and  their  son  and  daughter,  and 


EXTRAORDINARY  EVENTS  301 

iliecl  constant  and  true  to  her  role  as  his  widow  in  Ciotl's  .sight, 
if  not  in  that  of  man's.  Having  sold  her  land  the  poor  re- 
pressed, stinted  creature  indulged  in  gay  dressing  in  her  later 
years,  which  caused  some  of  her  relatives  to  fear  that  she  was 
not  competent  to  manage  her  money  matters;  but  a  com- 
mission of  which  Smith  Coffey  was  a  member,  found  that  she 
was.  (Deed  Books  R.,  p.  574,  and  A.,  p.  498.)  In  1881-82 
she  wTote  to  a  childhood  friend,  not  a  former  sweetheart, 
Ben  Dyer,  at  Grapevine,  Texas,  to  come  and  protect  her 
interests  and  she  would  give  him  a  home.  He  came,  but 
was  not  satisfied,  and  on  May  26,  1882,  sued  her  for  his  trav- 
eling expenses  and  the  worth  of  his  time;  but  recovered  only 
S47.50,  the  price  of  a  ticket  to  Texas.  (Judgment  Roll  and 
Docket  A.,  p.  172,  Watauga  county;  See  Chapter  13,  "Loch- 
invar  Redux.") 

NiMROD  S.  Jarrett,  In  the  early  fall  of  1873  Bayliss  Hen- 
derson, a  desperado  from  Tennessee,  wandering  about,  heard 
that  Col.  N.  S.  Jarrett  would  leave  his  home  at  the  Apple 
Tree  place  on  the  Nantahala  river,  six  miles  above  Nantahala 
station  on  the  Western  North  CaroHna  Railroad,  and  the  same 
distance  below  Aquone,  where  his  daughter,  ^Irs.  Alexander 
P.  Munday,  and  her  husband  Uved.  Henderson  had  been 
told  that  Jarrett  would  carry  a  large  sum  of  money  with  him 
as  he  had  to  go  to  Franklin  to  settle  as  guardian  for  wards  who 
had  become  of  age.  On  a  bright  Sunday  morning  he  was  to 
start  alone,  as  Henderson  had  been  told,  and  on  that  morning 
he  did  start  and  alone.  Half  a  mile  below  the  home  where 
Micajah  Lunsford  used  to  live  he  overtook  Henderson,  who 
was  strolling  idly  along  the  road.  Henderson  walked  a  short 
distance  by  Jarrett's  horse,  but  falling  back  a  pace  drew  his 
pistol  and  shot  the  Colonel  in  the  back  of  the  head  at  the 
base  of  the  brain.  He  took  his  watch  and  chain  and  the  little 
money  he  had  in  his  pocket,  and  hearing  some  one  coming  he 
waded  across  the  Nantahala  river  and  watched.  The  person 
he  had  heard  was  Mrs.  Jarrett,  the  dead  man's  wife,  a  cripple, 
who  had  ridden  rapidly  in  order  to  overtake  her  husband  and 
ride  with  him  to  Aquone  where  she  was  to  have  stayed  till  he 
returned  from  Franklin.  She  went  on  and  told  Micajah 
Lunsford  and  a  crowd  soon  gathered  about  the  body.  The 
footprints  of  a  man  near  the  body  were  measured,  but  before 
the  body  was  removed  Henderson  came  upon  the  scene.     It 


302        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

was  noticed  that  the  heels  of  his  shoes  were  missing,  but  that 
in  other  respects  his  shoes  made  a  print  exactly  like  those 
which  had  been  there  before  his  arrival.  He  was  arrested 
and  taken  to  Franklin.  The  trial  was  removed  to  Jackson 
county,  where  he  was  convicted  and  hanged,  the  Supreme  court 
refusing  a  new  trial.  (68  N.  C.)  While  Henderson  was  in 
Macon  jail  he  sent  a  man  named  Holland  to  a  certain  tree 
near  the  scene  of  the  murder,  where  he  found  the  watch,  chain 
and  money.  Later  on  Henderson  escaped  and  went  back  to 
the  place  where  he  had  lived  before  the  murder,  but  was  found 
hiding  in  a  brush-heap  soon  afterwards  and  returned  to  prison. 
Col.  Jarrett  was  73  years  old. 

A  Forgotten  Crime.  In  the  spring  of  1855  the  home  of 
Col.  Nimrod  S.  Jarrett  at  Aquone,  Macon  county,  was  burned 
in  the  day  time,  and  one  of  his  children,  a  little  girl,  perished 
in  the  flames,  though  her  mother  had  gone  into  the  burning 
dwelling  in  the  effort  to  find  and  rescue  her,  and  had  been 
dragged  out  by  force.  About  1898  a  man  named  Bill  Dills 
died  on  the  head  of  Wusser  creek,  and  confessed  that  he  had 
set  fire  to  the  house  in  order  to  prevent  suspicion  falling  on 
him  for  having  stolen  several  small  sums  of  money,  his  idea 
being  that  their  loss  when  discovered,  would  be  attributed  to 
the  fire. 

Quaking  Bald.  "The  most  famous  of  the  restless  moun- 
tains of  North  Carolina  is  'Shaking  Bald.'"  The  first  shock, 
which  occurred  February  10,  1874,  was  followed  in  quick 
succession  by  others  and  caused  general  alarm  in  the  vicinity. 
This  mountain  for  a  time  received  national  attention.  Within 
six  months  more  than  one  hundred  shocks  were  felt. 

The  general  facts  of  these  terrestrial  disturbances  have 
never  been  disputed,  but  concerning  their  cause,  there  has 
been  widely  diversified  speculation.  Is  there  an  upheaval  or 
subsidence  of  the  mountains  gradually  going  on?  Are  they 
the  effect  of  explosions  caused  by  the  chemical  action  of  min- 
erals under  the  influence  of  electric  currents  ?  Are  they  the 
effect  of  gases  forced  through  fissures  in  the  rocks  from  the 
center  of  the  earth,  seeking  an  outlet  at  the  surface?  These  are 
questions  on  which  scientists  differ.  Be  the  cause  what  it  may, 
there  is  no  occasion  to  fear  the  eruption  of  an  active  volcano. 

"The  famous  Bald  mountain  forms  the  north  wall  of  the 
valley.     Its  sterile  face  is  distinctly  visible  from  the  porch 


EXTRAORDINARY  EVENTS  303 

of  the  Logan  hotel.  Caves  simihir  to  Bat  cave  are  high  on  its 
front.  In  1874  Bald  mountain  pushed  itself  into  prominence 
by  shaking  its  eastern  end  with  an  earthquake-like  rumble, 
that  rattled  plates  on  pantry  shelves  in  the  cabins  of  the  val- 
leys, shook  \Wndows  to  pieces  in  their  sashes,  and  even  star- 
tled the  quiet  inhabitants  of  Rutherfordton,  seventeen  miles 
away.  Since  then  rumblings  have  occasionally  been  heard, 
and  some  people  say  they  have  seen  smoke  rising  in  the  atmos- 
phere. There  is  an  idea,  wide-spread,  that  the  mountain  is 
an  extinct  volcano.  As  evidence  of  a  crater,  they  point  to  a 
fissure  about  half  a  mile  long,  six  feet  wide  in  some  places,  and 
of  unmeasured  depth.  This  fissure,  bordered  with  trees, 
extends  across  the  eastern  end  of  the  peak.  But  the  crater 
idea  is  effectually  choked  up  by  the  fact  that  the  crack  is  of 
recent  appearance.  The  crack  widens  every  year  and,  as  it 
widens,  stones  are  dislodged  from  the  mountain  steeps.  Their 
thundering  falls  from  the  heights  may  explain  the  rumbling, 
and  their  clouds  of  dust  account  for  what  appears  to  be  smoke. 
The  widening  of  the  crack  is  possibly  due  to  the  gradual  up- 
heaval of  the  mountain."^ 

Trial  of  Thomas  W.  Strange.  On  the  27th  day  of  April, 
1876,  Thomas  W.  Strange  was  acquitted  in  Asheville  for  the 
murder  on  the  19th  of  August,  1875,  of  James  A.  Murray  of 
Haywood  county  before  Judge  Samuel  Watts  and  the  follow- 
ing jurors:  W.  P.  Bassett,  J.  L.Weaver,  John  H.  Murphy, 
Owen  Smith,  W.  W.  McDowell,  B.  F,  Young,  John  Chesbrough, 
G.  W.  Whitson,  S.  M.  Banks,  W.  A.  Weddin,  and  P.  F.  Pat- 
ton.  W.  L.  Tate  of  Wajmesville  was  the  soUcitor.  There 
was  much  feeling  in  Haywood  and  Buncombe  counties  because 
of  this  acquittal.  During  his  confinement  in  jail  Preston  L. 
Bridgers,  his  friend,  voluntarily  stayed  with  Thomas  Strange. 
The  court  was  held  in  the  chapel  of  the  Asheville  Female 
College,  now  the  high  school.  Judge  Watts  was  from  the 
eastern  part  of  the  State  and  was  nick-named  "Greasy  Sam." 

"Big  Tom"  Wilson.  Thomas  D.  Wilson,  commonly  known 
as  "Big  Tom,"  on  account  of  his  great  size,  was  born  Decem- 
ber 1,  1825,  on  Toe  river,  near  the  mouth  of  Crabtree  creek, 
in  the  Deyton  Bend.  The  "D"  in  his  name  was  solely  for 
euphony.  He  married  Niagara  Ray,  daughter  of  Amos  L. 
Ray,  and  settled  at  the  Green  Ponds,  afterwards  known  as  the 
Murchison  boundary.     The  place   was  so  called  because  of 


304        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

several  pools  or  ponds  in  Cane  river,  on  the  rock  bottom  of 
which  a  green  moss  grows.  He  died  at  a  great  age  a  few 
years  ago.  He  was  a  great  woodsman,  hunter  and  trapper — 
a  typical  frontiersman,  picturesque  in  appearance  and  original 
in  speech  and  manner.  He  is  said  to  have  killed  over  one 
hundred  bears  during  his  life.  His  knowledge  of  woodcraft 
enabled  him  to  discover  Prof.  Mitchell's  trail,  resulting  in  the 
recovery  of  his  body,  when  the  scientist  lost  his  life  on  Black 
mountain  in  the  summer  of  1857.  ^ ' 

Lewis  Redmond,  Outlaw.  He  was  part  Indian,  and  was 
born  and  reared  in  Transylvania  count3%  having  "hawk-like 
eyes  and  raven-black  hair."  When  fifteen  years  of  age  he 
was  taken  into  the  family  of  "Uncle  Wash  Galloway,"  a 
pioneer  farmer  of  the  county,  and  after  he  was  grown  and  had 
left  his  home  at  Galloway's,  he  began  "  moonshining. "  War- 
rants were  issued  for  his  arrest,  but  the  deputy  United  States 
marshals  were  afraid  to  arrest  him.  jNIarshal  R.  M.  Doug- 
lass, however,  deputized  Alfred  F.  Duckworth  a  member  of 
a  large  and  influential  family  of  Transylvania  county.  Red- 
mond had  sworn  he  would  not  be  arrested,  but  young  Duck- 
worth went  after  him  notwdthstanding.  Another  deputy  by 
the  name  of  Lankford  accompanied  him.  They  came  up 
vnth  Redmond  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  East  Fork,  March 
1,  1876.  Redmond  and  his  brother-in-law  Ladd  were  driving 
a  wagon.  Duckworth  told  Redmond  to  stop,  as  he  had  a 
warrant  for  his  arrest.  Redmond  stopped  the  wagon,  and 
asked  to  hear  the  warrant  read.  Duckworth  dismounted 
from  his  horse  and  began  reading  the  warrant,  but  holding 
his  pistol  in  one  of  his  hands  while  he  did  so.  Redmond  said, 
"All  right,  put  up  your  pistol,  Alf,  I  will  go  along  with  you." 
While  Duckworth  was  putting  his  pistol  in  his  pocket,  Ladd 
passed  a  pistol  to  Duckworth,  and  before  "a  man  standing 
near  by  could  speak, "  Redmond  put  the  pistol  to  Duckworth's 
throat  and  fired.  Then  he  and  Ladd  jumped  from  the  wagon 
and  ran.  Duckworth  followed  them  a  dozen  or  more  steps, 
firing  his  pistol  as  he  ran;  but  fell  in  the  road  from  the  shock 
of  his  wound.  He  died  soon  after  being  taken  to  his  home, 
and  Redmond  escaped.  Redmond  was  caught  later  in  South 
Carolina  for  some  offence  committed  there,  but  escaped.  ^ 
Later  on  he  was  captured  in  Swain  county  at  or  near  Maple 
Springs,  five  miles  above  Almond.     He  was  living  in  a  house 


EXTRAORDINARY  EVENTS  305 

wliich  cominanckHl  a  view  of  the  only  approach  to  it,  a  canoe 
hinilinu;  antl  trail  leading  from  it.  A  posse  crossed  in  the  night 
and  were  in  iiiiling  near-by  when  daylight  came.  Redmond 
left  the  house  and  went  in  the  upper  part  of  the  clearing  with 
a  gun  to  shoot  a  squirrel.  One  of  the  posse  ortlered  him  to 
surrender.  Redmond  whirled  to  shoot  at  him,  when  another 
of  the  posse  fired  on  him  from  another  quarter,  filling  his 
back  with  buckshot,  tlisahling  but  not  killing  him.  He  was 
taken  to  Bryson  City,  and  while  recuperating  from  his  wounds 
received  a  visit  from  his  wife.  She  managed  to  give  him  a 
pistol  secretly  which  Redmond  concealed  under  his  pillow. 
A  girl  living  in  the  house  found  it  out,  and  told  Judge  Jeter 
C.  Pritchard,  who  was  one  of  the  men  guarding  him  at  that 
time.  He  told  his  companions,  and  it  was  agreed  that  he 
should  disarm  him.  This  was  done,  warning  having  first 
been  given  Redmond  that  if  he  moved  he  would  be  killed. 
"  Redmond  served  a  term  in  the  United  States  prison  at  Albany 
N.  Y.,  and  after  being  released  moved  to  South  Carolina,  where, 
I  am  informed,  he  killed  another  man,  an  officer,  and  was 
again  sent  to  prison. "  ^  During  the  term  of  Gov.  Wade  Hamp- 
ton a  long  petition,  extensively  signed  by  many  ladies  of 
South  Carolina,  was  presented  to  the  governor  for  his  pardon. 
He  called  himself  a  "Major,"  and  claimed  to  be  dying  of 
tuberculosis.  The  pardon  was  granted  in  1878,  and  Red- 
mond has  given  no  trouble  since.  He  was  never  tried  for 
killing  Duckworth.  ^  ° 

Escape  of  Ray  and  Anderson.  In  the  summer  of  1885 
several  prisoners  escaped  from  the  county  jail  on  Valley  street 
in  Asheville.  The}^  were  J.  P.  Sluder,  charged  with  the  mur- 
der of  L.  C.  Sluder;  C.  M.  York,  also  charged  with  another 
murder;  and  E.  W.  Ray  and  W.  A.  Anderson  of  Mitchell 
county,  who  had  been  convicted  in  Caldwell  county — Ander- 
son of  murder  and  Ray  of  manslaughter,  for  the  killing  of 
three  men  in  a  struggle  for  the  possession  of  a  mica  mine  in 
[Mitchell  county.  The  last  two  men  were  members  of  prom- 
inent families.  On  the  night  of  July  3,  1885,  these  men  with 
an  ax  broke  a  hole  in  the  brick  wall  of  the  jail,  and  escaped. 
Thej^  had  forced  the  sheriff,  the  late  J.  R.  Rich,  and  J.  D. 
Henderson,  the  jailor,  into  the  cage  in  which  the  prisoners 
were  confined,  when  they  were  tied  and  gagged.  The  military 
company  was  called  out  to  recapture  the  prisoners,  but  with- 

W.  N.  C— 20 


306        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

out  result.  Proceedings  were  instituted  against  Rich  and 
Henderson  for  suffering  these  escapes,  but  both  were  acquitted 
in  January,  1886. 

Phenomena  Noted  and  Explained.  In  his  "Speeches 
and  Writings"  (Raleigh,  1877),  Gen.  Thomas  L.  Clingman 
has  described  and  explained  many  phenomena,  among  which 
was  the  meteor  of  1860  (p.  53),  which  was  originally  published 
in  Appleton's  Journal,  January  7,  1871;  the  falling  of  several 
destructive  watcr-spouts  in  Macon  and  Jackson  counties 
(p.  68)  on  the  15th  of  June,  1876;  and  what  he  terms  "low 
volcanic  action"  in  the  mountains  of  Haywood,  at  the  head 
of  Fines  creek,  which  he  visited  in  1848  and  1851,  and  which 
had  caused  "cracks  in  the  solid  granite  .  .  .  chasms, 
none  of  them  above  four  feet  in  width,  generally  extending 
north  and  south"  where  large  trees  had  been  thro^\Ti  do\\Ti, 
hillocks  on  which  saplings  grew  obliquely  to  the  horizon, 
showing  they  had  attained  some  size  before  the  hillocks  were 
elevated.  He  again  visited  this  place  in  1867,  when  he  saw 
evidences  of  further  disturbances,  a  large  "oak  tree  of  great 
age  and  four  or  five  feet  in  diameter  having  been  split  open 
from  root  to  top  and  thrown  down  so  that  the  two  halves  lay 
several  feet  apart"  (p.  78  et  seq.).  This  was  first  published 
in  the  National  Intelligencer  of  November  15,  1848. 

A  Crime  Necessitating  Legislation.  It  was  on  the  Cher- 
okee county  boundary  line  that  on  the  11th  day  of  July,  1892, 
William  Hall  shot  and  killed  Andrew  Bryson.  He  stood  on 
the  North  Carolina  side  of  the  boundary  line  between  the  two 
States  and,  shooting  across  that  line,  killed  Bryson  while  he 
was  in  Tennessee.  William  Hall  and  John  Dickey  were  tried 
with  Hall  as  accessories  before  the  fact,  and  all  were  convicted 
of  murder  at  the  spring  term  of  the  Superior  court  of  Cherokee 
county  in  1893.  But  the  Supreme  court  granted  a  new  trial 
at  the  February  term  of  1894  ^  ^  on  the  ground  that  Hall  could 
not  be  guilty  of  homicide  in  Tennessee.  This  decision  was 
immediately  followed  by  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  State  of 
Tennessee  to  extradite  the  defendants  under  the  act  of  Con- 
gress, but  the  Supreme  court  of  North  CaroUna  held  on  habeas 
corpus  proceedings  ^  2  that  no  one  can  be  alleged  to  have  fled 
from  the  justice  of  a  State  in  whose  domain  he  has  never  been 
corporeally  present  since  the  commission  of  the  crime.  The 
prisoners  were  discharged  and  have  never  been  tried  again  in 


EXTRAORDINARY  EVENTS  307 

North  Carolina.  These  decisions  were  followed  by  remedial 
legislation  embodied  in  the  Acts  of  1895,  Chapter  109,  making 
similar  homicides  crimes  in  North  Carolina  as  well  as  in  Ten- 
nessee. 

The  Emma  Burglary.  Following  are  the  facts  of  a  sensa- 
tional burglary  which  occurred  in  Buncombe  county  Febru- 
ary 8,  1901,  as  taken  from  the  case  of  the  State  v.  Foster,  129 
N.  C.  Reports,  p.  704: 

"Indictment  against  Ben  Foster,  R.  S.  Gates,  Harry  Mills  and  Frank 
Johnston,  heard  by  Judge  Frederick  Moore  and  a  jury,  at  June  (Special) 
Term,  1901,  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Buncombe  County.  From  a  ver- 
dict of  guilty  and  judgment  thereon,  the  defendants  appealed. 

"The  facts  are  substantially  tvs  follows  : 

"D.  J.  McClelland  was  the  owner  of  a  store  at  a  place  called  'Emma', 
a  few  miles  from  the  city  of  Asheville,  in  the  county  of  Buncombe. 
Samuel  H.  Alexander  is  his  clerk,  and  had  been  for  more  than  three 
years  boarding  in  the  family  of  McClelland  and  sleeping  in  the  store. 
There  was  a  room  in  said  store  building  fitted  up  and  furnished  with  a 
bed  and  other  furniture  as  a  sleeping  apartment,  in  which  said  Alexander 
kept  his  trunk  and  other  belongings,  and  slept  there,  and  had  done  so 
regularly  for  three  years  or  more.  On  the  night  of  the  8th  of  February, 
1901,  he  (closed  and  fastened  all  the  windows  and  outer  doors  of  said 
store  building,  and  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock  he  went  into  his  bed- 
room, but,  thinking  some  customer  might  come,  and  not  being  ready  to 
retire,  he  left  a  lamp  burning  in  the  store-room.  There  was  a  partition 
wall  between  his  sleeping-room  and  the  store-room,  in  which  there  was 
a  doorway  and  a  shutter,  but  the  shutter  was  rarely  ever  closed  and  was 
not  closed  that  night.  Soon  after  he  went  into  his  sleeping  room,  he 
heard  a  noise  at  one  of  the  outer  doors  of  the  store  building,  and,  think- 
ing it  was  some  one  wanting  to  trade,  he  went  to  the  door  and  asked 
who  was  there.  Some  one  answered  'We  want  to  come  in;  we  want  some 
coffee  and  flour.'  He  then  took  down  the  bar  used  in  securing  the  door, 
unlocked  the  same,  and  when  he  had  opened  the  door  about  twelve 
inches,  still  having  the  knob  in  his  hand,  two  men  forced  the  door  open, 
rushed  in  the  house,  covered  him  with  pistols,  told  him  to  hold  up  his 
hands,  that  they  had  come  for  business.  With  the  pistols  still  drawn 
upon  him,  they  marched  him  into  his  bed-room,  where  they  searched 
him  and  the  things  he  had  in  his  room,  taking  his  pistol  and  other  things. 
They  then  carried  him  into  the  store-room  and  made  an  effort  to  break 
into  the  postoffice  department,  there  being  a  postoffice  kept  there.  But 
not  succeeding  readily  in  getting  into  this,  they  abandoned  it  for  the 
present,  saying  they  supposed  there  was  nothing  in  it,  e.xcept  postage 
stamps,  and  they  would  attend  to  them  later.  They  then  turned  their 
attention  to  an  iron  safe  and  compelled  him  to  assist  in  opening  it,  one 
of  them  still  holding  his  pistol  on  him.  After  the  safe  was  open  and 
one  of  them  going  through  it,  taking  what  money  and  other  valuables 
he  found,  a  cat  made  a  noise  in  the  back  part  of  the  store,  and  the  man 


308        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

with  the  pistol  bearing  on  him  turnod  his  attention  to  that;  and,  as  he 
did  so,  Alexander  seized  his  own  pistol  they  had  taken  from  his  room 
and  which  the  man  who  was  robbing  the  safe  had  laid  on  the  end  of  the 
counter,  and  shot  the  man  robbing  the  safe,  and  also  shot  the  other  man, 
but,  in  the  meantime,  the  man  whose  attention  had  been  attracted  by 
the  cat  shot  Alexander.  They  were  all  badly  shot,  but  none  of  them 
died." 

This  testimony  was  that  of  Alexander  alone,  neither  prisoner 
going  on  the  stand.  Henry  Mills  and  R.  S.  Gates,  indicted 
as  being  present,  aiding  and  abetting,  were  tried  with  Ben 
Foster  and  Frank  Johnston,  charged  as  principals.  All  were 
convicted  of  burglary  in  the  first  degree.  The  judgment  was 
sustained  and  Ben  Foster  and  Frank  Johnston  were  hanged 
at  Asheville,  the  governor  having  commuted  the  sentence  of 
the  two  others  to  life  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary. 

Nancy  Hanks  Tradition.  For  a  hundred  j-ears  a  tradi- 
tion has  persisted  in  these  mountains  to  the  effect  that  between 
1803  and  1808  Abraham  Enloe  came  from  Rutherford  county 
and  settled,  first  on  Soco  creek,  and  afterwards  on  Ocona 
Lufty,  about  seven  miles  from  Whittier,  in  what  is  now 
Swain  county;  that  he  brought  with  his  family  a  girl  whose 
name  was  Nancy  Hanks;  that  this  girl  lived  in  Enloe's  family 
till  after  his  daughter  Nancy  ran  away  with  and  married  a 
man  named  Thompson,  from  Hardin  county,  Ky.  An  inti- 
■  macy  had  grown  up  between  Nancy  Hanks  and  Abraham 
Enloe,  and  a  son  was  born  to  her,  which  caused  Enloe's  wife, 
whose  maiden  name  had  been  Edgerton,  to  suspect  that  her 
husband  was  the  father  of  Nancy's  child.  Soon  after  the 
birth  of  this  child,  the  tradition  relates,  Mrs.  Nancy  Thomp- 
son came  to  visit  her  parents  and  on  her  return  to  Kentucky 
or  Tennessee  took  Nancy  Hanks  and  her  son  with  her,  much 
to  Mrs.  Enloe's  relief.  Abraham  Enloe  is  said  to  have  been 
a  large,  tall,  dark  man,  a  horse  and  slave  trader,  ^  ■*  a  justice 
of  the  peace  and  the  leading  man  in  his  community.  Thus 
far  the  tradition  as  given  above  is  supported  by  such  repu- 
table citizens  as  the  following,  most  of  whom  are  now  dead: 
Col.  Allen  T.  Davidson,  whose  sister  Celia  married  into  the 
Enloe  family,  Captain  James  W.  Terrell,  the  late  Epp  Ever- 
ett of  Bryson  City,  Phillip  Dills  of  Dillsborough,  Abraham 
Battle  of  Haywood,  Wm.  H.  Conley  of  Haywood,  Judge  Gil- 
more  of  Fort  Worth,  Texas,  H.  J.  Beck  of  Ocona  Lufty,  D.  K. 


EXTRAORDINARY  EVENTS  309 


Collins  of  Bryson  C^ity,  Col.  W.  H.  Thomas  and  the  late  John 
D.  Mingus,  son-in-law  of  Abraham  Enloe. 

Abraham  Lincoln  Tells  of  His  Parentage.  That  the 
child  so  born  to  Nancy  Hanks  on  Ocona  Lufty  was  Abraham 
Lincoln  is  support etl  l)y  the  alleged  statements  that  in  the 
fall  of  1861  a  young  man  named  Davis,  of  Rutherford,  had, 
during  the  fifties,  settled  near  Springfield,  Til.,  where  he 
became  intimate  with  Abraham  Lincoln  and  "in  a  private  and 
confidential  talk  which  he  had  with  ?klr.  Lincoln,  the  latter 
told  him  that  he  was  of  Southern  extraction;  that  his  right 
name  was,  or  ought  to  have  been,  Enloe,  but  that  he  had 
always  gone  by  the  name  of  his  step-father. "  '  *  After  the 
Civil  War  a  man  representing  himself  as  a  son  of  Mrs.  Nancy 
Thompson,  a  daughter  of  Abraham  Enloe  of  Ocona  Lufty, 
called  on  the  late  Col.  Allen  T.  Davidson,  a  la^vyer,  in  his 
office  in  Asheville,  and  told  him  that  President  Lincoln  had 
appointed  him  Indian  agent  or  to  some  other  office  in  the 
Indian  service  "because  he  (Lincoln)  was  under  some  great 
obligation  to  Thompson's  mother,  and  desired  to  aid  her, 
and  at  her  request  he  made  her  son  Indian  agent."  ^^  CoL 
Davidson  as  a  lawyer  had  settled  the  Abraham  Enloe  estate, 
had  heard  of  this  tradition  all  his  life  and  had  no  doubt  as  to 
its  truth.  There  is  another  version  to  the  effect  that  the 
child  Abraham  was  not  born  till  after  his  mother  had  reached 
Kentucky  and  also  that  Felix  Walker,  then  congressman  from 
the  mountain  district,  aided  Nancy  Hanks  in  getting  to  Ten- 
nessee, where  Thompson  lived. 

"Truth  is  Stranger  than  Fiction."  The  above  facts 
or  statements  have  been  taken  from  a  small  book  of  the  name 
given,  by  James  H.  Cathey,  once  a  member  of  the  North 
Carolina  legislature,  and  a  resident  of  Jackson  county.  It 
was  published  in  1899.  The  various  statements  upon  which 
the  tradition  was  based  are  set  forth  in  detail,  accompanied 
by  short  biographies  of  each  person  named.  No  one  can 
read  these  accounts  without  being  impressed  with  their  air 
of  truthfulness. 

Evidence  Sustaining  the  Enloe  Parentage.  The  late 
Captain  James  W.  Terrell  refers  to  an  article  in  Bledsoe's  Re- 
view "in  which  the  writer  gives  an  account  of  a  difficulty 
between  Mr.  Lincoln's  reputed  father  and  a  man  named 
Enloe"  (p.  47)  and  states,  as  one  of  the  reasons  for  sending 


310        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Nancy  Hanks  to  Kentucky,  the  fact  that  at  that  time  some 
of  the  Enloo  kindred  were  Uving  there  (p.  49).  On  page 
54,  a  Judge  Gihnore,  hving  then  within  three  miles  of  Fort 
Worth,  Texas,  told  Joseph  A.  Collins  of  Clyde,  Haywood 
county,  North  Carolina,  that  he  knew  Nancy  Hanks  before 
she  was  married,  and  that  she  then  had  a  child  she  called 
Abraham;  that  she  afterwards  married  a  man  by  the  name 
of  Lincoln,  a  whiskey  distiller,  and  very  poor,  and  that  they 
lived  in  a  small  house.  ^  ^  Col.  T.  G.  C.  Davis  of  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  a  native  of  Kentucky,  a  cousin  of  President 
Jefferson  Davis,  a  lawyer  who  once  practiced  law-  with  Mr. 
Lincoln  in  Illinois,  is  quoted  as  saying  that  he  knew  the  mother 
of  Lincoln;  that  he  was  raised  in  the  same  neighborhood;  and 
that  it  was  generally  understood,  without  question,  in  that 
neighborhood,  that  Lincoln,  the  man  that  married  the  Pres- 
ident's mother,  was  not  the  father  of  the  President,  but  that 
his  father's  name  was  Enloe"  (p.  78).  The  foregoing  are  the 
most  important  facts  alleged;  but  there  is  one  statement,  on 
page  55,  to  the  effect  that  a  man  named  Wells  visited  the 
Enloe  home  while  Nancy  Hanks  was  there  and  witnessed  a 
disagreement  or  coolness  between  Enloe  and  his  wife  on  her 
account.  This  man  said  he  had  gone  there  while  selling  tin- 
ware and  buying  furs,  feathers  and  ginseng  for  William  John- 
ston of  Waynesville.  This  could  not  have  been  true,  as  Wil- 
liam Johnston  did  not  emigrate  from  Ireland  to  Charleston 
till  1818.  Soon  after  the  appearance  of  this  book  the  writer 
visited  Wesley  Enloe  at  his  home  on  Ocona  Lufty  for  the  pur- 
pose of  learning  what  he  could  of  his  connection  with  Abraham 
Lincoln;  but,  like  the  correspondent  of  the  Charlotte  Observer 
of  September  17,  1893  (quoted  on  pages  63  et  seq.),  I  did  not 
observe  any  likeness  between  him  and  the  pictures  of  Mr. 
Lincoln  which  I  had  seen,  as  Mr.  Enloe  was  blue-eyed  and 
jBiorid.  He  also  stated  to  me  that  he  had  never  heard  his 
father's  name  mentioned  in  his  family  in  connection  wdth 
Abraham  Lincoln's,  just  as  he  stated  to  that  correspondent, 
on  page  70. 

Clark  W.  Thompson.  Col.  Davidson  was  a  man  of  such 
unquestioned  integrity  that  any  statement  from  him  is  worthy 
of  belief;  and  in  the  interest  of  truth  a  letter  was  written  to 
the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  Washington,  on  March 
8,  1913,  asking  "whether  a  man  named  Thompson  was  ever 


EXTRAORDINARY  EVENTS  311 

appointiHl  by  President  Lincoln  to  some  position  in  the  Indian 
Service,"  and  on  the  25th  of  the  same  month,  Hon.  F.  H. 
Abbott,  acting  commissioner,  wrote  as  follows:  ".  .  .  You 
are  advised  that  the  records  show  that  Clark  W.  Thompson, 
of  Minnesota,  was  nominated  by  President  Lincoln  to  be  Su- 
perintendent of  Indian  Affairs  for  the  northern  superintendcncy 
on  March  26,  1861,  and  his  appointment  was  confirmed  by 
the  Senate  on  the  following  day.  There  is  nothing  in  the  rec- 
ord to  show  reasons  influencing  this  appointment.  .  .  .  " 
Of  course  this  does  not  prove  that  Clark  W.  Thompson  was  a 
son  of  Mrs.  Nancy  Enloe  Thompson,  and  is  merely  given  for 
what  it  may  be  worth.  In  "The  Child  That  Toileth  Not," 
Major  Dawley, its  author, says  (p.  271):  "Where  Mingus  creek 
joins  Ocona  Lufty,  in  a  broad  bottom,  is  an  old,  partially 
demolished  log-house,  used  as  a  barn,  in  which  tradition  says 
that  Nancy  Hanks,  the  mother  of  Lincoln,  served  as  a  house 
girl,"  etc. 

The  Nancy  Hanks  History.  As  opposed  to  this  tradi- 
tional evidence  we  have  the  voluminous  history  of  Nickolay 
and  Hay,  ]\Ir.  Lincoln's  secretaries,  called  "Abraham  Lin- 
coln," in  which  the  fact  that  the  immortal  President's  mother 
was  married  to  Thomas  Lincoln  June  12,  1806,  by  Rev.  Jesse 
Head,  at  Beechland,  near  Elizabethton,  Washington  county, 
Ky.,  and  a  copy  of  his  marriage  bond  for  fifty  pounds,  as  was 
then  required  by  the  laws  of  Kentucky,  is  set  forth  in  full,  with 
Richard  Barry  as  surety.  In  addition  to  this,  there  was 
published  by  Doubleday  &  McClure  Co.,  New  York,  in  1899, 
by  Carolina  Hanks  Hitchcock,  "Nancy  Hanks,  the  Story  of 
Abraham  Lincoln's  Mother,"  giving  in  detail  the  facts  of  her 
birth  in  Virginia,  her  removal  to  Kentucky  with  her  family, 
and  her  marriage  to  Thomas  Lincoln  on  the  date  above  given, 
and  many  other  facts  which,  it  would  seem,  place  this  date 
beyond  all  doubt.  Col.  Henry  Watterson,  in  an  address, 
presenting  the  Speed  statue  of  Lincoln  to  the  State  of  Ken- 
tucky and  the  Nation,  November  8,  1911,  said:  "Let  me 
speak  ^\^th  some  particularity  and  the  authority  of  fact, 
tardily  but  conclusively  ascertained,  touching  the  . 
maternity  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Few  passages  of  history 
have  been  so  greatly  misrepresented  and  misconceived. 
Some  confusion  was  made  by  his  own  mistake  as  to  the 
marriage    of    his    father    and   mother,   which    had    not  been 


312        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

celebrated  in  Hardin  county,  but  in  Washington  county, 
Kentucky,  the  absence  of  any  marriage  papers  in  the  old  court 
house  at  Elizabethton,  the  county  seat  of  Hardin  county, 
leading  to  the  notion  that  there  had  never  been  any  marriage 
at  all.  It  is  easy  to  conceive  that  such  a  discrepancy  might 
give  occasion  for  any  amount  and  all  sorts  of  partisan  falsifi- 
cation, the  distorted  stories  winning  popular  belief  among  the 
credulous  and  inflamed.  Lincoln  himself  died  without  surely 
knowing  that  he  was  born  in  honest  wedlock  and  came  from 
an  ancestry  upon  both  sides  of  which  he  had  no  reason  to  be 
ashamed.  For  a  long  time  a  cloud  hung  over  the  name  of 
Nancy  Hanks,  the  mother  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Persistent 
and  intelligent  research  has  brought  about  a  vindication  in 
every  way  complete.  It  has  been  clearly  established  that 
as  the  ward  of  a  decent  family  she  lived  a  happy  and  indus- 
trious girl  until  she  was  twenty-three  years  of  age,  when 
Thomas  Lincoln,  who  liad  learned  his  carpenter's  trade  of 
one  of  her  uncles,  married  her,  June  12,  1806.  The  entire 
record  is  in  existence  and  intact.  The  marriage  bond  to  the 
amount  of  50  pounds  .  .  .  was  duly  recorded  seven 
days  before  the  wedding,  which  was  solemnized  as  became 
well-to-do  folk  in  those  days.  The  uncle  and  aunt  gave  an 
'infare',  to  which  the  neighboring  countryside  was  invited. 
Dr.  Christopher  Columbus  Graham,  one  of  the  best  known 
and  most  highly  respected  of  Kentuckians,  before  his  death 
in  1885,  wrote  at  my  request  his  remembrances  of  that  festi- 
val and  testified  to  this  before  a  notary  public  in  the  ninety- 
sixth  year  of  his  age."  (The  affidavit  is  set  forth  in  full.)^^ 
Why  the  Tradition  Persists.  After  reading  the  foregoing 
article,  a  feeling  of  indignation  naturallj^  arises  that  anj-one 
should  longer  doubt  or  discuss  the  legitimacy  of  the  Great 
Emancipator,  and  it  was  that  feeling  which  led  to  an  exami- 
nation of  the  "authority  of  fact  tardily  but  conclusively  ascer- 
tained touching  the  maternity  of  Abraham  Lincoln."  Nat- 
urally, too,  the  story  was  ascribed  to  "partisan  falsification." 
Nicolay  and  Hay's  account  seemed  to  fix  the  date  of  the  mar- 
riage as  in  June,  1806,  since  the  marriage  bond  is  dated  on 
June  10th;  and  Miss  Tarbell  has  settled  the  exact  date  as  of 
June  12th  of  that  year.  So  far,  so  good.  But  ]\Iiss  Tarbell 
states  (Vol.  I,  7)  that  Mrs.  Caroline  Hanks  Hitchcock  had 
compiled  the  genealogy  of  the  Hanks  family,  which,  "though 


EXTRAORDINARY  EVENTS  3 1 3 

not  yet  printed,  has  fortunately  cleared  up  the  mystery  of 
her  birth."  This  little  l)ook,  now  out  of  print,  ***  was  obtained 
after  great  trouble,  and  what  was  found?  That  instead  of 
clearing  up  the  niystery  of  Nancy  Hanks'  birth,  Mrs.  Hitch- 
cock has  only  made  confusion  worse  confounded.  In  fact, 
she  shows  that  Thomas  Lincoln  married  an  altogether  differ- 
ent Nancy  Hanks  from  the  one  the  President  remembered, 
the  one  Dennis  Hanks  knew,  and  the  one  Herndon  has  so 
particularly  describetl  in  his  carefully  prepared  work  on  the 
origin  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  She  also  discredits  every  sub- 
sequent statement  by  trying  to  show  that  Thomas  Lincoln 
was  not  "the  shiftless  character"  he  has  been  represented  as 
being  (p.  54).  After  that,  one  naturally  looks  with  suspi- 
cion upon  every  statement  of  fact  in  the  little  volume. 

The  Lineage  of  Lincoln's  Real  Mother.  Almost  imme- 
diately after  the  death  of  Mr.  Lincoln  his  former  law  partner. 
Win.  H.  Herndon,  Esq.,  set  out  to  interview  every  member 
of  the  Lincoln  and  Hanks  families  then  living.  He  kept  up 
this  investigation  for  years.  What  did  Abraham  Lincoln 
himself  have  to  say  as  to  who  his  mother  was?  Herndon  says 
(p.  3)  that  in  1850,  while  they  were  in  a  buggy  together,  going 
to  Menard  county  court,  Lincoln  told  him  that  his  mother 
"was  the  daughter  of  Lucy  Hanks  and  a  well-bred  but  obscure 
Virginia  farmer."  Who  that  farmer  was  is  not  stated;  but 
Lucy  Hanks,  after  the  birth  of  Nancy,  married  a  man  named 
Henry  Sparrow,  and  Nicolay  and  Hay  say  that  Nancy  Hanks 
was  sometimes  called  Nancy  Sparrow  (Vol.  I,  p.  7).  Hern- 
don also  says  with  exactness  (p.  10)  that  "Nancy  Hanks,  the 
mother  of  the  President,  at  a  very  early  age,  was  taken  from 
her  mother  Lucy — afterwards  married  to  Henry  Sparrow — 
and  sent  to  live  with  her  aunt  and  uncle,  Thomas  and  Betsy 
Sparrow,  fnder  this  same  roof  the  irrepressible  and  cheer- 
ful waif,  Dennis  Hanks,  .  .  .  also  found  shelter. "  Now 
who  was  Dennis  Hanks?  He  was  the  illegitimate  son  of 
Nancy  Hanks  and  Friend.  Which  Nancy  Hanks  was  this? 
The  sister  of  Lucy  Hanks  (p.  10).  Miss  Tarbell  calls  him 
Dennis  Friend  (pp.  14  and  25)  and  says  misfortune  had 
made  him  an  inmate  of  Thomas  Lincoln's  Indiana  home. 

The  Lineage  of  Mrs.  Hitchcock's  Nancy  Hanks.  Her 
father  was  Joseph  Hanks  and  her  mother  Nancy  Shiplej',  and 
was  born  February  5,  1784,  (p.  25)  and  came  with  her  parents 


314        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

from  Virginia  to  Kentucky  about  1789,  and  settled  near  Eliza- 
bethton  in  what  is  now  Nelson  county  (p.  40).  Her  father  died 
January  9,  1793,  and  his  will  was  probated  May  14,  1793,  by 
which  her  brother  Joseph  got  all  her  parents'  land  and  she 
herself  got  a  pied  heifer,  although  there  were  eight  children — 
Joseph  Hanks,  Sr.'s  widow  and  his  son  William  being  executors 
(pp.  43-45).  Miss  Tarbell  adopts  the  same  Uneage  for  her 
Nancy  (p.  8),  and  they  both  place  this  Nancy  in  the  home  of 
Lucy  Shipley,  wife  of  Richard  Berry,  when  Nancy  was  nine 
years  old. 

Physical  Characteristics  of  Lincoln's  Real  Mother. 
Herndon  says  (p.  10)  that  "at  the  time  of  her  marriage  to 
Thomas  Lincoln,  Nancy  was  in  her  23d  year.  She  was 
above  the  ordinary  height  in  stature,  weighed  about  130 
pounds,  was  slenderly  built,  and  had  much  the  appearance 
of  one  inclined  to  consumption.  Her  skin  was  dark;  hair  dark 
bro^vn;  eyes  gray  and  small;  forehead  prominent;  face  sharp 
and  angular,  with  a  marked  expression  of  melancholy  which 
fixed  itself  in  the  memory  of  everyone  who  ever  saw  or  knew 
her.      ..." 

Physical  Features  of  Mrs.  Hitchcock's  Nancy.  "Bright, 
scintillating,  noted  for  her  keen  wit  and  repartee,  she  had 
withal  a  loving  heart,"  is  Mrs.  Hitchcock's  (p.  51)  notion 
of  Nancy  Hanks'  manner.  "Traditions  of  Nancy  Hanks' 
appearance  at  this  time  [of  her  marriage]  all  agree  in  calling 
her  a  beautiful  girl.  She  is  said  to  have  been  of  medium 
height,  weighing  about  130  pounds  (p.  59),  Hght  hair,  beauti- 
ful eyes,  a  sweet,  sensitive  mouth,  and  a  kindly  and  gentle 
manner."  In  another  place  (p.  73)  she  says  that  when  Nancy 
Hanks  went  to  her  cousins',  Frank  and  Ned  Berry,  the  legend 
is  that  "her  cheerful  disposition  and  active  habits  were  a 
dower  to  those  pioneers."  Frank  and  Ned  were  sons  of 
Richard  Berry. 

Herndon 's  Thomas  Lincoln.  "Thomas  was  roving  and 
shiftless.  .  .  .  He  was  proverbially  slow  of  movement, 
mentally  and  physically;  was  careless,  inert  and  dull.  He 
had  a  liking  for  jokes  and  stories.  .  .  .  At  the  time  of  his 
marriage  to  Nancy  Hanks  he  could  neither  read  nor  write 
(p.  8).  .  .  .  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  essayed 
farming,  too ;  but  in  this,  as  in  almost  every  other  undertaking, 
he  was  singularly  unsuccessful.     He  was  placed  in  possession 


EXTRAORDINARY  EVENTS  315 

of  several  tracts  ot"  laiul  at  clifTerent  times  in  his  lite,  but  was 
never  able  to  pay  for  a  single  one  of  them"  (p.  9).  He 
hunteil  for  game  only  when  driven  to  do  so  by  hunger  (p.  29). 

Mrs.  Hitchcock's  Thomas  Lincoln.  "Thomas  Lincoln 
had  been  forced  to  shift  for  himself  in  a  young  and  undevel- 
oped country  (p.  56).  He  had  no  bad  habits,  was  temper- 
ate and  a  church-goer"  (p.  54).  She  quotes  an  affidavit  of 
Dr.  C.  C.  Graham  to  the  effect  that  he  was  present  at  the 
marriage  of  Thomas  Lincoln,  but  he  says  nothing  more  of 
him,  except  that  he  had  one  feather  bed,  and  when  the  doctor 
was  there,  Thomas  and  his  wife  slept  on  the  floor.  This  same 
Dr.  Graham  is  quoted  as  saying  that  it  is  untrue  that  Thomas 
kept  his  family  in  a  doorless  and  windowless  house.  But 
Miss  Tarbell  (p.  19)  and  Herndon  (p.  18)  say  that  Thomas 
Lincoln  kept  his  family  in  a  "half-face  camp"  for  a  year, 
and  that  after  the  cabin  was  built  it  had  but  one  room  and  a 
loft,  with  no  window,  door  or  floor;  not  even  the  traditional 
deer-skin  hung  before  the  exit;  there  was  no  oiled  paper  over 
the  opening  for  light;  there  was  no  puncheon  floor  on  the 
ground  .  .  .  and  there  were  few  families,  even  in 
that  day  who  were  forced  to  practice  more  make-shifts  to  get 
a  living";  and  that  sometimes  the  only  food  on  the  table  was 
potatoes  (p.  20).  And  yet  Mrs.  Hitchcock  says  he  was  not 
shiftless! 

Abr.\ham  Lincoln  and  His  Parents.  Mr.  Herndon  says 
(p.  1)  that  if  Mr.  Lincoln  ever  mentioned  the  subject  of  his 
parents  at  all  it  was  with  great  reluctance  and  with  sig- 
nificant reserve.  "There  was  something  about  his  origin  he 
never  cared  to  dwell  upon."  To  a  Mr.  Scripps  of  the  Chi- 
cago Tribune,  in  1860,  Mr.  Lincoln  communicated  some  facts 
concerning  his  ancestry  which  he  did  not  wish  to  have  pub- 
lished then  and  which  Scripps  never  revealed  to  anyone" 
(p.  2).  In  the  record  of  his  family  which  Mr.  Lincoln  gave 
to  Jesse  W.  F'ell,  he  does  not  even  give  his  mother's  maiden 
name;  but  says  that  she  came  "of  a  family  of  the  name  of 
Hanks."  (Footnote  on  page  3).  He  gives  but  three  lines  to 
his  mother  and  nearly  a  page  to  the  Lincolns.  And  "Mr. 
Lincoln  himself  said  to  me  in  1851  .  .  .  that  whatever 
might  be  said  of  his  parents  and  however  unpromising  the 
early  surroundings  of  his  mother  may  have  been,  she  was 
highly  intellectual   by  nature,  had  a  strong  memory,  acute 


316        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

judgment,  and  was  cool  and  heroic"  (p.  11).  His  school 
days  he  never  alluded  to;  and  Herndon  says  he  slept  in  the 
loft  of  the  Indiana  cabin,  which  he  reached  by  climbing  on 
pegs  driven  in  the  wall,  while  Miss  Tarbell  says  that  "he 
slept  on  a  heap  of  dry  leaves  in  a  corner  of  the  loft"  (p.  19), 
while  his  parents  reclined  on  a  bedstead  made  of  poles  rest- 
ing between  the  logs  and  on  a  crotched  stick,  wdth  skins  for 
the  chief  covering."  Although  in  the  highest  office  in  the 
land  for  four  years  before  his  death,  Mr.  Lincoln  left  his 
mother's  grave  unmarked,  and  when  his  father  was  dying  he 
allowed  sickness  in  his  own  family  to  deter  him  from  paying 
him  a  last  visit,  writing  instead  a  letter  advising  him  to  put 
his  trust  in  God. 

Herndon's  Estimate  of  the  Hankses.  "As  a  family 
the  Hankses  were  peculiar  to  the  civilization  of  early  Ken- 
tucky. Illiterate  and  superstitious,  they  corresponded  to 
that  nomadic  class  still  to  be  met  with  throughout  the  South, 
and  known  as  'poor  whites.'  They  are  happily  and  vividly 
depicted  in  the  description  of  a  camp-meeting  held  at  Eliza- 
bethton,  Ky.,  in  1806,  which  was  furnished  me  in  August,  1865, 
by  an  eye-witness  (J.  B.  Helm).  'The  Hanks  girls',  narrates 
the  latter,  'were  great  at  Camp-meetings,'"  and  the  scene 
is  then  described  of  a  young  man  and  young  woman  with 
their  clothing  arranged  for  what  was  to  follow,  who  approached 
and  embraced  each  other  in  front  of  the  congregation:  "When 
the  altar  was  reached  the  two  closed,  with  their  arms  around 
each  other,  the  man  singing  and  shouting  at  the  top  of  his 
voice,  'I  have  my  Jesus  in  my  arms,  sweet  as  honey,  strong 
as  baconham. '  She  was  a  Hanks,  and  the  couple  were  to 
be  married  the  next  week;  but  whether  she  w^as  Nancy  Hanks 
or  not  my,  informant  does  not  state;  though,  as  she  did  marry 
that  year,  gives  color  to  the  belief  that  she  was.  But  the 
performance  described  must  have  required  a  little  more  emo- 
tion and  enthusiasm  than  the  tardy  and  inert  carpenter  was 
in  the  habit  of  manifesting"  (p.  12). 

Confirmation  of  the  Enloe  Tradition.  One  might 
suppose  that  the  Enloe  story  has  no  other  basis  than  that  re- 
corded in  ]\Ir.  Cathey's  book.  But  this  is  far  from  being  the 
fact,  though  most  of  the  biographers  of  Lincoln  make  no 
reference  to  the  Enloes  whatever.  But  Mr.  Herndon,  on 
page  27,   remarks  of  Thomas  Lincoln's  second    wife,  Sarah 


EXTRAORDINARY  EVENTS  317 

Rusli,  that  her  social  status  is  fixed  by  the  comparison  of  a 
nei<:;hl)or  who  contrasted  tlie  "hfe  among  tlie  llankses,  tiie 
LiiKH)his,  and  the  Enloes  witli  that  among  the  Bushes,  Sarah 
having  married  Daniel  Johnston,  the  jailer,  as  her  first  matri- 
monial venture.  Dr.  C.  C.  Graham,  in  his  hundredth  year,  made 
a  statement  as  to  the  Lincoln  family,  which  is  publislied  in  full 
by  McClure's  in  magazine  form  and  called  "The  Early  Life 
of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  bj'  Ida  M.  Tarbell.  This  is  dated  in 
1896.  Herndon  and  all  the  biographers  agree  that,  although 
so  old.  Dr.  CJraham  was  a  competent  witness  as  to  Lincoln's 
early  life.  Lideed,  all  of  pages  227  to  232  of  this  little  maga- 
zine book  are  devoted  to  testimonials  establishing  his  credi- 
bility. But,  although  Tarbell's  Life  of  Lincoln  is  an  enlarge- 
ment of  this  magazine  story,  and  contains  four  large  volumes, 
very  little  of  Dr.  Graham's  long  statement,  covering  over 
five  closely  printed  pages,  is  preserved.  And  among  the  things 
that  have  been  suppressed  is  this:  "Some  said  she  (Nancy 
Hanks,  Thomas  Lincoln's  first  wife)  died  of  heart  trouble, 
from  slanders  about  her  and  old  Abe  Enloe,  called  Inlow 
while  her  Abe,  named  for  the  pioneer  Abraham  Linkliorn, 
was  still  living."  Neither  Mrs.  Hitchcock  nor  Miss  Tarbell 
seems  to  have  attached  the  slightest  importance  to  this  state- 
ment. But  that  is  not  all.  Herndon  records  the  fact  (p. 
29)  that  when  he  interviewed  Mrs.  Sarah  Bush  Lincoln, 
Thomas  Lincoln's  second  wife,  in  September,  1865,  "She  de- 
clined to  say  much  in  answer  to  my  questions  about  Nancy 
Hanks,  her  predecessor  in  the  Lincoln  household,  but  spoke 
feelingly  of  the  latter's  daughter  and  son." 

Thus,  it  will  be  observed,  that  most  of  the  testimony  on 
which  the  stories  concerning  Nancy  Hanks  are  based  do  not 
rest  on  the  fabrications  of  his  political  enemies,  but  on  the 
statements  and  significant  silence  of  himself,  his  friends,  rela- 
tives and  biographers. 

The  Calhoun  Tradition.  If  anywhere  in  the  world 
Lincoln  had  enemies,  it  was  in  South  Carolina.  If  anywhere 
in  the  world  a  motive  could  exist  to  ruin  his  political  fortunes, 
it  was  among  the  politicians  of  the  Palmetto  State.  It  is 
true  that  for  years  there  has  been  an  intangil)le  rumor  about 
John  C.  Calhoun  and  Nancy  Hanks;  but  the  world  must 
perforce  bear  witness  that  such  rumors  have  met  with  little 
or  no  encourag^.'ment  from  the  people  of  that  State.     Yet,  dur- 


318        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ing  all  the  years  that  have  flown  since  early  in  the  last  century, 
many  men  and  women  knew  of  a  story  which  connected  the 
name  of  the  Great  NuUifier  with  that  of  Nancy  Hanks,  the 
mother  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  It  has  lain  untold  all  these 
years;  but  in  1911,  Mr.  D.  J.  Knotts  of  Swansea,  S.  C,  brought 
it  to  the  light  of  day.  The  reason  for  this  delay  was  due  to  the 
respect  that  the  custodians  of  the  secret  entertained  for  the 
wishes  of  the  Calhoun  family.  For,  even  now,  some  of  those 
to  whom  the  facts  had  been  communicated  by  Judge  Orr 
and  Gen.  Burt,  will  not  permit  their  names  to  be  used  in  con- 
nection vnth  the  story.  But  the  main  facts  seem  to  be  well 
established  bj^  other  testimony,  and  although  these  articles 
have  been  before  the  public  since  1910,  no  one  has  as  yet 
attempted  their  refutation.  Abbeville  "District,"  as  it  was 
called,  in  South  Carolina,  was  the  home  of  John  C.  Calhoun 
and  of  Gen.  Armistead  Burt,  who  married  Calhoun's  niece. 
They  were  fast  friends  and  political  supporters  of  State 
Rights.  Judge  James  L.  Orr  was  born  in  Craytonville,  S.  C, 
May  12,  1822,  and  was  in  Congress  from  1849  to  1859, 
having  been  speaker  of  the  35th  Congress.  He  thus  began 
his  congressional  career  the  year  after  jNIr.  Lincoln  had  com- 
pleted his  single  term;  but  John  C.  Calhoun  was  serving  then 
as  senator,  dying  March  31,  1850.  Judge  Orr  was  probably 
born  in  the  very  tavern  which  had  previously  been  kept  by 
Ann  Hanks  at  Craytonville,  as  Orr's  father  certainly  kept  the 
same  hostelry  during  his  life. 

The  Story  is  Told  at  Last.  During  1911  the  Columbia 
State  published  four  articles  on  the  "Parentage  of  Lincoln," 
by  D.  J.  Knotts,  of  Swansea,  S.  C.  Briefly  stated,  his  story 
is  to  the  effect  that  in  1807,  John  C.  Calhoun  began  the  prac- 
tice of  law  in  Abbeville  county,  where  he  lived  till  his  removal 
to  Fort  Hill  in  1824.  Anderson  county  was  not  established 
tin  1828;  but  in  1789  Luke  Hanks  died  and  left  a  will,  which 
was  probated  in  Abbeville  county  in  October  of  that  year,  by 
which  his  widow,  Ann  Hanks,  a  relative  of  Benjamin  Harris  of 
Buncombe  county,  N.  C,  and  John  Haynie  were  made  execu- 
tors. No  deed  can  be  found  to  land  of  Luke  or  Ann  Hanks, 
but  there  is  a  grant  to  210  acres  to  her  brother  in  1797.  How- 
ever, the  appraisers  of  the  property  under  Luke  Hanks'  ^^dll 
valued  these  210  acres  at  one  dollar  per  acre,  and  the  personal 
property  at  $500.     Just  how  long  after  Luke's  death  it  was 


EXTRAORDINARY  EVENTS  319 

that  his  ^^^do^v,  Ann  Hunks,  took  cluirgc  of  a  tavern  at  the 
cross  roads,  called  Craytonville  and  Claytonville,  was  not 
stated;  but  it  is  alleged  that  she  kept  this  tavern  in  1807, 
and  for  several  years  thereafter.  This  cross-roads  place  is 
between  Anderson,  Abl)eville  and  Pendleton — all  flourishing 
towns  at  this  time.  At  this  tavern  John  C.  Calhoun  stopped 
in  going  to  and  from  the  courts,  and  became  involved  in  a 
love  affair  with  Ann  Hanks'  youngest  child,  Nancy.  At  this 
tavern  also  stopped  Abraham  Enloe  on  his  way  South  from 
Ocona  Lufty  with  negroes  and  stock  for  sale.  With  him 
came  as  a  hireling  Thomas  Lincoln,  the  putative  father  of  the 
President.  Nancy  Hanks  began  to  be  troublesome  and  Mr. 
Calhoun  is  said  to  have  induced  Thomas  Lincoln  to  take  her 
with  him  on  his  return  with  Abraham  Enloe — paying  him 
$500  to  do  so.  Lincoln  is  said  to  have  conducted  Nancy  to 
the  home  of  Abraham  Enloe,  where  she  became  a  member  of 
the  family.  This  is  a  confirmation  of  the  Enloe  tradition, 
except  that  Nancy  is  said  to  have  gone  there  from  Ruther- 
ford county. 

The  Petition  for  Partition.  Ann  Hanks,  who  seems 
to  have  had  a  life  estate  in  the  210  acres  of  land,  must  have 
died  about  1838  or  1839,  for  we  find  that  Luke  Hanks'  heirs 
tried  to  divide  the  property  without  the  aid  of  a  lawyer,  mak- 
ing two  efforts  to  that  end,  but  failing  in  both.  In  1842, 
however,  an  Anderson  attorney  straightened  things  out  bj- 
bringing  in  Nancy  Hanks  as  the  twelfth  child  of  Luke  and 
Ann  Hanks,  and  the  property  was  divided  into  twelve  equal 
shares,  it  having  been  alleged  that  Nancy  Hanks  had  left  the 
State  and  that  her  whereabouts  were  unknown.  Col.  John 
Martin  became  the  purchaser  of  this  land,  which  is  in  a  neigh- 
borhood called  Ebenezer,  and  is  within  three  or  four  miles 
of  the  tavern  at  Craytonville. 

Lincoln  is  Told  of  a  Remarkable  Resemblance.  Li 
1849,  while  John  C.  Calhoun  and  Gen.  Burt  were  attending 
Congress,  young  James  L.  Orr,  not  yet  a  member,  but  wishing 
to  see  the  workings  of  that  body  over  which  he  was  one  day 
to  preside,  matle  a  visit  to  Washington,  D.  C,  and  as  he  had 
gro^\^l  up  \vith  the  Hanks  family  near  Craytonville,  he  was 
at  once  impressed  wath  the  remarkable  resemblance  between 
those  Anderson  county  Hankses  and  a  raw-boned  member 
from  the  State  of  Illinois,  by  name  Abraham  Lincoln.     He 


320        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

told  Lincoln  of  the  fact,  and  the  latter  replied  that  his  mother's 
name  was  Nancy  Hanks.  Thereupon,  it  is  stated,  Orr  wanted 
to  go  into  particulars,  but  Lincoln  at  once  became  reticent  and 
would  not  discuss  the  matter  further.  This  aroused  Orr's 
suspicions,  and  on  his  return  to  Anderson  he  mentioned  it  to 
the  Hankses  of  Ebenezer,  who  having  but  recently  heard 
the  almost  forgotten  story  of  John  C.  Calhoun's  connection 
with  Nancy  and  her  disappearance  from  the  State  early  in 
the  century  (in  the  partition  case)  related  it  to  Judge  Orr  in 
all  its  details.  Gen.  Burt  also  became  possessed  of  the  story, 
but  guarded  his  secret  jealously,  his  wife  being  Calhoun's 
niece.  But,  when  Lincoln  was  assassinated  Judge  Orr,  who 
was  a  brother  in-law  of  Mrs.  Fannie  Marshall,  a  second  cousin 
of  John  C.  Calhoun,  told  her  and  her  husband  what  he  had 
learned  from  the  Anderson  Hankses;  and  in  1866  Gen.  Armi- 
stead  Burt,  under  the  seal  of  an  inviolable  secrecy,  told  what 
he  knew  to  a  group  of  lawyers  all  of  whom  were  his  friends. 
So  inviolably  have  they  kept  this  secret  that  even  to  this  day 
several  of  them  refuse  to  allow  their  names  to  be  mentioned 
in  connection  with  it.  But  the  Hankses  also  told  their  family 
physician.  Dr.  W.  C.  Brown,  the  story  of  their  kinswoman  and 
John  C.  Calhoun,  and  he  mentioned  it  to  others.  John  Hanks, 
also,  is  said  to  have  told  Dr.  Harris  that  Nancy  Hanks  had 
gone  to  an  uncle  in  Kentucky  when  her  condition  became 
knowm  at  the  Enloe  farm;  for  it  seems  that  a  Richard  Berry 
has  been  located  as  buying  land  in  Anderson  county  in  1803, 
and  as  disappearing  entirely  from  the  records  of  Anderson 
county  thereafter. 

Mr.  Knotts  introduced  much  other  evidence,  and  has  accu- 
mulated much  additional  testimony  since,  which  he  will 
soon  publish  in  full,  giving  book  and  page  of  all  records  and 
full  extracts  from  all  documents. 

Minor  Matters.  Mr.  Knotts  also  states  that  Dr.  W.  C. 
Brown  was  a  brother  of  "Joe"  Brown,  the  "War  Governor" 
of  Georgia;  that  Mr.  Herndon's  first  hfe  of  Lincoln  contained 
several  statements  which  Lincoln  had  made  as  to  his  illegiti- 
macy; but  that  friends  of  Lincoln  "had  tried  to  recall 
the  volumes  and  failed  to  get  a  few  of  them  in  for  destruction"; 
but  that  Mr.  Knotts  had  secured  a  copy,  from  which  he  made 
(pp.  5  and  6)  the  following  statement:  "Mr.  Herndon,  says  Mr. 
Weik,  his  co-laborer  in  the  work,  spent  a  large  amount  of  time 


EXTRAORDINARY   EVENTS  321 

and  trouble  hunting  down  tliis  tradition  in  Kentucky,  and  finally 
I'ounil  a  family  in  Bourbon  county  named  Inlow,  who  stated 
to  him  that  an  older  relative,  Abraham  Inlow,  a  man  of 
wealth  and  influence,  induced  Thomas  Lincoln  to  assume  the 
paternity  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  whose  mother  was  a  nice 
looking  woman  of  good  family  nam(>d  Nancy  Hanks,  and  that 
after  marriage  he  removed  to  Hardin  or  Washington  county, 
where  this  infant  was  born. "  Mr.  Knotts  also  makes  the  point 
that  there  could  have  been  no  contemporaneous  record  of 
Lincoln's  birth,  and  that  he  made  the  date  himself  in  the 
family  Bil)le,  years  after  he  became  a  man;  that  in  that  record 
he  nowhere  records  the  fact  or  the  date  of  his  father's  marriage 
to  Nanc}'  Hanks,  although  he  is  careful  to  record  his  father's 
second  marriage  to  Sarah  Bush  Johnston,  and  his  o^^^l  mar- 
riage to  ]\Iary  Todd;  also  that  he  speaks  of  his  sister  Sarah, 
when  she  married  Aaron  Grigsby,  as  the  daughter  of  Thomas 
Lincoln  alone;  and  when  she  died,  he  again  speaks  of  her  as 
the  daughter  of  Thomas  Lincoln  and  wife  of  Aaron  Grigsby, 
but  never  mentions  her  as  the  daughter  of  Nancy  Lincoln. 
No  one  has  ever  accounted  for  the  mutilation  of  the  family 
record  made  by  Abraham  Lincoln  himself  in  the  family  Bible. 
In  every  instance  in  which  discredit  might  fall  on  Nancy 
Hanks,  the  dates  have  been  carefully  obliterated  in  some 
vital  point.  Surely  Lincoln's  political  enemies  did  not  do 
this  thing,  the  doing  of  which  has  cast  more  suspicion  on  his 
legitimacy  than  all  things  else  combined. 

The  Rutherford  County  Hankses.  When  this  last 
tradition  was  called  to  the  writer's  attention,  it  was 
apparent  that  the  only  way  to  discredit  it  was  to  follow 
the  clue  which  stated  that  the  Nancy  Hanks  of  Abraham  En- 
loe's  household  had  gone  there  from  Rutherford  county. 
Accordingly,  diligent  enquiries  were  instituted  in  the  counties 
of  Rutherford,  Lincoln  and  Gaston  w'ith  the  result  that  no 
trace  could  be  found  of  Nancy  Hanks  in  either  of  them,  or 
elsewhere  in  the  State.  All  persons  who  seemed  to  know 
anything  of  the  Hanks  family  referred  to  Mr.  L.  M.  HolTman 
of  Dallas,  N.  C.,  who  WTote,  June  2,  1913,  to  the  effect  that 
for  several  years  he  had  been  working  on  a  genealogical  history 
of  all  the  families  who  first  settled  that  section  from  whom 
he  is  descended.  Among  these  were  a  Hanks  famil}-;  and 
while  he  obtained  600  manuscript  pages  concerning  all  the 

W.  N.  C— 21 


322        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

other  families  from  which  he  has  descended  "the  want  of  time 
and  the  difficulty  of  getting  rehable  information  . 
has  caused  me  (him)  to  nearly  close  my  (his)  search.  .  .  .  " 
Further  correspondence  resulted  in  discovering  little  more 
than  that  there  once  existed  a  Bible  of  the  Hanks  family  in 
the  possession  of  the  Jenkins  family;  but  Mr.  Hoffman,  who 
examined  and  made  extracts  from  it,  found  nothing  of  record 
regarding  Nancy  Hanks.  He  then  gave  several  discoveries 
that  he  made,  and  adds:  "This  only  illustrates  how  I  failed 
to  get  anything  like  a  connected  story  of  the  Hanks  family. 
There  are  several  of  the  Hanks  family  here  still,  but  they 
know  almost  nothing  of  their  ancestors.  .  .  .  "  When  it 
is  remembered  that  there  are  several  Hanks  men  in  Anderson 
county,  S.  C,  who  are  said  to  resemble  Abraham  Lincoln  in 
a  most  striking  way,  it  is  evident  that  the  probabilities  are 
largely  that  Nancy  Hanks  went  to  Abraham  Enloe's  from 
South  Carolina  rather  than  from  Rutherford  county,  N.  C. 
The  Tennessee  Tradition.  On  the  farm  of  G.  W.  Wag- 
ner, formerly  o^\aied  by  Isaac  Lincoln — a  few  miles  from 
Elizabethton  and  opposite  the  little  station  called  Hunter — 
is  a  tombstone  on  which  is  carved:  "Sacred  to  the  memory 
of  Isaac  Lincoln,  who  departed  this  life  June  10,  1816, 
aged  about  64  years."  ^^  In  McClure's  Early  Life  of  Lincoln, 
Isaac  Lincoln  is  mentioned  as  one  of  the  brothers  of  Abraham 
Lincoln,  the  grandfather  of  the  President  (p.  223).  Tradition 
says  that  to  this  farm  came  Thomas  Lincoln  after  the 
death  of  his  father  in  1788  had,  according  to  Miss  Tarbell 
(p.  6),  turned  him  "  adrift  to  become  a  wandering 
laboring  boy  before  he  had  learned  to  read."  Tradition 
also  says  that  a  Nancy  Hanks  at  one  time  lived  in  that  neigh- 
borhood; but  that  Thomas  was  so  shiftless  that  his  Uncle 
Isaac  drove  him  away,  when  Nancy  disappeared  also.  The 
lady  referred  to  on  page  73  of  J.  H.  Cathey's  book  by  Col. 
Davidson  was  his  sister,  Miss  Elvira  Davidson,  who  was  a  vis- 
itor in  the  home  of  Felix  Walker,  one  of  whose  sons  she  after- 
wards married;  and  it  was  while  there,  according  to  her  state- 
ment to  her  niece,  that  she  had  seen  Abraham  Enloe  call  Felix 
Walker  to  the  gate  and  talk  earnestly  with  him,  and  that 
when  Walker  came  back  he  told  Mrs.  Walker  Abraham  Enloe 
had  arranged  with  him  (W^alker)  to  have  Nancy  Hanks  taken 
to  Tennessee,  instead  of  Kentucky,  when  Mrs.  Walker  re- 


EXTRAORDINARY   EVENTS  323 

mai'kecl  tliat  Mrs.  Enloe  would  "be  happy  asaiii. "  Mrs. 
Enloe  and  Mrs.  Walker  were  great  friends.  Elvira  David- 
;?on  was  a  young  girl  at  this  time.  She  first  married  Joseph 
Walker  and  years  afterwards  was  left  a  widow.  Her  second 
husband  was  Thomas  Gaston,  whose  descendants  are  in  Bun- 
combe today. 

The  South  Carolina  Record.  This  record  is  in  the 
office  of  the  Ordinary,  corresponding  to  that  of  probate  judge 
in  most  States,  its  numljer  is  964,  and  is  entitled:  "  Valentine 
Davis  and  wife,  applicant,  r.  Luke  Ilonie  and  others."  The 
summons  in  relief  was  filed  before  William  McGee,  Ordinary 
of  Anderson  District,  S.  C,  December  26,  1842;  it  relates  to 
the  real  estate  of  Ann  Hanks,  and  is  recorded  in  real  estate 
book,  volume  1,  p.  59.  The  summons  is  to  the  "legal  heirs 
and  representatives  of  Ann  Hanks,  who  died  intestate,"  and 
requires  the  parties  named  therein — among  whom  is  Nancy 
Hanks — to  appear  on  the  3d  day  of  April,  1843,  and  "show 
cause  why  the  real  estate  of  Ann  Hanks,  deceased,  situated 
in  said  district  on  waters  of  Rocky  river,  bounding  Brig.  R. 
Haney,  John  Martin  and  others,  should  not  be  divided  or  sold, 
allotting  the  same  as  it  proceeds  among  you."  Valentine 
Davis  was  appointed  and  consented  to  act  as  the  guardian 
ad  litem  of  the  minor  heirs  named  in  the  summons;  a  large 
number  of  heirs  accepted  legal  service  of  the  summons;  while 
the  Ordinary  notes  that  he  "cited"  several  others  to  appear 
in  court,  etc.  A  rule  was  also  issued  December  26,  1842, 
to  twenty-seven  of  the  defendants  "who  reside  without  the 
State,"  among  whom  is  the  name  of  Nancy  Hanks,  all  of 
whom  are  required  to  "appear  and  object  to  the  sale  or  division 
of  the  real  estate  of  Hanks  on  or  ])efore  the  third  day  of  April 
next,  or  their  consent  to  the  same  will  be  entered  of  record." 
There  is  also  in  this  record  an  assignment  to  Mary  Hanks  by 
her  son  James  R.  Hanks,  of  Crittenden  county,  Kentucky,  of 
his  interest  "in  the  real  estate  of  my  grandmother  Ann  Hanks, 
which  came  to  me  by  right  of  my  father,  George  Hanks,  which 
was  sold  by  the  Court  of  Ordinary  in  Anderson  District, 
South  Carolina,  in  June,  1843,  which  claim  or  claims  I  re- 
nounce to  my  said  mother  Mary  during  her  natural  life,  from 
me,  my  executors  or  assigns,  so  long  as  the  said  Mary  Hanks 
shall  live,  but  at  the  said  Mary's  death  to  revert  back  me  to 
and  my  heirs,"  etc. 


324        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

This  assignment  of  interest  is  dated  April  1,  1844,  and 
was  probated  before  James  Cruce,  justice  of  the  peace  of 
Crittenden  county,  Ky.,  by  Wilham  Stinson  and  Reuben 
Bennett,  subscribing  witnesses,  on  the  first  of  April,  1844. 

The  record  fails  to  show  any  receipt  from  Nancy  Hanks  for 
her  share  in  the  proceeds  of  this  real  estate,  which  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  she  was  dead  and  that  her  heirs  received 
no  actual  notice  of  this  proceeding.  The  foregoing  excerpts 
have  been  furnished  bj'  Thomas  Allen,  Esq.,  of  the  Anderson, 
S.  C,  bar. 

Reality  of  Isaac  Lincoln's  Residence.  Of  the  resi- 
dence of  Isaac  Lincoln  and  Mary  (nee  Ward)  his  wife,  in 
what  is  now  Carter  county,  Tenn.,  there  can  be  no  doubt, 
the  deed  books  of  that  county  showing  many  conveyances 
to  and  from  Isaac  Lincoln,  one  of  which  (B,  p.  14)  is  indexed 
as  from  Isaac  "Linkhorn"  to  John  Carter,  which  bears  the 
early  date  of  March  4,  1777,  and  conveys  303  acres  on  the 
north  side  of  Doe  river  known  by  the  name  of  the  "Flag 
Pond,"  for  one  hundred  pounds.  The  deed,  however,  is 
signed  "Isaac  Lincoln,"  not  "Linkhorn";  but  it  was  not  regis- 
tered till  July  22,  1806.  Lincoln  and  Carter  are  both 
described  as  of  "Watauga"  simply.  Other  conveyances 
show  that  he  owned  several  lots  in  what  is  now  Eliza- 
bethton,  the  county  seat  of  Carter  county  (B,  18).  There 
is  also  a  conveyance  from  Johnson  Hampton,  with  whom 
Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy  Hanks  are  said  (according  to  a 
letter  from  D.  J.  Knotts  to  J.  D.  Jenkins,  1913)  to  have 
gone  from  Abraham-  Enloe's  to  Thomas  Lincoln's  brother's 
home  on  Lynn  mountain,  five  miles  above  Elizabethton,  on 
Watauga  river.  But  this  conveyance  is  dated  March  13, 
1834,  and  is  to  Mordeca  (sic)  Lincoln  and  John  Berry  of 
the  "county  of  Green  and  Carter,"  Tenn.  (Book  D,  p.  373). 
The  site  of  the  cabin  in  which  Isaac  and  Mary  lived  is  still 
pointed  out  at  the  base  of  Lynn  mountain. 

Isaac  and  Mary  Lincoln  Slaveowners.  The  will  of 
Isaac  Lincoln,  dated  April  22,  1816,  is  filed  in  the  office  of 
the  clerk  of  the  circuit  court  of  Carter  county,  Tenn.,  and, 
though  yellow  with  age,  is  in  a  good  state  of  preservation. 
By  it  he  leaves  all  his  property  to  his  wife  Mary;  and  when 
her  will  (filed  in  the  same  ofl^ice)  is  examined,  it  is  found  to 
bequeath  at  least  28  negroes,  naming  each  one  separately, 


EXTRAORDINARY  EVENTS  325 


niul  providin}^  for  the  support  of  two  of  thcin  during  life. 
William  Stover,  who  got  the  bulk  of  her  estate,  was  the  son 
of  her  sister  and  Daniel  Stover;  and  Phoebe  Crow,  wife  of 
Campbell  Crow,  to  whom  she  left  the  "negro  girl  Margaret 
and   her   four   children,   to   wit:     Lucy,    Mima,    Martin   and 
Mahala,   was   Phoel)e   Williams,   a  niece    of    Mary    Lincoln. 
Campbell  Crow  was  left  "the  lower  plantation,  it  being  the 
one  on  which  he  now  lives,  adjoining  the  land  of  Alfred  M. 
Carter  on  the  west  and  south  and  of  John  Carriger  on  the 
east."     To    Christian    Carriger,    Sr.,    she    bequeathed    seven 
negroes;  to  ]\Liry  Lincoln  Carriger,  wife  of  Christian  Carriger 
Sr.,   she  left  two  negro  girls.     Christian   Carriger,   Sr.,   had 
married   a   sister   of   Mary   Lincoln.      Daniel   Stover — J.    D. 
Jenkins'  great-grandfather — married  another  sister  of  JNIary 
Lincoln.       Daniel  Stover's  son   William   had   a  son    Daniel, 
who  married  Mary,  a  daughter  of  Andrew  Johnson,  the  suc- 
cessor of  Abraham  Lincoln  in  the  Presidency,  and  he  (John- 
son) died  in  her  house,  a  few  miles  above  Ehzabethton,  July 
31,  1875.     P.  T.  Brummit  lives  there  now.     It  was  not  a  part 
of  the  Lincoln  farm.     The  house  is  still  visible  from  the  rail- 
road, the  log  portion  thereof  having  been  torn  away;  but  the 
room  in  which  Andrew  Johnson  died,   in  the  second  story 
of  the  framed   addition  to  the  original  house,   still  stands. 
W.   Butler  Stover,   great-grandnephew  of  Mary   Lincoln,   of 
Jonesboro  (R.  F.  D.),  Tenn.,  still  has  ^klary  Lincoln's  Bible; 
but  he  wTote  (March  6,   19U)   that    "it  gives  no  dates  of 
births    or    deaths    or    marriages    of    any    of    the    Lincolns." 
William  Stover  was  Butler  Stover's  grandfather  and  inherited 
the  farm  on  which  Mary  and  Isaac  Lincoln  are  buried,  as 
their  tombstones  attest,  Mary's  stating  that  she  died  August 
27,  1834,  "aged  about  76  years."     It  is  said  that  Isaac  and 
Mary  Lincoln  had  but  one  child,  a  boy,  who  was  drouTied 
before  reaching  manhood.     ]\Irs.  H.  M.  Folsom  of  Elizabeth- 
ton  is  related  to  Mordecai  Lincoln,  while  Mrs.  W.  M.  Vought 
of  the  same  place  was  a  Carriger.      Dr.  Natt  Hyder,   who 
died    twenty-odd   years   ago,    and   whose    widow    still    lives 
at  Gap  Creek,  in  the  Sixth  District,  told  James  D.  Jenkins 
that  old  people  had  told   him — "Old   Man"    Lewis  particu- 
larh- — that  Abraham  Lincoln  was  born  on  the  side  of  Lynn 
mountain,  and  was  taken  in  his  mother's  arms  to  Kentucky, 
going  by  way  of  Stony  Fork  creek  and  Bristol.      An  anony- 


326        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

mous  writer — supposed  to  be  13.  Clay  JMiddleton — in  an 
article  which  was  published  in  the  Carter  County  A^ews, 
February  13,  1914,  says:  "Tradition  says  that  it  was  here,  in 
the  beautiful  Watauga  Valley,  so  rich  in  history,  that  the 
young  Thomas  Lincoln  first  met  and  wooed  the  gentle  Nancy 
Hanks,  whose  name  was  destined  to  become  immortal  through 
the  achievements  of  her  illustrious  son.  Tradition  further 
says  that  for  a  while  before  Thomas  Lincoln  and  Nancy 
Hanks  left  for  Kentucky  they  lived  for  a  time  together  as 
common  law  husband  and  wife  in  a  little  cabin  on  Lj'nn 
mountain,  which  overlooks  the  Watauga  valley.  I  have  been 
informed  that  old  people  in  that  vicinity  still  recall  the  site 
of  what  was  knowm  as  the  Tom  Lincoln  cabin,  and  traces  of 
the  spot  where  the  cabin  stood  still  remain  in  the  way  of 
stone  foundations,  etc."  He  also  cites  as  "a  little  singular 
that  the  life  of  Andrew  Johnson  in  a  way  should  be  inter- 
woven with  the  name  of  Lincoln,  whom  he  succeeded  as 
President  of  the  United  States.  When  he  married  Miss  Eliza 
McCardle,  at  Greenville,  Tenn.,  it  was  'Squire  Mordecai 
Lincoln  who  performed  the  ceremony.  His  daughter  iVIary 
married  Col.  Dan  Stover,  the  great  nephew  of  Isaac  Lincoln.'  " 

NOTES. 

'Statements  made  to  J.  P.  A.  in  1912. 

2Letter  from  S.  J.  Silver  to  J.  P.  A.,  dated  November  18,  1912. 

'Zebulon  settled  near  French  Broad  River  in  Buncombe  county,  2J-^  miles  below  Ashe- 
ville,  where  the  National  Casket  Factorj'  is  now,  and  died  there  years  ago. 

^Bedent  settled  on  Beaver  Dam,  two  miles  north  of  Asheville,  at  what  is  now  the  Way 
place,  where  he  died  in  1839.  Letter  of  Dr.  J.  S.  T.  Baird  to  J.  P.  A.,  December  16,  1912. 
Dr.  Baird  died  in  April,  1913. 

^Andrew,  a  brother  of  Zebulon  and  Bedent  Baird,  settled  in  Burke;  but  the  Valle  Crucis 
Baird  did  not  claim  descent  from  him  John  Burton  was  really  the  founder  of  Asheville, 
as  on  July  7,  1794,  he  obtained  a  grant  for  200  acres  covering  what  is  now  the  center  of  that 
city.  Condensed  from  Ashe^^lle's  Centenan.-.  He  afterwards  moved  to  Ashe  County  and 
in  April,  1799,  he  entered  200  acres  near  the  Virginia  line.     Deed  Book  A.,  p.  339. 

^Condensed  and  quoted  from  T.  L.  Clingman's"  Speeches  and  Writings,"  pp.  138,  et  seq. 

'University  Magazine  of  18SS-89. 

^Zeigler  &  Grosscup,  p.  245. 

'Letter  of  C.  C.  Duckworth  to  J.  P.  A.,  May  1,  1912. 

1  "Letter  from  C.  C.  Duckworth  to  J.  P.  A.,  Mav  1,  1912;  letter  from  D.  K.  Collins,  June 
7,  1912;  statement  of  Hon.  J.  C.  Pritchard,  June,  1912.  In  •'The  Child  That  Toileth  Not" 
(p.  448)  Pickens  county,  S.  C,  is  given  as  the  one  in  which  Redmond  held  forth  twenty  years 
ago,  etc. 

^^State  V.  Hnll,  114  N.  C,  p.  909. 

^'State  V.  Hall,  115  N.  C,  p.  811. 

I'For  Hon.  Z.  B.  Vance's  account  of  the  finding  of  Prof.  Mitchell's  body,  see  "Balsam 
Groves  of  the  Grandfather  Mountain, "  by  S.  M.  Dugger  (p.  261).  In  this  appears  a  list  of 
those  who  assisted  in  the  search.  From  this  account  it  seems  that  what  is  now  known  as 
Mitchell's  Peak  was  put  down  in  Cook's  Map  as  Mt.  Clingman.  and  that  Prof.  Mitchell 
insisted  that  he  had  measured  it  in  1844,  while  Gen.  Clingman  claimed  to  have  been  the 
first  to  measure  it. 

i<"Truth  Is  Stranger  Than  Fiction,"  pp.  130-137-139. 

i^Ibid.,  p.  86. 

i^Ibid.,  p.  74. 

'^According  to  Herndon,  Thomas  set  up  house-keeping  in  Indiana  with  the  tools  and 
liquor  he  had  recovered  from  his  capsized  river  boat,  p.  17. 

"From  Louisville  Courier  Journal,  of  Thursday,  Novmber  9,  1911. 

i8"The  Storj'  of  Abraham  Lincoln's  Mother,"  by  Carolina  Hanks  Hitchcock,  1889. 

''Tradition  as  related  by  James  D.  Jenkins,  Esq.,  recorder  of  Ehzabethton,  Tenn., 
who  also  stated  that  Isaac  Lincoln's  wife  was  Sarah  Stover,  of  Pennsylvania.  Also  that 
President  Andrew  Johnson  had  died  on  the  Isaac  Lincoln  farm. 


CHAPTER    XII 
HUMOROUS  AND  ROMANTIC 

A  Faithful  Picture  of  the  Past.  "Somewhere  about 
1830,"  writes  Judge  A.  C.  Avery,  "my  father  had  a  summer 
house  constructed  of  hewn  logs,  containing  four  rooms  and  a 
luill.  with  outhouses,  at  the  place  now  called  Plumtree.  It 
remained  till  about  1909,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire.  This 
was  a  mile  below  the  'Quarter,'  where  the  overseer  kept 
house  and  my  father's  sons,  who  successively  managed  the 
stock,  stayed.  There  were  a  number  of  negro  cabins  around 
the  Craborchard  proper,  which  was  located  about  half  a 
mile  from  where  Waightstill  W.  Avery  now  lives.  My  father  had 
large  meadows  there,  on  which  he  raised  a  quantity  of  hay  and 
wintered  hundreds  of  heads  of  cattle  that  ranged  on  the  moun- 
tains in  summer.  These  mountains  were  the  Roan  and  the 
Yellow,  on  whose  bald  summits  grass  grew  luxuriantly. 

Haymaking  in  the  Summertime.  "During  August  of  every 
year,  after  laying  by  his  crop  in  Burke  county,  my  father  took 
a  number  of  negroes  and  several  wagons  and  teams  over  to 
the  Craborchard,  and  moved  his  family  for  a  stay  of  two 
months  or  more  to  his  summer  house  at  Plumtree.  He  hired 
white  men  from  all  over  Yancey  county  to  help  his  negroes 
in  saving  the  hay. 

Open  House  and  Grand  Frolic.  "He  kept  open  house  at 
the  summer  place  and  large  parties  of  ladies  and  gentlemen 
went  out  there  from  time  to  time  and  had  a  grand  frolic. 
Many  of  the  young  people  rode  out  on  horseback,  and  some 
of  the  ladies  in  carriages.  Parties  were  continually  riding  out 
to  the  Roan,  the  Yellow  and  to  Linville  Falls.  The  woods 
were  full  of  deer,  and  all  the  streams  were  full  of  speckled 
trout  that  could  be  caught  with  red  worm  bait.  So,  the  ladies 
and  gentlemen  fished  in  Toe  river  and  its  tributaries  while 
others  of  the  gentlemen  hunted  deer,  often  killing  them  near 
enough  to  the  summer  house  for  the  shot  to  be  heard." 

Where  the  Boys  Were  "Hanged."  "The  late  James 
Gudger,  who  was  brought  in  his  early  infancy  to  his  father's 
residence  on  Swannanoa,  just  settled,  and  who,  in  1830,  and 

(327) 


328        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

1836,  represented  Buncombe  county  in  the  North  CaroHna 
Senate,  told  his  grandson,  Capt.  J.  M.  Gudger,  that  when  he 
was  a  very  small  boy  it  was  the  custom  to  send  a  number  of 
boys  with  bags  of  grain  to  mill  to  be  ground,  and  leave  it 
there  until  a  month  later,  when  the  boys  would  return  with 
other  grain  and  carry  back  the  meal  ground  from  the  first. 
He  further  said  that  usually  a  man  accompanied  the  party 
to  put  on  the  sacks  when  they  should  fall  from  the  horses, 
but  that  on  one  occasion  as  he,  then  a  very  small  boy,  was 
returning  from  the  mill,  with  his  companions  of  about  the 
same  age,  the  man  for  some  reason  was  not  along,  and  one 
of  the  sacks  fell  off  on  the  Battery  Park  hill  over  which  they 
had  to  pass;  that  while  endeavoring  in  vain  to  replace  the 
sacks  a  party  of  Indians  came  upon  them,  and  from  pure  mis- 
chief threatened  and  actually  began  to  hang  them;  that  the 
boys  ^  were  badly  frightened,  but  finally  the  Indians  left  them 
unharmed,  and  they  went  on  their  way,  and  that  the  hill  was 
afterwards  kno^vn  through  the  country  as  'the  hill  where  the 
boys  w^ere  hung. '  ^ 

Handlen  Mountain.  "He  still  further  said  that  the  mil- 
ler in  charge  of  the  mill,  whose  name  was  Handlen,  undertook 
to  cultivate  a  crop  on  the  mountain  on  the  western  side  of 
the  French  Broad,  but  as  he  did  not  return  to  the  settlement 
for  a  long  while  his  friends  became  frightened,  and  in  a  party 
went  to  the  clearing,  where  they  found  him  killed  and  scalped, 
and  his  crop  destroyed,  and  that  from  this  incident  that  moun- 
tain took  its  name  of  the  Handlen  mountain.  ^ 

"Talking  for  Buncombe."  "Famous  as  Buncombe  de- 
servedly is,  she  has  acquired  some  notoriety  that  no  place 
less  merits.  Her  name  has  become  synonymous  with  empty 
talk,  a  Incus  a  non  lucendo.  In  the  sixteenth  Congress  of  the 
United  States  the  district  of  North  Carolina  which  embraced 
Buncombe  county  was  represented  in  the  lower  house  by 
Felix  Walker.  The  Missouri  question  was  under  discussion 
and  the  house,  tired  of  speeches,  wanted  to  come  to  a  vote. 
At  this  time  Mr.  Walker  secured  the  floor  and  was  proceed- 
ing with  his  address,  at  best  not  very  forceful  or  entertain- 
ing, when  some  impatient  member  whispered  to  him  to  sit 
down  and  let  the  vote  be  taken.  This  he  refused  to  do, 
saying  that  he  must  'make  a  speech  for  Buncombe,'  that  is, 
for  his  constituents;  or,  as  others  say,  certain  members  rose 


HUMOROUS  AND  ROMANTIC  329 

and  loft  the  hall  while  he  was  speaking  and,  wiien  he  saw 
them  going,  he  turned  to  those  who  remained  and  told  them 
that  they  might  go,  too,  if  they  wished,  as  he  was  'only 
speaking  for  Buncombe.'  The  j^hrase  was  at  once  caught 
up  and  the  vocabulary  of  the  English  language  was  enriched 
by  the  addition  of  a  new  term.  "- 

Isolation  of  Mountain  Neighborhoods.  So  sequestered 
were  many  of  these  mountain  coves  which  lay  off  the  main 
lines  of  travel,  that  persons  living  within  only  short  distances 
of  each  other  were  as  though  "oceans  rolled  between";  as 
the  following  incident  abundantly  proves  : 

jMont.  Ray's  Flight,  Return  and  Trial.^  Soon  after 
the  Civil  War  Mont.  Ray  killed  Jack  Brown  of  Ivy,  between 
Ivy  and  Burnsville,  and  went  to  Buck's  tanyard,  just  west  of 
Carver's  gap  under  the  Roan  mountain,  where  he  supported 
himself  making  and  mending  shoes  till  many  of  the  most 
important  witnesses  against  him  had  gotten  beyond  the  juris- 
diction of  the  court — by  death  or  removal — when  he  returned 
and  stood  his  trial  in  Burnsville  and  was  acquitted.  He  had 
never  been  forty  miles  away,  had  remained  there  twelve  years; 
yet  no  one  ever  suspected  that  he  was  a  fugitive  from  justice. 

A  Forgotten  Battle-Field.  The  Star,  a  newspaper  pub- 
lished in  Sparta,  Alleghany  county,  in  its  issue  of  February 
29,  1912,  contained  the  following  :  "A  few  years  ago,  along 
New  river,  near  the  northern  border  of  this  county,  was  found 
what  is  believed  to  be  indications  of  a  battle  of  which  no  one 
now  living  has  any  knowledge,  nor  is  there  any  tradition 
among  our  people  concerning  it.  On  the  land  of  Squire  John 
Gambill,  near  the  bank  of  New  river,  after  a  severe  rain- 
storm and  wash-out,  some  white  objects  were  noticed  lying 
on  the  ground.  On  examination  these  were  found  to  be  human 
skulls  and  other  parts  of  human  skeletons.  Further  exami- 
nation revealed  other  marks  of  l)attle,  such  as  leaden  balls 
buried  in  old  trees  lying  on  the  ground,  etc.  Squire  Gambill's 
ancestors  have  resided  in  this  section  for  one  and  a  half  cen- 
turies; yet,  they  have  never  heard  of  the  occurrence,  nor  had 
they  any  tradition  of  it.  Who  fought  this  battle?  Why  was 
it  fought?  Was  there  a  fort  here?  Was  it  fought  between 
the  whites  and  Indians?"      (See  ante,  p.  108.) 

Andrew  Jackson  Loses  a  Horse  Race.  ''  In  the  late 
summer  or  early  fall  of  1788,  Andrew  Jackson  and  Robert 


330        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Love  had  a  horse  race  in  the  Greasy  Cove,  just  above  what  it 
now  Ervin,  Tenn.  It  seems  that  Jackson's  jockey  could  not 
ride  and  "Old  Hickory"  was  forced  to  ride  his  horse  him- 
self, while  Love's  jockey  was  on  hand  and  rode  Love's  horse, 
winning  the  race.  When  the  result  was  known  "just  for  a 
moment  there  was  a  deep,  ominous  hush;  then  a  pande- 
monium of  noise  and  tumult  that  might  have  been  heard 
in  the  two  neighboring  counties.  Jackson  was  the  chief 
actor  in  this  riot  of  passion  and  frenzy.  His  brow  was  cor- 
rugated with  wrath.  His  tall,  sinewy  form  shook  like  an 
aspen  leaf.  His  face  was  the  livid  color  of  the  storm  cloud — 
when  it  is  hurling  its  bolts  of  thunder.  His  Irish  blood  was 
up  to  the  boiling  point,  and  his  eyes  flashed  with  the  fire  of 
war.  He  was  an  overflowing  Vesuvius  of  rage,  pouring  the 
hot  lava  of  denunciation  on  the  Love  family  in  general  and 
his  victorious  rival  in  particular.  Col.  Love  stood  before  this 
storm  unblanched  and  unappalled — for  he,  too,  had  plenty  of 
'sand,'  and  as  Hghtly  esteemed  the  value  of  life — and  an- 
swered burning  invective  with  burning  invective  hissing  with 
the  same  degree  of  heat  and  exasperation.  Jackson  denounced 
the  Loves  as  a  'band  of  land  pirates'  because  they  held  the 
ownership  of  nearly  all  the  choice  lands  in  that  section.  Love 
retorted  by  calling  Jackson  'a  damned,  long,  gangling,  sor- 
rel-topped soap  stick.'  The  exasperating  offensiveness  of 
this  retort  may  be  better  understood  when  it  is  explained 
that  in  those  days  women  'conjured'  their  soap  by  stirring 
it  with  a  long  sassafras  stick.  The  dangerous  character  of 
both  men  was  well  known,  and  it  was  ended  by  the  interfer- 
ence of  mutual  friends,  who  led  the  enraged  rivals  from  the 
grounds  in  different  directions."  ■* 

Two  Old-Time  Gentlemen.  Major  O.  F.  Neal  was  a  law- 
yer and  farmer  who  lived  in  Jefferson,  and  who  died  in  1894. 
He  and  his  brother  Ben  were  punctilious  on  all  matters  of 
politeness.  On  one  occasion,  after  a  long  walk,  they  reached 
a  spring.  Ben  insisted  that,  as  the  Major  was  a  lawyer  and 
lived  in  town,  he  should  drink  first;  but  the  Major  claimed 
that  as  Ben  was  the  elder  he  must  drink  first.  As  neither 
would  yield  to  the  other,  they  politely  and  good-naturedly 
refused  to  drink  at  all,  and  returned  home  more  thirsty  than 
ever. 


HUMOROUS  AND  ROMANTIC  331 

The   FiKsT   Department   Stoue.      Two    nulcs    from    Old 
I<ield.  Ashe  countj'.  was  kept  from  about  1870  to  about  1890 
he  hrst  department  store  known.     It  was  kept  by  that  en- 
terprisnig  merc-hant  Arthur  D.  Cole,  and  the  iargv.  but  now 
empty.  bu.Idmgs  still  standing  there   show  the  extent  of  his 
busmess.     He  kept  as  many  as  twelve  clerks  employed,  and 
boasted  that  there  were  but  two  things  he  did  not  carry  con- 
s  antly  ni  stock,  one  being  the  grace  of  God  and  the  other 
blue  wool      A   friend   thought   he  had  him   "stumped"  one 
day  when  he  called  for  goose  yokes;  but  Cole  quietly  took  him 
up  stairs  and  showed  him  a  gross  which  he  had  had  on  hand 
for   years       He  and  his  father  did  more  to  develop  the  root 
and  herb  busmess  in  North  Carolina  than  anyone  else.     He 
failed  in  business,  after  nearly  twenty  years  of  success. 

A  .Mysterious  Disappearance.     Zachariah  Sawyer,  grand- 
f^ither  of  George  Washington  Sawyer,  now  register  of  deeds  of 
Ashe  county,   came  to  Ashe  from  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge 
eighty-odd   years  ago.     He  learned  that  he  was  entitled  to  a 
share  in  a  large  estate  in  England  and  went  there  to  collect 
his  interest.     After  he  had  been  in  that  country  a  short  time 
he  wrote  home  that  he  had  succeeded  in  collecting  his  share 
and  would  soon  start  home.  He  was  never  afterwards  heard  of 
Welburn  Waters,  Hermit  Hunter  of  White  Top      In 
a  well  written  book.  Mr.  J.  A.  Testerman  of  Jefferson  has 
drawn  a  striking  portrait  of  this  old-time  hunter  and  back- 
woodsman.    The  last  edition  is   dated    1911.     From  it   one 
gathers  that  Waters  was  born  on  Reddy's  river  in  AVilkes 
county.  November  20.  1812.  the  son  of  John  P.  Waters,  a  French 
Huguenot,  and  a  half-breed  Catawba  woman.  His  conversion 
and  his  distraction  at  a  conference  held  at  Abingdon,  Va     in 
18o9  because  he  was  afraid  some  harm  would  come  to  a  new 
hat  he  had  carried  to  church  are  amusingly  told,  while  his 
encounters  with  wild  beasts  and  his  solitary  life  on  White 
lop  are  graphically  portrayed. 

LocHiNVAR  Redux.  "About  the  year  1816,  John  Hols- 
claw,  a  young  and  adventurous  hunter,  and  a  regular  Loch- 
invar,  as  the  sequel  will  show,  built  a  bark  'shanty'  on  the 
waters  of  Elk  at  the  'Big  Bottoms.'  where  he  Hved'for  many 
years.  The  romance  of  his  life  was  that  he  went  over  to  Valle 
Crucis  a  settlement  only  eight  miles  distant,  and  there  by 
sheer  force  of  will,  or  love.  I  will  not  say  which,  carried  away. 


332        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

captive,  a  young  daughter  of  Col.  Bedent  Baird,  and  took  her 
over  the  mountains  bj''  a  route  so  circuitous  that,  from  what 
her  conductor  told  her,  she  verily  believed  she  was  in  Ken- 
tucky. She  was  kept  in  ignorance  of  where  she  actually  did 
live  for  many  years,  and  only  by  accident  found  out  better. 
One  day  she  heard  a  bell  whose  tinkle  seemed  strangely  famil- 
iar. She  went  to  the  steer  on  which  it  was  hung  and  found 
that  it  belonged  to  her  father.  This  clue  led  to  the  discovery 
that,  instead  of  being  in  Kentucky  she  was  not  eight  miles  as 
the  crow  flies  from  her  old  home  at  Valle  Crucis.  Of  course, 
she  thanked  her  husljand  for  the  deception,  as  all  women  do, 
and  they  lived  happy  ever  afterwards. 

"For  many  years  after  John  Holsclaw  settled  on  the  'Big 
Bottoms  of  Elk'  with  his  youthful  bride,  they  lived  solitary 
and  alone;  and  in  after  years  she  was  wont  to  tell  how  she 
had  frightened  away  the  wolves  which  prowled  around  when 
her  husband  was  away,  by  thrusting  firebrands  at  them,  when 
they  would  scamper  off  a  distance  and  make  night  hideous 
with  their  howls.  And  how,  in  after  years,  when  they  built 
a  rude  log  house  with  only  one  small  window  to  admit  the 
light,  and  had  moved  into  it,  Mr.  Holsclaw  killed  a  deer  and 
dressed  it,  and  had  gone  away,  a  panther,  smelling  the  fresh 
venison,  came  to  the  house  and  tried  to  get  in,  screaming 
with  all  the  ferocity  of  a  beast  brought  almost  to  the  point 
of  starvation.  There  was  no  one  in  the  house  but  the  woman 
and  one  child,  but  she  bravely  held  her  own  till  her  husband 
returned,  when  the  fierce  beast  was  frightened  away.  She 
lived  to  a  great  age,  and  only  a  few  years  ago  died,^  and  lies 
buried  on  a  beautiful  hillock  hard  by  the  place  of  her  nativ- 
ity, on  the  land  now  owned  by  one  of  her  nephews,  Mr.  W. 
B.  Baird,  one  time  sheriff  of  Watauga." 

Who  was  Seller  and  Who  was  Sold?  Col.  Carson  Vance 
lived  on  Rose's  creek,  between  Alta  Pass  and  Spruce  Pine 
before  and  during  and  after  the  Civil  War.  He  was  a  bright, 
but  eccentric  man.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  prac- 
ticed law  to  some  extent.  But  he  and  a  free  negro  named 
John  Jackson  made  up  a  plot  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Civil  War  whereby  they  were  to  go  together  to  New  Orleans, 
Vance  as  master  and  Jackson  as  slave.  At  New  Orleans 
Jackson  was  to  be  sold  for  all  the  cash  he  would  bring,  after 
which  Vance  was  to  disappear.     Then  Jackson  was  to  prove 


HUMOROUS  AND  ROMANTIC  333 

that  he  was  a  "free  person  of  color,"  re{j;ain  his  freedom  and 
rejoin  \'ance  on  the  outskirts  of  New  Orleans.  It  is  said  that 
this  scheme  worked  successfully  and  that  Vance  and  Jackson 
divided  the  proceeds  of  the  sale. 

Love  Finds  a  Way.  On  the  21st  of  June,  185G,  W.  M. 
Blalock,  commonly  called  Keith  Blalock,  and  Malinda  Pritch- 
ard  were  married  in  Caldwell  county,  close  to  the  Grand- 
father mountain.  In  1862  the  conscript  law  of  the  Confed- 
eracy went  into  operation,  and  Keith,  though  a  Union  man, 
was  clearly  subject  to  conscription.  There  was  no  escape 
from  it  except  by  volunteering.  But  to  do  that  would  be 
to  part  \v\ih  his  wife.  So  they  resolved  to  enlist  together 
and  seek  their  first  opportunity  of  deserting  and  getting  over 
into  the  Federal  lines.  They  went  to  Kinston,  N.  C,  and 
joined  the  26th  N.  C.  regiment,  then  commanded  by  Col. 
Zebulon  B.  Vance,  soon  afterwards  to  become  governor.  This 
was  on  the  12th  of  April,  1862.  She  wore  a  regular  private's 
uniform  and  tented  and  messed  with  her  husband.  She  en- 
listed and  was  knowTi  as  Sam  Blalock.  She  stood  guard, 
drilled  and  handled  her  musket  like  a  man,  and  no  one  ever 
suspected  her  sex.  But  they  were  too  far  from  the  Federal 
lines,  with  little  prospect  of  getting  nearer.  So  Keith  went 
into  a  swamp  and  rubbed  himself  all  over  with  poison  oak. 
They  sent  him  to  the  hospital  in  Kinston,  where  the  surgeons 
disagreed  as  to  his  ailment,  and  he  was  returned  to  his  own 
regiment,  where  his  surgeon  recomrtiended  his  discharge.  It 
was  granted  and  he  left  the  camp.  Then  his  wife  presented 
herself  to  Col.  Vance  and  said  that  as  long  as  they  had  sent 
her  man  home  she  wanted  to  go,  too.  An  explanation  fol- 
lowed with  confirmation  "strong  as  proof  of  holy  writ."  She 
was  discharged.  Keith  joined  the  Union  army  and  drew 
a  pension.  !Mrs.  Blalock  died  March  9,  1901.  He  was  called 
"Keith"  because  when  a  boy  he  w^as  a  great  fighter,  and  could 
"whip  his  weight  in  wild-cats,"  as  the  saying  went.  At  that 
time  there  was  a  fighter,  full  grown  and  of  great  renown,  who 
lived  at  Burnsville,  by  the  name  of  Alfred  Keith.  The 
boys  Blalock  played  with,  "double-teamed"  on  him  some- 
times, but  alwaj's  got  thrashed.  They  then  called  him  "Old 
Keith."     He  died  in  September,  1913,  at  Montezuma. 

The  Wild  Cat.  In  February,  1848,  when  she  was  sixteen 
years  old,  Mary  Garland,  afterwards  the  wife  of  Judge  Jacob 


334        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

W.  Bowman,  killed  a  wild  cat  which  had  followed  some  ducks 
into  her  yard.  She  hemmed  it  in  a  fence  corner  and  beat  it 
to  death  with  a  "battling  stick" — a  stout,  paddle-like  stick 
used  to  beat  clothes  when  they  are  being  washed.  This  was 
on  Big  Rock  creek,  Mitchell  county.  Her  cousins,  Jane  and 
Nancy  Stanley,  while  tending  the  boiling  of  maple  sugar  sap 
in  a  camp  on  the  waters  of  Big  Rock  creek  in  the  spring  of 
1842,  when  sixteen  and  thirteen  years  old  respectively,  killed 
a  black  bear  which  had  been  attracted  by  the  smell  of  sugar, 
by  driving  it  into  a  small  tree  and  killing  it  with  an  ax. 

A  Moonshiner's  Heaven.  Forty  years  ago  Lost  Cove  was 
almost  inaccessible,  except  by  trails ;  but  last  year  (1912)  a  wagon 
road  over  three  miles  long  was  constructed  to  it  over  the 
ridges  from  Poplar  Station  on  the  C.  C.  &  O.  Railroad.  Such  a 
secluded  place  was  a  great  temptation  to  moonshiners,  and 
when  to  its  inaccessibility  was  added  the  fact  that  it  was  in 
dispute  between  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina,  its  fascina- 
tions became  irresistible.  Accordingly  John  D.  Tipton  was 
accused  of  having  begun  business  by  the  light  of  the  moon, 
as  was  evidenced  by  sundry  indictments  in  the  United  States 
court  at  Asheville.  His  example  was  soon  followed  bj^  others; 
but,  whenever  it  appeared  to  Judge  R.  P.  Dick  that  the  al- 
ledged  stills  were  in  the  disputed  territory,  he  directed  the 
discharge  of  the  defendants.  However,  a  mighty  change  has 
taken  place  in  Lost  Cove  \vithin  the  past  few  years,  and  not 
only  is  there  no  moonshining  there  now,  even  when  fair  Luna 
is  at  the  full,  but  the  good  people  will  not  suffer  the  "critter" 
to  be  brought  in  from  Teimessee.  And  better  still,  in  1910 
they  built  a  school  house  and  a  church,  and  voted  a  special 
school  tax,  the  first  school  having  been  taught  in  1911. 

Peggy's  Hole.  Three-quarters  of  a  mile  above  Elk  Cross 
Roads,  now  Todd,  is  a  high  bluff,  covered  with  laurel,  pines 
and  ivy.  It  is  at  a  bend  of  New  river.  About  1815  Mrs. 
Peggy  Clauson  was  going  to  church  on  a  bright  Sunday  morn- 
ing. Dogs  had  run  a  bear  off  the  bluff  into  a  deep  hole  at 
the  base  of  a  cliff,  and  Mrs.  Clauson  saw  him  swimming 
around  in  the  water.  She  waded  in  and,  seizing  the  brute  by 
both  ears,  forced  his  head  under  the  water  and  held  it  there 
until  Bruin  had  drow^ned.  It  has  been  called  Peggy's  Hole 
ever  since. 


HUMOROUS  AND  ROMANTIC  335 

The  Hermit  of  Bald  Mountain."  "In  Yancey  county, 
visible  from  the  Roan,  and  forty-five  miles  from  Asheville,  is 
a  peak  known  as  CJrier's  Bald,  named  in  memory  of  David 
Grier,  a  hermit,  who  lived  upon  it  for  thirty-two  years.  From 
poj^t humous  papers  of  Silas  McDowell,  we  learn  the  following 
facts  of  the  hermit's  singular  history.  A  native  of  South  Caro- 
lina, he  came  into  the  mountains  in  1798,  and  made  his  home 
with  Colonel  David  Vance,  whose  daughter  he  fell  in  love 
with.  His  suit  was  not  encouraged;  the  young  lady  was  mar- 
ried to  another,  and  Grier,  with  mind  evidently  crazed, 
plunged  into  the  wilderness.  This  was  in  1802.  On  reach- 
ing the  bald  summit  of  the  peak  which  bears  his  name,  he 
determined  to  erect  a  permanent  lodge  in  one  of  the  coves. 
He  built  a  log  house  and  cleared  a  tract  of  nine  acres,  sub- 
sisting in  the  meantime  by  hunting  and  on  a  portion  of  the 
S250  paid  him  by  Colonel  Vance  for  his  late  services.  He 
was  twenty  miles  from  a  habitation.  For  years  he  lived  un- 
disturbed; then  settlers  began  to  encroach  on  his  wild  domains. 
In  a  quarrel  about  some  of  his  real  or  imaginary  landed  rights, 
he  killed  a  man  named  Holland  Higgins.  At  the  trial  he  was 
cleared  on  the  ground  of  insanity,  and  returned  home  to  meet 
death  at  the  hands  of  one  of  Holland's  friends.  Grier  was  a 
man  of  strong  mind  and  fair  education.  After  killing  Higgins, 
he  published  a  pamphlet  in  justification  of  his  act,  and  sold 
it  on  the  streets.  He  left  papers  of  interest,  containing  his 
life's  record  and  views  of  life  in  general,  showdng  that  he  was 
a  deist,  and  a  believer  in  the  right  of  every  man  to  take  the 
executive  power  of  the  law  into  his  own.  hands." 

Old  Cataloochee  Stories.  0\ving  to  the  fact  that  the 
late  Col.  Allen  T.  Davidson  spent  much  of  his  young  man- 
hood hunting  and  fishing  in  Cataloochee  valley,  much  of  its 
early  history  has  been  preserved.  From  him  it  was  learned 
that  years  ago  Zach  White  shot  a  deputy  sheriff  named  Ray- 
burn  when  Col.  Davidson  was  a  boy,  and  hid  near  a  big  rock 
in  a  little  flat  one  half  mile  above  the  late  Lafayette  Palmer's 
home,  where  for  years  Neddy  McFalls  and  Dick  Clark  fed 
him.  He  also  stayed  on  Shanty  branch  near  where  Har- 
rison Caldwell  now  lives.  This  branch  got  its  name  from  a 
shanty  or  shed  that  Old  Smart,  a  slave  of  Mitchell  David- 
son, built  there  while  he  tended  cattle  for  his  master  years 
before  any  white  people  ever  lived  in  that  valley.     The  cattle 


336        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ranged  on  the  Bunk  mountain  and  on  Mount  Sterling,  and 
one  day  when  Neddy  McFalls  was  looking  for  them  to  salt 
them  he  could  not  find  a  trace  of  them  anywhere.  His  nick- 
name for  Col.  Davidson  was  Twitty.  Now  the  Round  Bunk 
mountain  stands  between  the  lefthand  fork  of  the  Little 
Cataloochee  and  Deep  Gap,  while  the  Long  branch  runs  from 
the  balsam  on  Mount  Sterling  and  between  the  headwaters 
of  Little  Cataloochee  and  Indian  creek.  It  was  on  the  Long 
Branch  that  Col.  Davidson  and  Neddy  McFalls  were  standing 
when  the  latter  put  his  hands  to  his  mouth  and  cried  out :  "Low, 
Dudley,  low!",  Dudley  being  the  name  of  the  bull  with  the 
herd  of  cattle;  and  almost  immediately  they  heard  Dudley 
from  the  top  of  Mount  Sterling  give  a  long,  loud  low,  and  they 
knew  that  their  cattle  were  found.  Richard  Clark  is  the  one 
who  gave  the  name  to  the  Bunk  mountain.''  Neddy  ]\IcFalIs 
was  a  great  believer  in  witchcraft.  He  carried  a  rifle  that 
had  been  made  by  a  man  of  the  name  of  Gallaspie  on  the 
head  of  the  French  Broad  river,  while  Col.  Davidson's  gun 
was  known  as  the  Aaron  Price  gun.  Neddy  missed  a  fair  shot 
at  a  buck  one  day  and  nothing  could  persuade  him  from  leav- 
ing Cataloochee  and  traveling  miles  to  a  female  witch  doctor 
who  was  to  take  the  "spell"  off  his  gun.  Jim  Price  was  found 
dead  of  milk  sick  west  of  the  "Purchase,"  formerly  the  home 
of  John  L.  Ferguson  on  top  of  Cataloochee  mountain,  on 
another  branch,  also  kno^\'n  as  the  Long  branch.  A  little  dog, 
stayed  with  the  body  and  attracted  the  searchers  to  it  by 
getting  on  a  foot-log  and  howling. 

It  was  said  that  the  Indians  had  killed  Neddy  McFall's 
father  and  that  he  had  a  grudge  against  all  Indians  in  conse- 
quence. So  one  day  Neddy  and  Sam  ]\IcGaha  were  together 
and  saw  an  Indian  seated  on  a  log.  Neddy  told  McGaha 
that  the  triggers  on  his  rifle  were  "set,"  that  is  locked,  and 
asked  him  to  take  a  good  aim  at  the  Indian  just  for  fun.  Not 
knowing  that  the  triggers  were  really  "sprung,"  and  that 
the  shghtest  touch  on  the  "hair-trigger"  would  fire  the  rifle, 
McGaha  did  as  he  was  asked,  with  the  result  that  the  Indian 
fell  dead.  It  is  said  that  Neddy  had  to  run  for  his  life  to  es- 
cape the  wrath  of  McGaha. 

Private  Wm.  Nicodemus.  An  Indian  named  Christie  lived 
on  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  ]Murphy,  and  a  ford  crossing 
Valley  river  between  the  two  bridges  of  the  present  day  was 


HUMOROUS  AND  ROMANTIC  337 

for  years  called  the  Christie  ford.  The  first  house  built  by  a 
white  man  in  Cherokee  county  was  a  large  two-story  log  house 
with  several  rooms,  erected  by  A.  R.  S.  Hunter,  originally  of 
Virginia,  but  who  moved  into  North  Carolina  from  (leorgia. 
Its  furniture  was  of  mahogany  and  was  brought  by  Indians 
on  their  shoulders  from  Walhalla,  South  Carolina,  there  being 
no  wagon  roads  at  that  time.  Mr.  Hunter,  in  about  1838, 
built  a  better  house.  General  Wool  and  General  Winfield 
Scott  were  entertained  by  the  Hunters  during  the  time  of  the 
removal  of  the  Cherokees.  Several  of  the  United  States 
soldiers  engaged  in  that  heart-rending  process  died  and  were 
buried  near  this  old  residence;  but  these  remains  were  removed 
in  1905  or  1006  to  the  National  cemetery  at  Marietta,  Georgia. 
On  one  of  the  old  headstones  a  single  name  is  yet  decipherable 
— that  of  Wm.  Nicodemus. 

Cupid  and  the  General's  Surgeon.  Fort  Butler  was  on 
a  hill  not  far  from  the  Hunter  home.  Mr.  Hunter  had  one 
child,  a  daughter,  who  married  Dr.  Charles  M.  Hitchcock,  a 
surgeon  on  Gen.  Wool's  staff  during  the  "Removal"  and  the 
iMexican  War.  They  afterwards  moved  to  California,  where 
they  acquired  many  valuable  lands  and  settled  at  San  Fran- 
cisco. They  had  one  child,  a  daughter,  Lily,  who  is  now  a 
Mrs.  Coit,  and  spends  much  of  her  time  in  Paris,  France. 
She  still  owns  all  the  lands  in  Cherokee  countj^  which  were 
acquired  by  her  grandfather,  Mr.  Hunter.  They  embrace 
all  the  land  between  the  Notla  and  the  Hiwassee,  the  "Mead- 
ows, "  on  the  head  of  Tallulah  creek  in  Graham  county,  and  land 
in  Murphy,  where  she  owns  a  house  near  the  west  end  of  the 
bridge  over  the  Hiwassee  river. 

A  Frightened  Entry-Taker.  The  Entry-Taker's  office 
was  opened  in  Murphy  on  the  last  of  March,  1842,  when  much 
excitement  prevailed,  as  it  was  strictly  a  case  of  "first  come, 
first  served. "  It  is  said  that  so  eager  and  demonstrative  was 
the  crowd  that  Drewry  Weeks  became  alarmed  and  hid  him- 
self in  one  of  the  upstairs  rooms  of  the  old  jail,  and  that,  when 
he  was  finally  discovered,  the  rush  that  was  made  upon  him 
was  really  terrifying.  They  broke  out  the  window  lights 
with  their  fists  and  handed  or  threw  their  bundles  of  entries 
and  surveys  through  these  openings.  One  land-hungry  citi- 
zen, Stephen  Whitaker  by  name,  used  to  tell  how  he  climbed 
upon  the  shoulders  of  the  dense  crowd  of  men  who  were  packed 

W.  N.  C— 22 


338        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

in  front  of  the  window  of  the  jail  and  scrambled  and  crawled 
on  hands  and  knees  over  the  heads  of  those  who  were  so 
crowded  together  that  they  could  not  use  their  fists  upon  him, 
or  dislodge  him  by  allowing  him  to  drop  by  his  own  weight, 
till  he  reached  the  window  and  so  got  a  place  near  the  head 
of  the  list.  It  is  said,  however,  that  the  execrations  and 
maledictions — commonly  called  curses — which  were  hurled 
at  him  were  enough  to  damn  him  eternally,  if  mere  words 
could  accomplish  that  result. 

A  Strange  Dream.  Dr.  J.  E.  West  was  drowned  March 
19,  1881,  while  attempting  to  ford  the  Tuckaseegee  river  at 
the  Bear  Ford,  and  remained  in  the  water  about  two  weeks, 
when  Rachel  Grant,  a  poor  woman  whose  son  Dr.  West  had 
been  treating,  dreamed  that  he  came  to  her  and  on  seeing 
him  she  expressed  surprise  and  told  him  she  thought  that  he 
was  drowned.  He  told  her  that  he  was  and  wanted  to  tell 
her  where  to  direct  the  men,  when  they  came  to  search,  where 
to  find  his  body.  He  said  to  tell  them  to  get  into  the  canoe 
and  pole  toward  two  maples  on  the  opposite  side  and  when 
they  got  near  the  current  that  came  around  a  rock  to  put 
their  pole  down  and  they  would  find  him.  When  she  awoke 
in  the  moring  she  dressed  and  walked  up  to  the  landing  to  see 
if  it  looked  like  she  had  seen  it  while  dreaming.  She  was  so 
impressed  that  she  sat  and  waited  till  the  searching  party 
came,  to  whom  she  told  her  story.  Of  course,  some  were 
amused  while  a  few  had  faith  enough  to  follow  her  directions, 
and  when  they  did  so  found  the  body  in  the  precise  place  she 
had  pointed  out  to  them.  Mrs.  Grant  is  still  living  in  this 
county,  as  well  as  some  of  those  who  found  the  body.  It  had 
floated  about  one-half  mile.^ 

The  Delosia  "Mind. "^  A  man  named  Edward  Delosia, 
of  Blount  county,  Tenn.,  claimed  to  have  discovered  a  gold 
mine  in  the  Smoky  mountains  years  before  the  Civil  War; 
and  it  is  said  that  he  left  a  "way  bill"  or  chart  telling  where 
it  might  be  found.  This  chart  located  it  at  some  point  from 
which  the  Little  Tennessee  river  could  be  seen  in  three  places 
coming  toward  the  observer  and  in  three  places  going  from 
the  observer.  No  such  place  has  ever  been  discovered,  though 
there  are  points  on  the  Gregory  and  Parsons  Balds  from  which 
the  river  can  be  seen  in  several  places.  It  was  said  that  De- 
losia claimed  he  had  cut  ofT  solid  "chunks"  of  gold  with  his 


HUMOROUS  AND  ROMANTIC  339 

hatchet.  Manj-  have  hunted  for  it,  and  many  more  will  con- 
tinue to  seek  it,  but  in  vain.  Many  others  had  and  still  have 
what  niay  very  properly  be  termed  the  "Delosia  Mind,"  or 
the  belief  that  sooner  or  later  they  would  or  will  discover 
minerals  of  untold  value  in  these  mountains. 

A  Thrilling  Boat  Ride.  A  large  whale  boat  had  been 
built  at  Robbinsville  and  hauled  to  a  place  on  Snowbird  creek 
just  below  Ab.  Moody's,  where  it  was  put  into  the  creek,  and  it 
was  floated  down  that  creek  to  Cheoah  river  and  thence  to  John- 
son's post-office,  where  Pat  Jenkins  then  lived.  It  was  hauled 
from  there  by  wagon  to  Rocky  Point,  where,  in  April,  1893,  Cal- 
vin Lord,  Mike  Crise  and  Sam  McFalls,  lumbermen  working  for 
the  Belding  Lumber  Company,  got  into  it  and  started  down 
the  Little  Tennessee  on  a  "tide"  or  freshet.  No  one  ever  ex- 
pected to  see  them  alive  again.  But  they  survived.  By  catch- 
ing the  overhanging  branches  when  swept  toward  the  northern 
bank  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cheoah  river  the  crew  managed  to 
effect  a  landing,  where  they  spent  the  night.  They  started  again 
the  next  morning  at  daylight  and  got  to  Rabbit  branch,  where 
the  men  who  had  been  sent  to  hunt  them  found  them.  They 
spent  three  days  there  till  the  tide  subsided,  then  they  went 
on  to  the  Harden  farm,  which  they  reached  just  one  week 
after  leaving  Rocky  Point.  No  one  has  ever  attempted  this 
feat  since,  even  when  the  water  was  not  high.  The  boat  was 
afterwards  taken  on  to  Lenoir  City,  Tenn. 

A  Faithful  Dog.  Many  incidents  occurred  in  which  our 
pioneer  mothers  showed  grit  equal  to  that  of  their  intrepid 
husbands.  But  there  is  one  of  the  intelligence  and  faithful- 
ness of  a  dog  that  deserves  to  be  recorded. 

William  Sawyer,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  that  section,  was  liv- 
ing on  Hazel  creek,  near  where  the  famous  Adams-Westfeldt 
copper  lead  was  afterwards  found.  He  left  home  one  day  in 
1858,  when  there  was  what  the  natives  call  a  "httle  blue  snow" 
covering  the  landscape,  taking  with  him  his  trusty  rifle  and 
his  trustier  dog.  Together  they  went  into  the  Bone  Valley, 
on  Bone  creek,  one  of  the  head  prongs  of  Hazel  creek,  and  so 
called  because  a  number  of  cattle  had  perished  there  from 
cold  several  years  before,  their  bleaching  bones  remaining 
as  a  reminder  of  the  blizzard  that  had  locked  everything  in  its 
icy  fingers  late  in  a  preceding  spring. 

William  Sawyer  killed  a  large  bear  and  proceeded  to  disem- 
bowel and  skin  him,  after  which  he  started  home  loaded  do\\'n 


340        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

with  bear  meat.  But  he  did  not  get  far  before  he  fell  dead  in  the 
trail.  The  dog  remained  with  him  till  after  midnight,  when, 
being  satisfied  that  his  master  was  dead,  he  left  the  cold  body 
in  the  woods  and  proceeded  back  home.  Arriving  there  just 
before  day,  the  faithful  animal  whined  and  scratched  on  the 
door  till  he  was  admitted.  Once  inside  the  cabin,  he  kept 
up  his  whining  and,  catching  the  skirts  of  Mrs.  Sa^vyer's  dress 
in  his  mouth,  tried  to  draw  her  to  the  door  and  outside  the 
house.  Quickly  divining  the  dog's  purpose  and  concluding 
that  he  was  trying  to  lead  her  to  her  husband,  she  summoned 
her  neighbors  and  followed.  She  soon  discovered  the  body 
of  her  husband,  cold  and  stiff. 

Aquilla  Rose.  This  picturesque  blockader  lives  at  the 
head  of  Eagle  creek  in  Swain  county.  Soon  after  the  Civil 
War  he  got  into  a  row  vnth  a  man  named  Rhodes  a  mile  be- 
low Bryson  City,  and  was  shot  through  the  body.  As  Rose 
fell,  however,  he  managed  to  cut  his  antagonist  wath  a  knife, 
wounding  him  mortally.  After  this  he  went  to  Texas  and 
staj^ed  there  some  time,  returning  a  few  years  later  and  set- 
tling with  his  faithful  vnie  at  his  present  home.  It  is  near 
the  Tennessee  line,  and  if  anyone  were  searching  for  an  inac- 
cessible place  at  that  time  he  could  not  have  improved  on 
Quil's  choice.  He  was  never  arrested  for  killing  Rhodes,  self- 
defence  being  too  evident.  In  1912  he  made  a  mistake  about 
feeding  some  swill  to  his  hogs  and  was  "haled" — literally  hauled 
— before  Judge  Boyd  at  Asheville  on  a  charge  of  operating 
an  illicit  distillery  near  his  peaceful  home.  It  was  his  violation 
of  the  eleventh  commandment,  to  "never  get  ketched";  but 
Quil  was  getting  old  and  probably  needed  a  dram  early  in  the 
morning,  anj^how.  Judge  Boyd  was  merciful,  and  it  is  safe 
to  predict  that  Quil  will  keep  that  eleventh  commandment 
hereafter. 

The  Golden  City.  Wm.  H.  Herbert  o\Mied  a  large  bound- 
ary of  land  in  Clay  which  had  been  entered  for  Dr.  David 
Christie  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  before  the  Civil  War,  say  about 
1857  or  1858,  the  warrants  having  been  issued  to  M.  L.  Brit- 
tain  and  J.  R.  Dyche,  who  assigned  them  to  Dr.  Christie. 
He  gave  bonds  to  the  State  in  1859  ;  but  the  Civil  War 
came  on  and  Dr.  Christie  returned  to  the  North,  and  failed 
to  pay  for  them.  On  February  27,  1865,  the  North  Carolina 
legislature  passed  an  act  authorizing  any  person  to  pay  for  these 


HUMOROUS  AND  ROMANTIC  341 

Uimls  and  take  grants  from  the  State  for  thciu.  Wm.  II.  Her- 
bert paiil  what  was  due  on  Christie's  bonds  and  took  grants 
for  the  lands. 

He  then  sold  three  hundred  acres  (Grant  No.  2989)  to  Peter 
Eckels,  of  Cincinnati,  about  1870,  and  aljout  1874  Peter 
Eckels  divided  this  tract  into  lots  (on  paper  only)  calling  it 
The  Golden  City.  But  it  was  "Wild  Land"  on  Tusquittee 
mountain  at  the  head  of  Johnson  creek,  and  was  not  very  val- 
uable. He  sold  several  lots,  however,  to  people  in  Cincinnati 
and  years  afterwards  vain  attempts  were  made  to  locate  this 
Golden  City. 

A  Large  Heart.  For  several  years  after  the  Civil  War 
and  up  to  the  time  of  his  death  the  residence  of  the  late  John 
H.  Johnson  was  the  scene  of  much  hospitality.  The  lawyers 
hurried  through  court  duties  at  Murph}',  Robbinsville  and 
Haycsville  in  order  to  get  to  spend  as  much  time  as  possible 
beneath  his  roof.  It  was  at  a  certain  hospitable  house  in 
Clay  county  that  rose  leaves  were  scattered  between  the  mat- 
tresses and  the  sheets,  and  the  table  groaned  with  the  good 
things  provided  by  the  o\\Tier,  and  which  were  deliciously  served 
by  his  wife  and  five  charming  daughters.  One  love-sick  "  limb  of 
the  law"  is  said  to  have  addressed  four  of  them  in  quick  succes- 
sion one  bright  Sabbath  dsLX  in  the  early  seventies  only 
to  be  rejected  by  each  in  turn.  It  seems  that  these  sisters 
had  told  each  other  of  the  proposals  received,  and  that  the 
ardent  lover  had  sworn  that  he  loved  each  one  to  distraction. 
So,  when  he  made  this  declaration  to  the  fourth  and  youngest, 
she  asked  him  if  he  had  not  made  the  same  protestation  of 
love  and  devotion  to  her  three  elder  sisters.  He  promptly 
admitted  that  he  had.  When  she  asked  him  how  it  was  pos- 
sible for  him  to  love  four  girls  at  once,  he  solemnly  assured 
her  that  he  had  a  heart  as  big  as  a  horse  collar. 

Bruin  Meets  His  Fate.  It  is  a  well  authenticated  fact 
that  r^Irs.  Norton,  then  living  in  Cashier's  Valley,  was  awak- 
ened one  night  while  her  husband  was  away  from  home,  by 
hearing  a  great  commotion  and  the  squealing  of  hogs  at  the 
hog-pen  near  by.  Her  children  were  small  and  there  was  no 
"man  pusson"  about  the  place.  The  night  was  cold  and 
she  had  no  time  to  clothe  herself,  but,  rushing  from  the  cabin 
in  her  night  dress  and  with  bare  feet,  she  snatched  an  axe 
from  the  wood-pile  and  hastening  to  the  hog-pen,  saw  a  large, 


342        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

black  bear  in  the  act  of  killing  one  of  her  pet  "fattening  hogs." 
She  did  not  hesitate  an  instant,  but  went  on  and,  aiming  a 
well-directed  blow  at  Bruin's  cranium,  split  it  from  ears  to  chin 
and  so  had  bear  meat  for  breakfast  instead  of  furnishing  pork 
for  the  daring  marauder. 

Neddy  Davidson  and  "Granny"  Weiss.^°  Old  Neddy- 
Davidson,  of  Davidson  river,  was  a  mulatto  who  lived  to  be 
very  old — some  claiming  that  he  was  116  years  of  age 
when  he  died.  He  was  given  his  freedom  by  his  master,  Ben 
Davidson,  and  afterwards  moved  to  Canada.  But  he  re- 
turned to  his  old  home  on  Davidson  river  before  his  death  and 
about  a  year  before  that  event  Judge  Shu  ford  went  to  his  house 
and  spent  half  the  day  with  him,  listening  to  his  stories  of 
old  times.  He  told  of  frequent  fights  at  the  Big  Musters  then 
common  in  this  section,  and  of  many  other  characters. 
Among  the  latter  was  a  man  named  Johnson  who  used  to  live 
on  Davidson  river  and  "settled"  what  is  now  kno^xm  as  the 
Old  Deaver  (locally  pronounced  Devver)  place.  Some- 
thing like  one  hundred  years  ago  a  cattle  buyer  named  Carson 
stopped  all  night  with  Johnson  and  discovered  the  following 
morning  that  all  his  money,  two  or  three  hundred  dollars, 
was  missing.  Having  no  reason  to  suspect  Johnson  or  his  fam- 
ily of  the  theft,  he  left  for  his  home.  Shortly  after  his  depart- 
ure Johnson  was  very  seriously  affected  with  gravel  and  sent 
for  an  old  woman  reputed  to  be  a  witch,  known  as  "Granny" 
Weiss  or  Weice.  She  lived  on  the  French  Broad  river,  near 
the  mouth  of  Davidson's  river.  On  her  way  to  attend  the 
sick  man  she  met  his  (Johnson's)  wife  carrying  a  lot  of  money. 
She  explained  to  Gramiy  Weiss  that  both  she  and  her  husband 
were  convinced  that  his  urinary  affliction  had  been  visited 
upon  him  because  he  had  taken  Carson's  money  and  that 
it  would  not  be  relieved  till  the  money  had  been  thrown  into 
the  French  Broad  river. 

A  Practical  "Witch."  ^^  Well,  the  story  went,  that  if 
Granny  was  a  witch,  she  was  a  wise  and  good  one.  For  she 
immediately  put  her  veto  on  throwing  that  money  in  the 
French  Broad  river.  She  admitted  that  its  theft  from  Carson 
by  Johnson  was  the  real  cause  of  the  latter's  sickness;  but, 
insisted  that  instead  of  throwing  the  money  into  the  French 
Broad  the  proper  course  would  be  to  send  for  Carson,  its  true 
0"WTier,  and  return  it  to  him.     This  was  done.     Carson  did 


HUMOROUS  AND  ROMANTIC  343 

not  prosecute  Johnson,  but  the  true  story  got  out  and  Johnson 
had  to  sell  his  place  and  move  away. 

A  Pathetic  Story.  Mr.  John  Lyon  of  Great  Britain  was 
an  assiduous  collector  of  our  plants,  and  was  prohal)ly  in  these 
mountains  prior  to  1802.  "He,  however,  spent  several 
years  there  at  a  subsequent  period,  and  died  at  Asheville  in 
September,  1814,  agetl  forty-nine  years."  In  Riverside 
cemetery,  Asheville,  is  a  small  tombstone  bearing  the  follow- 
ing inscription:  "In  Memory  of  John  Lyon,  who  departed 
this  life  Sept.  14,  1814,  aged  49  years."  From  a  letter  writ- 
ten by  the  late  Silas  McDowell  of  Macon  county,  N.  C,  to 
Dr.  M.  A.  Curtis,  author  of  "Woody  Plants  of  North  Caro- 
lina," and  dated  October,  1877,  we  learn  that  Lyon  had  been 
"a  low,  thick-set,  small  man  of  fine  countenance,"  and  had 
come  from  Black  Mountain  in  the  early  autumn  of  1814,  sick; 
that  he  took  a  room  in  the  Eagle  hotel.  Also  that  for  two  sum- 
mers prior  to  that  time  he  had  been  seen  in  Asheville  by  Mr. 
^IcDowell.  Lyon  and  James  Johnston,  a  blacksmith  from 
Kentucky',  and  a  man  of  great  size,  had  become  friends.  So, 
when  Lyon  took  to  his  bed,  Johnston  had  a  bed  placed  in  the 
same  room  for  his  own  use,  and  attended  the  botanist  at 
night.  The  boy,  Silas  McDowell,  had  also  become  attached 
to  Mr.  Lyon,  and  on  the  day  of  his  death  had  gone  to  his 
room  earlier  than  usual.  "This  day  throughout  had  been 
one  of  those  clear  autumnal  days,"  continues  this  letter, 
"when  the  blue  heavens  look  so  transcendantly  pure!  but 
now  the  day  was  drawing  fast  to  a  close,  the  sun  was  about 
sinking  behind  the  distant  blue  mountains,  its  rays  gleaming 
through  a  light  haze  of  fleecy  cloud  that  lay  motionless  upon 
the  western  horizon,  and  which  the  sun's  rays  were  changing 
to  that  bright  golden  tint  that  we  can  look  on  and  feel,  but 
can't  describe.  The  dying  man  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
beautiful  scene  and  observed:  'Friend  Johnston,  we  are  hav- 
ing a  beautiful  sunset — the  last  I  shall  ever  behold — will 
you  be  so  kind  as  to  take  me  to  the  window  and  let  me  look 
out?'  Johnston  carried  him  to  the  window,  took  a  seat  and 
held  the  dying  man  in  a  position  so  that  his  eyes  might  take 
in  the  beautiful  scene  before  him.  With  seraphic  look  he  gazed 
intently,  uttering  the  while  a  low  prayer — or  rather  the 
soul's  outburst  of  rapturous  adoration  and  praise.  After 
the  sun  sank  out  of  sight,  and  the  beautiful  scene  faded  out. 


344        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


he  exclaimed:  'Beautiful  world,  farewell!  Friend  Johnston, 
lay  me  down  upon  my  bed — I  feel  as  if  I  can  sleep — I  may 
not  awake — kiss  me  Johnston — now  farewell.'  He  fell 
asleep  in  a  short  time  and  soon  all  was  still.  All  of  John 
Lyon  that  was  mortal  was  dead." 

The  kind-hearted  blacksmith  left  Asheville  soon  afterward, 
but  soon  met  and  married  a  lady  of  property  in  Alabama, 
and  had  two  sons.  ^  - 

Soon  after  the  death  of  John  Lyon  friends  in  Edinburgh, 
Scotland,  sent  the  tombstone  that  now  marks  his  grave.  His 
grave  had  been  in  the  graveyard  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
church,  but  was  removed  to  Riverside  in  1878,  the  late  Col. 
Allen  T.  Davidson  and  Mr.  W.  S.  Cornell,  the  keeper  of  the 
cemetery,  bearing  the  expense. 

The  Judge,  the  Whistlers,  and  the  Geese.  Judge  J. 
M.  Cloud  of  Salem  rode  the  mountain  circuit  in  1871  and  in 
1872.  He  was  a  fearless  and  honest  man  Avhose  knowledge 
of  law  consisted  mainly  in  his  knowledge  of  human  nature,  and  in 
his  own  good  sense.  He  was  very  eccentric  and,  apparently, 
the  fiercest  and  sternest  of  jurists;  but  he  was  really  a  tender 
hearted  gentleman.  He  was  a  bachelor  and  affected  to  hate 
whistling  and  the  noise  of  geese  and  chickens;  but  he  himself 
could  shake  a  log  house  with  his  snoring.  He  was  very  fond 
of  boiled  sweet  corn.  On  one  occasion  one  of  the  lawyers 
who  arrived  at  a  certain  noted  hostelry  at  Valley  To^vn  in 
advance  of  the  Judge  told  the  landlady  that  his  Honor  had  sent 
word  by  him  to  be  sure  to  save  him  for  supper  twelve 
ears  of  corn  and  three  bundles  of  fodder,  the  usual  "feed" 
for  a  horse  !  Judge  Cloud  never  forgave  this  joke.  When 
he  got  to  Asheville,  several  of  the  most  mischievious 
young  men  serenaded  him  with  sweet  music  at  first 
and  then  with  cat-mewing,  tin  pans  and  cow  bells.  One 
of  their  number,  ^Nlr.  Samuel  G.  Weldon,  made  the  others 
believe  that  the  Judge  had  issued  a  bench  warrant  for  their 
arrest  for  contempt  of  court,  and  two  of  them  left  towoi  pre- 
cipitately. 

When  the  Judge  got  to  Bakersville  he  was  annoyed  by  a 
gang  of  geese  which  prowled  the  streets  around  the  court 
house  and  hissed — hissed — hissed.  Judge  Cloud  called  the 
sheriff  and  ordered  him  to  kill  the  geese.  The  sheriff  told 
Stokes  Penland,  now  living  at  Pinola,  to  shut  the  geese  up 
in  a  barn  till  the  judge  left  town.     Stokes,  a  mere  boy  then, 


HUMOROUS  AND  ROMANTIC  345 

did  so.  When  court  "broke,"  as  final  adjournment  is  called, 
the  sheritY  presented  his  bill  for  SI'-.  "What  is  this  for?" 
fiercely  denianiUnl  the  judge.  "For  the  twelve  geese  you 
ordered  me  to  kill,"  answered  the  sheriff.  "Show  me  their 
dead  bodies,"  returned  the  Judge  "or  I'll  not  pay  one  cent." 
The  sheriff  called  up  Stokes,  thinking  he  would  carry  out  the 
joke  and  pretentl  that  he  had  actually  killed  the  geese.  But 
he  had  failed  to  tell  the  boy  what  was  expected  of  him.  So 
he  asked  him:  "What  did  you  do  with  those  twelve  geese 
the  judge  told  me  to  have  killed'?"  "I  shut  them  up  in  the 
barn,  and  they  are  there  yet,"  was  the  surprising  but  truthful 
answer.  At  another  court,  however,  that  at  Marshall,  the 
geese  had  really  been  killed  and  the  judge  was  forced  to  pay 
for  them,  willy  nilly. 

An  Asheville  Poo  Bah.  In  a  municipal  campaign  in  1874, 
while  the  late  Albert  T.  Summey  was  mayor,  he  was  opposed 
for  re-election  by  the  late  Col.  John  A.  Fagg,  who  declared 
in  a  speech  that  "Squire  Summey  held  a  separate  office  for 
each  tlay  in  the  week,  being  mayor  on  Monday,  United  States 
commissioner  on  Tuesday,  justice  of  the  peace  on  Wednesday, 
county  commissioner  on  Thursday,  chairman  of  the  board 
of  education  on  Friday,  commissioner  in  bankruptcy  on  Sat- 
urday, and,  in  Prince  Albert  coat  and  silk  hat,  elder  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  on  Sunday-.  'Myself  and  my  wife,  my 
son  George  and  his  wife,  us  four  and  no  more.'  " 

Murder  of  Daniel  Sternbergh.  In  1874  G.  W.  Cun- 
ningham was  arrested,  tried  and  convicted  for  having  killed 
and  robbed  Sternl^ergh  of  Kansas  Gth  June,  1874,  near  Stepp's 
on  the  North  Fork  of  the  Swannanoa.  The  case  was  tried 
in  Madison,  and  the  defendant  executed  after  the  Supreme 
Court  had  confirmed  his  conviction.     (72  N.  C,  469.) 

Will  Harrls,  Desperado.  At  midnight,  November  13, 
1906,  policemen  Page  and  C.  R.  Blackstock  were  summoned 
to  a  house  on  Eagle  street,  and  when  Blackstock  opened  the 
rear  door  he  was  shot  fatally  by  a  mulatto  man  supposed  to 

have  been  Will  Harris  or Abernathy  of  Mecklenburg. 

Harris  also  shot  Page  in  the  arm  as  he  went  to  headquarters 
to  summon  help.  Harris  started  up  Eagle  street  and  on  the 
way  killed  Jocko  Corpening,  a  negro,  and  Ben  Addington,  also 
colored.  As  he  turned  into  South  Main  Harris  shot  a  hole 
in  the  clothes  of  a  negro  named  George  Jackson,  and  then 


346        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

started  towards  the  square.  Policeman  J.  W.  Bailey  started 
to  meet  Harris,  and  placed  himself  behind  a  large  telegraph 
post  on  the  northeast  corner  of  the  square  and  South  ]\Iain; 
but  Harris,  with  a  Savage  rifle  with  steel-jacketed  balls, 
dropped  on  one  knee  and  fired  at  the  post,  the  ball  passing 
through  it  and  through  Policeman  Bailey  as  well,  killing 
him.  Harris  turned  back  down  South  Main,  firing  at  three 
white  men  as  he  went,  and  at  Kelsey  Bell  in  a  second-story 
window.  There  was  snow  that  day,  but  the  next  Harris  was 
shot  to  death  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  near 
Fletcher's  by  a  posse  in  pursuit. 

The  Last  "Big  Muster."  At  the  last  Big  Muster  in 
Boone,  which  occurred  on  the  second  Saturday  of  October, 
1861,  the  militia  had  a  somewhat  hilarious  time;  and  after 
it  was  over  Col.  J.  B.  Todd,  then  clerk  of  the  court,  stood  val- 
iantly at  the  court  house  door,  and  vainly  waved  his  sword 
in  a  frantic  effort  to  prevent  the  sheriff  and  others  from  riding 
their  horses  into  the  court  room,  and  pawing  the  big  bass  drum 
which  some  one  had  placed  behind  the  bar  for  safe-keeping. 

"Freezing  Out  of  Jail."  Joseph  T.  Wilson,  nick-named 
"Lucky  Joe,"  obtained  a  change  of  venue  from  Watauga 
to  Ashe  Superior  court  at  the  November  term,  1883.  ^  ^  He 
had  been  indicted  for  stealing  horses  from  Alloway  and  Henry 
Maines  of  the  North  Fork ;  but  before  he  was  removed  from  the 
Boone  jail,  a  blizzard  came  on,  and  one  morning  Lucky  Joe 
was  found  in  his  cell  frozen  stiff.  A  doctor  pronounced  him 
dead  or  beyond  recovery;  but  he  was  taken  to  the  Brick  Row, 
an  annex  of  the  old  Coffey  hotel,  and  thawed  out.  Still  pro- 
testing that  he  was  stiff  and  frozen  he  was  allowed  to  remain 
in  that  building  a  day  or  two,  under  guard.  But  one  evening 
at  dark  the  guard  locked  the  door  and  went  out  for  more 
fuel.  When  he  returned  Lucky  Joe  was  absent.  He  was 
tracked  through  the  snow  three  miles  to  the  Jones  place  on 
Rich  mountain;  but  he  could  not  be  overtaken.  The  fol- 
lowing spring  Alexander  Perry,  of  Burke,  captured  him  in 
one  of  the  western  States  and  returned  him  to  Ashe,  where 
he  was  convicted  and  sentenced  to  ten  years  in  the  penitentiary. 
There  he  became  superintendent  of  the  prison  Sunday  School, 
and  had  earned  an  early  discharge;  but  when  his  baggage  came 
to  be  examined  it  was  discovered  that  he  had  stolen  several 
articles  from  the  penitentiary  itself,  and  he  was  made  to  serve 


HUMOROUS  AND  ROMANTIC  347 

his  full  term.  Upon  his  return  to  Watauga  he  studied  law 
and  tried  to  he  "good  "  for  several  years;  but  at  the  June  Term, 
1904, '  ^  he  was  convicted  under  one  and  pleaded  guilty  to  three 
indictments  and  was  sentenced  to  five  years  on  the  Iredell  county 
roads,  where  he  died  soon  afterwards.  The  stories  of  his 
career  in  Kentucky  would  fill  a  volume.  He  was  born  in  1846 
or  1847,  and  was  a  Civil  War  pensioner. 

A  Long  -  Distance  Quarrel.  Long  before  the  invention 
of  telephones  two  farmers  of  Beaver  Dams,  Watauga  county, 
established  the  fact  that  they  at  least  had  no  need  for  wires 
and  electricity,  by  indulging  in  the  first  wireless  telegraphy 
on  record.  Elijah  Dotson  and  Alfred  Hilliard  each  owned 
a  hill-side  farm  three  miles  apart.  One  morning  Alf  saw 
Elijah  resting  in  his  field,  and  jokingly  told  him  to  go  to  work; 
whereupon  Elijah  told  Alf  to  go  to  a  region  devoid  of  snow 
and  ice.  This  was  the  commencement  of  an  oral  duel  that 
lasted  half  the  day,  and  until  the  dinner  horn  summoned 
both  to  the  midday  meal.  The  success  of  this  feat  was  due 
to  strong  lungs  rather  than  to  any  peculiar  carrying  power  of  the 
atmosphere  of  Watauga,  though  it  is  the  clearest  and  purest 
in  the  State. 

A  Romance  of  Slavery  Days.  On  October  16,  1849, 
Silas  Baker,  a  slave  belonging  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Baker, 
loved  a  negro  woman  named  Mill  or  Millie,  the  prop- 
erty of  William  Mast  of  Valle  Crucis.  About  this  time  Jacob 
Mast,  William's  uncle,  returned  from  Texas,  and  the  servants 
discovered  that  he  would  soon  marry  Elizabeth  Baker,  and 
return  with  her  to  Texas.  That  she  would  take  Silas  with 
her  was  most  probable;  and,  unless  Jacob  Mast  should  buy 
Millie  and  take  her  also,  these  dusky  lovers  would  be  sepa- 
rated forever.  It  is  likely  that  they  satisfied  themselves  that 
Jacob  would  not  buy  Milhe;  but  probably  reasoned  that,  if 
William  Mast  and  his  wife  were  dead,  there  would  be  a  sale 
of  his  slaves  to  settle  the  estate,  at  which  they  hoped  that 
Jacob  would  buy  Millie.  So,  it  is  supposed,  for  there  was 
never  any  tangible  proof  against  either,  that  these  two  ignor- 
ant and  infatuated  lovers  poisoned  William  Mast  and  his  wife 
by  putting  wild  or  poison  parsnips  into  their  coffee.  But  the 
scheme  miscarried;  for,  though  William  and  his  wife  died  that 
day  (October  16),  Jacob  Mast  took  Silas  to  Texas  with 
him,  while  John  Whittington  bought  Millie  and  sold  her  to 


348        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

people  in  Tennessee,  which  effectually  parted  them  forever. 
Elbert  Dinkins  of  Caldwell  county  was  then  teaching  school 
in  the  neigh])orhood,  and  was  boarding  at  William  iNIast's;  and 
he  told  Dr.  J.  B.  Phillips  of  Cove  creek  the  above  facts. 

Another  Version.  Will  Shull,  a  respected  colored  man, 
who  was  born  March  10,  1832,  claims  that  INIillie's  motive 
was  revenge  for  a  severe  chastisement  which  she  had  received 
at  the  hands  of  her  master,  William  Mast,  as  punishment 
for  having  stolen  a  twenty-dollar  gold-piece  from  his  o^vn 
young  master  and  playmate,  Andrew  Mast,  a  son  of  David 
and  Polly  IVIast,  when  she  had  })een  at  this  home  washing 
clothes.  Millie  had  given  this  money  to  Charles,  another  negro, 
who  belonged  to  John  Mast  of  Sugar  Grove,  to  have  changed  for 
her;  but  Charles  took  the  money  to  the  store  of  Henry  Taj'lor 
at  that  place,  and  as  he  and  Andrew  Mast  were  courting 
Emeline  and  Caroline,  the  two  daughters  of  John  Mast, 
Taylor  asked  Andrew  if  he  could  change  the  money  for  him. 
When  Andrew  saw  it  he  recognized  it  as  his  own,  as  he  had 
previously  marked  it.  Charles,  of  course,  laid  the  blame  on 
Millie,  who  in  turn  tried  to  hold  the  colored  boy  Will  Shull 
responsible.  When  Will  heard  of  INIillie's  false  charge,  he 
loaded  a  small  shotgun  which  had  but  recently  been  given 
him  and  started  to  shoot  Millie,  but  was  stopped  by  Mrs. 
Polly  Mast,  who  told  him  Millie  had  confessed.  Millie  did 
not  wish  to  poison  Mrs.  Mira  Mast,  who  did  not  usually 
drink  coffee;  but  on  that  fatal  morning  she  had  partaken 
with  her  husband,  William  Mast,  of  the  potion  Millie  had 
prepared  for  him  alone.  William  Mast  was  then  at  work 
on  the  bridge  over  the  Watauga,  a  mile  below  ShuU's  Mills, 
when  he  was  taken  sick  and  got  medicine  from  Philip  Shull 
that  morning.     Will  acquits  Sile. 

Silas  Baker  and  His  Bugle.  Rev.  L.  W.  Farthing, 
however,  who  remembers  Sile  well,  says  that  the  public  sen- 
timent of  that  day  held  Sile  guilty  as  the  prime  mover  and 
instigator  of  the  plot.  He  says  that  Sile  was  a  large,  impu- 
dent black  man,  between  thirty  and  forty  years  old,  and 
blew  a  long  tin  horn  on  his  way  to  and  from  his  work — a 
bugle.  This  was  probably  a  stage  horn;  for  soon  after  the 
opening  of  the  new  turnpike  down  the  Watauga  river  stage 
coaches  ran  on  it  from  Abingdon  via  Mountain  City  (then 
Taylorsville),    Trade,    Sugar    Grove,    ShuUs    Mills,    Blo^^^ng 


HUMOROUS  AND  ROMANTIC  349 

Rock,  and  Lenoir,  to  Lincolnton.  They  were  drawn  by  four 
liorses  anil  driven  by  colored  drivers,  a  Mr.  Dutui  of  Abing- 
don having  been  the  owner  of  the  line.  One  of  the  stands 
or  stopping  places,  where  the  horses  were  changed,  was  at 
John  Mast's  at  Sugar  Clrove;  another  was  at  Joseph  ShuU's 
(where  James  I\I.  ShuU  now  resides)  and  one  was  at  the 
Coffej'  gap  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  where  Jones  CofTey  now  lives. 
These  stages  ran  for  several  years  prior  to  1861,  when  they 
were  withdrawn. 

Jim  Speeu's  Fate.  About  ten  or  twelve  years  prior  to 
the  Civil  War,  four  w'hite  men  of  Watauga  county,  went  with 
James  Speer  of  Beaver  Dams  to  South  Carolina.  Their  names 
are  still  remembered  by  a  few  of  the  older  citizens.  Speer 
was  not  considered  "right  bright,"  as  the  expression  goes, 
meaning  that  while  he  was  not  utterly  imbecile,  he  was  yet 
stupid  or  dense  intellectually.  He  agreed  to  be  blacked 
and  sold  as  a  negro,  with  the  understanding  that  he  was  to 
"wash  up"  after  they  had  returned  home,  "escape"  from 
bondage,  and  share  in  the  proceeds  of  the  sale.  All  these 
things  were  done  except  the  division  of  the  spoils.  At  the 
next  Big  Muster  following  Jim's  return,  a  quarrel  was  over- 
heard between  him  and  his  confederates  in  the  swindle,  during 
which  it  is  supposed  Jim  demanded  his  share  and  threatened 
"to  let  the  cat  out  of  the  bag"  if  it  was  not  forthcoming.  He 
returned  to  his  home  on  Beaver  Dams  and  shortly  afterwards 
disappeared  forever.  It  w^as  supposed  that  he  had  been  done 
away  with.  About  1893  John  K.  Perry,  Esq.,  found  a  human 
skeleton  in  the  cHffs  in  the  rear  of  his  dwelling  on  Beaver 
Dams,  and  still  has  the  skull  in  his  possession.  These  are  sup- 
posed to  be  the  remains  of  Jim  Speer.  ^  ^ 

Joshua  Pennell.  In  1859  or  18G0,  Joshua  Pennell  of 
Wilkes  left  a  will  setting  all  his  slaves  free,  and  providing  for 
their  removal  to  a  Free  State,  and  their  support  there  until 
they  could  raise  a  crop.  Pennell  was  a  l)achelor.  Joshua 
Winkler  was  made  executor,  and  old  citizens  of  Boone  remem- 
ber seeing  him  and  the  negroes  pass  through  that  town  one 
bright  Sabbath  morning  on  their  way  to  Kansas.  Henry  C. 
Pearson,  Winkler's  brother-in-law,  accompanied  them  also. '  ^ 

"A  Wandering  Minstrel  He."  During  the  seventies, 
William  IMurphy  of  Greenville,  S.  C,  wandered  through 
these  mountains  making  music  every  day.     He,  like  Stephen 


350         HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Foster,  was  regarded  as  a  half-vagabond,  but  he  was  toler- 
ated for  the  pleasure  his  enchanted  violin  gave  whenever  he 
drew  his  magic  bow  across  its  strings.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  men  of  his  genius  feel  the  indifference  and  neglect 
of  their  contemporaries;  and  it  may  be  that,  from  their  Cal- 
varies of  poverty,  they,  too,  realize  that  we  know  not  what  we 
do.  For  to  them  the  making  of  music  is  their  sole  mission 
here  upon  earth,  and  come  poverty,  obscurity  or  death,  ay, 
come  even  disgrace  and  obliquy,  they,  like  Martin  Luther  at 
Worms,  "can  do  no  otherwise,  God  helping  them."  Indeed, 
it  is  the  highest  form  of  worship,  and  David's  Psalms  still 
live  while  all  the  Ptolemies  of  the  past  have  been  forgotten. 
Foster's  songs  are  linking  earth  to  heaven  more  and  more  as 
time  goes  on,  and  will  be  sung  for  eons  and  for  eons.  There 
can  be  no  higher  destiny  than  that  a  man  should  pour  out 
his  full  soul  in  strains  of  haunting  melody;  and  though  Stephen 
Foster  be  dead  and  "the  lark  become  a  sightless  song,"  the 
legacy  he  has  left  behind  him  is  more  priceless  and  more 
bountiful  than  those  of  the  builders  of  the  pyramids  or  the 
conquests  of  Napoleon  and  Alexander. 

Murphy,  too,  is  dead,  but  while  he  lived,  like  the  grass- 
hopper "beating  his  tiny  cymbals  in  the  sun,"  he  poured 
forth  those  matchless  orisons  that  none  who  ever  heard  them 
can  soon  forget.  For,  while  he  was  not  a  creator,  he  was  the 
slave  and  seneschal  of  the  masters  who  have  left  their  melodies 
behind  them  for  the  ravishment  of  a  money-mad  and  sordid 
world.  And  when  he  drew  his  magic  bow  across  his  violin's 
sentient  strings,  his  genius  thence  evoked  sweet  strains  in- 
formed with  soul  to  all  who  had  the  heart  to  comprehend  their 
message  and  their  meaning. 

Was  it  a  jig  or  waltz  or  stately  minuet?  one's  feet  moved 
rythmically  to  the  "sweet  melodic  phrase."  Was  it  dirge, 
lament  or  lovelorn  lilt  ?  one  saw  again  the  hearse-plumes 
nod,  sobbed  out  his  heart  with  pallid  Jeane,  or  caught  the 
note  of  bonny  bird  blythe  fluting  by  the  Doon.  Was  it  mar- 
tial air  or  battle-hymn  ?  then,  once  again,  came  forth  the 
bagpipe's  skirl,  the  pibroch's  wail,  "what  time  the  plaided 
clans  came  down  to  battle  with  Montrose."  Again,  with 
change  of  air,  there  dawned  once  more  that  "reddest  day  in 
history,  when  Pickett's  legions,  undismayed,  leapt  forth  to 
ruin's  red  embrace." 


HUMOROUS  AND  ROMANTIC  351 

But  best,  ah,  far,  far  best  of  all,  was  that  wondor-woven 
race  his  fine  dramatic  instinct  had  translated  into  song,  in 
which  the  section-riven  days  of  'Sixty-one  were  conjured 
back  again  from  out  their  graves  and  ghostly  crements,  and 
masqueraded  full  of  life  and  hate  and  jealousy.  For  then  we 
saw,  as  if  by  magic,  the  mighty  racer.  Black  Hawk,  typifying 
the  North,  and  his  unconquerable  rival.  Gray  Eagle,  the  steel- 
sinewed  champion  of  the  South,  start  once  again  on  that 
matchless  contest  on  the  turf  at  Louisville.  We  heard  again 
the  wild,  divided  concourse  cheer  its  favorite  steed  along  the 
track,  and  saw  the  straining  stallions,  foam-flecked  with 
sweat — now  neck  and  neck,  then  one  ahead,  but  soon  overtaken, 
and  both  flying  side  by  side  again,  their  flame-shot  nostrils 
dripping  blood — till  Gray  Hawk,  spent,  but  in  the  lead, 
dropped  dead  an  inch  without  the  goal,  his  great  heart  broken, 
as  the  South's  was  doomed  to  l)e  a  few  years  thence,  when 

"Men  saw  a  gray,  gifjantic  ghost 

Receding  through  the  battle-cloud  ; 
And  heard  across  the  tempest  loud 
The  death-cry  of  a  nation  lost!" 

The  Valley  of  Cousins.  Valle  Crucis  is  also  called  the 
Valley  of  Cousins  because  of  the  kinship  between  most  of 
its  inhabitants.  Ex-Sheriff  David  F.  Baird,  a  descendant  of 
Bedent,  says  that  all  of  Valle  Crucis  between  the  ford  of  the 
river  on  the  road  to  Cove  creek  up  to  the  ford  at  Shipley's 
home  was  sold  by  the  original  Hix  who  came  to  this  section, 
for  a  shot-gun,  a  pair  of  leggins  and  a  hound  dog.  A  man 
named  Hix  was  drowned  in  a  "hole"  of  water  in  Watauga 
river  below  D.  F.  Baird's  farm,  and  the  place  is  called  the 
"Hix  Hole"  yet.  This  original  Samuel  Hix  was  the  first 
settler  of  this  valley,  but  Bedent  Baird  was  not  long  behind 
him.  Bedent's  son  Franklin  was  the  father  of  David  F.  Baird, 
who  was  born  June  10,  1835,  and  was  sheriff  from  1882  till 
1886,  and  from  1890  till  1894.  He  went  with  his  uncle  Joel 
Moody  to  carry  the  body  of  Rev.  Wm.  Thurston  from  its 
place  of  temporary  burial  at  Valle  Crucis  to  Pittsboro,  N.  C,  in 
1856.  Another  prominent  family  of  this  section,  which  has  inter- 
married with  the  Baird  family,  is  that  of  the  ShuUs.  Fred- 
erick Shull  and  his  wife  came  from  Germany  about  the  year 
1750.  He  was  a  weaver  and  paid  for  their  voyage  by  weav- 
ing while  his  wife  worked  in  the  field.     Her  name  was  Charity. 


352        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Simon  Shall  was  a  son  of  this  marriage,  and  the  father  of 
seven  children  by  his  wife,  Mary  Sheifler,  a  daughter  of 
PhiUip  and  Mary  Ormatenfer  Sheifler.  She  was  born  in 
Loudon  county,  Va.,  May  5,  1772.  Simon  Shull  was  born 
in  Lincoln  county,  October  24,  1767.  Simon  Shull's  children 
were  Mary,  Sarah,  Phillip,  John,  Joseph,  Temperance  and 
Elizabeth,  born  between  March  19,  1793,  and  April  10,  1808. 
Joseph  was  the  father  of  James  M.  Shull,  and  Phillip  of 
Joseph  C.  Shull.  Simon  Shull  was  married  on  L'pper  creek, 
Burke  county,  by  Rev.  William  Ponland,  March  25,  1790, 
and  died  February  12,  1813. 

Other  Closely  Related  Families.  Reuben  Mast  first 
lived  where  David  F.  Baird  now  lives,  but  the  place  had  been 
settled  before  Mast  went  there.  Reuben  Mast  sold  it  to  John 
Gragg  about  1849,  and  moved  to  Texas,  where  he  died. 
Gragg  lived  there  till  1867  and  sold  to  David  Wagner,  and 
moved  to  Tennessee.  David  Wagner  divided  the  place 
among  his  three  sons,  and  David  F.  Baird  bought  the  shares 
of  John  and  Daniel  Wagner  on  the  east  side  of  the  river, 
about  1874.  He  had  married  a  sister  of  these  two  Wagners 
in  1870.  Joel  Mast  lived  below  the  road  at  the  place  where 
T.  Hardee  Taylor  lives.  David  Mast  lived  where  Finley 
Mast  now  lives.  John  Mast  lived  at  Sugar  Grove,  while 
Noah  Mast  lived  on  Watauga  river  where  Wm.  Winkler  now 
lives.  These  were  brothers.  Henry  Taylor  came  to  Sugar 
Grove  from  Davidson  county  about  1849  and  went  into  mer- 
chandising there.  He  married  Emaline,  daughter  of  John 
Mast,  buying  the  Joel  Mast  farm  at  public  auction.  Taylor 
then  moved  to  Valle  Crucis,  and  bought  the  place  where 
his  son,  T.  Hardee  Taylor,  now  lives  from  Joel  Mast  about 
1850  or  1851.  He  made  his  money  by  selling  to  those  who 
earned  wages  by  the  building  of  the  turnpike.  He  was  born 
August  20,  1819.  His  wife  was  born  January  5,  1826.  They 
had  six  children.  After  her  death,  September  21,  1880,  he 
married  Rachel  Gray,  by  whom  he  had  four  children.  He 
died  IVIarch  6,  1899,  and  his  last  wife  died  March  3  of  the 
same  year.  He  bought  the  Ives  land  from  Robert  Miller 
before  the  Civil  War.  Into  the  valley  of  Cove  creek  in  1791 
came  Cutliff  Harmon,  from  Randolph  county,  and  bought 
522  acres  from  James  Gwyn,  to  whom  it  had  been  granted 
May  18,  1791,  his  deed  from  Gwyn  bearing  date  August  6, 


HUMOROUS  AND  ROMANTIC  353 


1791.  CutlitY  married  Susan  Fouts,  and  was  about  ninety 
years  of  age  when  he  tlied  in  1838,  his  wife  having  died  sev- 
eral years  before,  and  he  having  married  Ehzabeth  Parker, 
a  widow.  He  hail  ten  children  by  his  first  marriage,  none 
by  his  second.  Among  his  children  were  Mary,  who  married 
Bedent  Baird;  Andrew,  wlio  married  Sabra  Hix;  Eli,  who 
married  the  widow  Rhoda  Dj'er  (born  Dugger);  Mathias, 
who  married  and  moved  to  Indiana;  Catherine,  who  mar- 
ried Benjamin  Ward,  and  went  west;  Rebecca,  who  married 
Frank  Adams  and  moved  to  Intliana;  Rachel,  who  married 
Holden  Davis;  Sarah,  who  married  John  Mast;  Nancy,  who 
married  Thomas  Curtis,  and  Rev.  D.  C.  Harmon,  born  April 
17,  1826,  and  died  December  23,  1904.  Among  those  who 
came  about  the  time  Cutliff  did  were  the  Eggers,  Smith, 
Councill,  Horton,  Dugger,  ]\Iast  and  Hix  families.  The 
farm  Cutliff  bought  is  now  owned  by  M.  C,  D.  F.  and  D.  C. 
Harmon.  "Patch  farming"  was  the  rule,  the  settlers  going 
to  the  Globe  on  Johns  river  for  corn,  as  they  raised  only 
rye,  buckwheat,  Irish  potatoes,  cabbages,  onions  and  pump- 
kins on  the  new  and  cold  land  of  Watauga  river.  A  common 
diet  was  milk  and  mush  for  breakfast  and  soup  and  cider 
for  dinner  and  supper,  according  to  Maiden  C.  Harmon  in 
the  Watauga  Democrat  of  April,  1891.  The  intermarriage  of 
these  families  has  brought  about  a  neighborhood  of  closely 
related  citizens,  and  Cove  Creek  and  Valle  Crucis  are  spoken 
of  as  the  Valley  of  Cousins,  Sugar  Grove  being  also  a  part 
of  Valle  Crucis.  Just  down  Watauga  river  from  Valle  Crucis 
is  another  settlement  called  Watauga  Falls.  Among  the  first 
to  settle  there  was  Benjamin  Ward,  who  had  seven  sons, 
Duke,  Daniel,  Benjamin,  Nicodemus,  McCaleb,  Jesse  and 
James.  He  also  had  three  daughters,  one  of  whom  was 
named  Celia.  Benjamin  Ward,  Sr.,  was  a  most  enterprising 
and  worthy  man,  and  his  witlow  lived  to  be  105  years  of 
age,  while  their  son  Ben  lived  to  be  110.  Duke  married 
Sabra,  widow  of  Andrew  Harmon,  and  moved  to  Illinois. 
Ben.  Jr.,  went  to  Cumberland  gap,  and  his  son  Duke  came 
back  and  married  Lucy  Tester;  while  Amos,  son  of  Duke, 
St.,  came  back  from  Illinois  and  married  Sally,  sister  of  Lucy 
Tester.  They  had  two  sons,  L.  D.  and  John,  the  latter  hav- 
ing been  killed  before  Richmond  in  1863. 

W.  N.  C.-23 


354        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Samuel  Hix,  Loyalist.  According  to  Rev,  L.  W.  Far- 
thing, who  was  born  April  18,  1838,  ard  has  lived  in  Beaver 
Dam  township  and  at  Watauga  Falls  postoffice  all  his  long 
life,  Samuel  was  the  name  of  the  first  Hix  who  came  to  what 
is  now  Watauga  county.  He  got  possession  of  all  of  what 
is  now  known  as  Valle  Crucis,  including  the  Sheriff  Baird 
farm,  either  by  grant  from  the  Cro^vTl  or  from  the  State,  and 
was  there  during  the  Revolutionary  War.  Being  a  Loyalist 
he  kept  himself  concealed  by  retiring  to  a  shanty  near  Valle 
Crucis,  still  pointed  out  as  his  "  Improvement."  He  sold  the 
Valle  Crucis  land  for  a  rifle,  dog  and  sheepskin  to  Benjamin 
Ward,  the  latter  later  selling  it  to  Reuben  Mast.  Hix  then 
got  possession  of  the  land  at  the  mouth  of  Cove  creek,  but 
Ward  got  this  also  and  sold  it  to  a  family  named  Summers. 
This  family,  consisting  of  man  and  wife  and  five  children, 
were  all  drowned  in  their  cabin  at  night  during  a  freshet  in 
the  Watauga  river,  and  their  dog  swam  about  the  cabin  and 
would  allow  no  one  to  enter  till  it  had  been  killed.  This  is 
still  spoken  of  as  the  "Summers  Fresh" — the  highest  anyone 
now  remembers.  The  bodies  of  the  family  were  recovered 
and  are  buried  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  from  the 
mouth  of  Cove  creek.  Samuel  Hix  in  1816  obtained  a  grant 
to  126  acres,  on  part  of  which  Rev.  L.  W.  Farthing  now  lives, 
and  his  grave-stone  still  stands  three  miles  below  St.  Judes 
postoffice,  and  a  quarter  of  a  mile  below  Antioch  Baptist 
church.  Benjamin  Howard  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  to 
the  American  government  in  1778  (Col.  Rec,  Vol.  22,  page 
172),  but  Samuel  Hix  seems  never  to  have  become  recon- 
ciled. Even  after  the  war  he  hid  out,  coming  home  at  dark 
for  his  supplies.  His  five  boys  were  mischievous,  and  they 
manufactured  a  pistol  out  of  a  buck's  horn,  which  they  fired 
by  applying  a  live  coal  to  the  touch-hole,  when  their  father 
returned  from  the  house  carrying  his  rations,  thus  fright- 
ening him  so  much  that  he  would  drop  them  and  return  to 
his  concealed  camp  in  the  mountains.  The  children  of  Sam- 
uel Hix  were  Colder,  David,  Samuel,  Harmon  and  William; 
Sally,  w^ho  married  Barney  Oaks;  Sabra,  who  married  Andrew 
Harmon,  who  was  killed  by  a  falling  tree  on  L.  W.  Farthing's 
present  farm,  and  Fanny  who  never  married.  Samuel  Hix 
cared  more  about  hunting  than  anything  else,  and  it  was 
said  he  knew  where  there  was  a  lead  mine  in  the  mountains 


HUMOROUS  AND  ROMANTIC  355 


out  of  whicli  lie  ran  his  own  bullets.  James  Hix  and  James  (?) 
Tester,  were  drowned  in  what  is  still  known  as  the  Hix 
"Hole"  in  Watauga  river  below  Sheriff  Baird's  farm,  and 
Sam  Tester  rode  his  bull  into  the  water  in  order  to  recover 
the  two  bodies,  about  1835.  Samuel  Hix  had  a  negro  slave 
named  Jeff,  and  two  apple  trees  planted  soon  after  his 
removal  to  the  L.  W.  Farthing  place,  one  at  Samuel's  cabin 
and  the  other  at  Jeff's,  lived  till  within  recent  years. 

,...  u      n  .   ^  NOTES. 

'    Asheville  8  Centenary." 

nbi.l. 

•Stokes  Penlnnd's  statement,  October,  1912,  at  Pinola 

^Chapter  seven  of  "Dropped  Stitches." 

'.Account  by  T.  L.  Lowe,  Esq. 

•From  "The  Heart  of  the  .A.lleKhanies,"  p.  271. 

'So  called  from  its  fancied  resemblance  to  a  bunk 

•Letter  of  Col.  D.  K.  Collins  to  .1.  P.  A.,  June  7    1912 

•Frequently  called  "mind"  tor  mine. 

'"Related  by  Judge  G.  A.  Shuford. 

'  'Ibid. 

"From  same  letter. 

' '.Minute  Docket  B,  p.  202,  Watauea 

"Ibid.,  E,  p.  352. 

''Statements  of  J.  K.  Perrj-  and  W.  L.  Bryan,  May.  1913 

"Statement  of  W.  L.  Bryan,  July,  1913. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

DUELS 

The  Law  of  Dueling.  From  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  the  practice  of  dueling  had  l)ccn  common 
throughout  America,  the  North,  even,  not  being  exempt,  as 
witness  the  fatal  encounter  between  Aaron  Burr  and  Alex- 
ander Hamilton.  North  Carolina  had,  in  1802,  (Rev.  Stat., 
Ch.  34,  sec.  3)  made  it  a  crime  to  send  a  challenge  or  fight  a 
duel  or  to  aid  or  abet  in  doing  either;  but,  according  to  the 
strict  letter  of  the  law,  it  would  be  no  crime  to  send  a  chal- 
lenge from  without  the  State  or  to  fight  a  duel  on  the  soil  of 
another  State,  and  in  all  the  duels  fought  in  this  section  great 
care  was  taken  to  go  across  the  State  line  into  either  South 
Carolina  or  Tennessee.  No  effort,  apparently,  was  ever 
made  to  punish  those  who  as  principals,  seconds  or  surgeons 
had  participated  in  such  encounters,  it  having  been  considered 
that  the  law  of  North  Carolina  had  not  been  violated  unless 
the  duel  had  actually  been  fought  on  its  soil.  No  duel  was 
fought  within  the  State;  but  in  the  Erwin-Baxter  and  the 
Hilliard-Hyman  duels,  the  challenges  had  most  probably  been 
sent  and  accepted  in  Buncombe  county.  However,  as  such 
matters  were  of  a  secret  and  confidential  nature,  it  is  likely 
that  no  evidence  of  such  challenges  was  ever  presented  to  a 
grand  jury  of  that  county,  as,  if  it  had  been,  true  bills  would 
doubtless  have  been  returned  against  those  charged  with 
having  sent  or  accepted  the  challenges.  For  dueling  was 
never  approved  by  the  common  people  of  this  section,  and 
its  practice  was  confined  strictly  to  a  small  class  of  profes- 
sional men  and  politicians.  The  quarrels  of  farmers,  mer- 
chants and  others  were  settled  in  the  good  old  fist  and  skull, 
or  rough  and  tumble,  style,  in  which  knives  and  pistols  were 
never  used.  Section  two  of  Article  XIV  of  the  Constitution 
of  North  Carolina  of  1868  gave  dueling  its  death  blow  for- 
ever; for,  while  there  is  nothing  more  sacred  than  a  politician's 
honor,  prior  to  1868  nothing  had  been  found  that  could  pre- 
vent him  from  fighting  duels  for  its  preservation;  whereas, 
the  moment  he  discovered  that  unless  he  found  some  other 
means  of  protecting  it  he  would  have  to  forego  the  honor  of 

(356) 


A.    C.    AVKRY. 


DUELS  357 

holding  office  in  North  Carolina,  he  immediately  and  forth- 
with discovered  a  way! 

The  Jackson-Avery  Duel.  At  some  time  prior  to  the 
atlmission  of  Tennessee  into  the  Union  Andrew  Jackson  and 
Waightstill  Avery,  lawyers,  fought  a  duel  on  "the  hill  on  the 
south  side  of  Jonesboro,  Tenn.  It  seems  to  have  been  arranged 
that  neither  party  desired  to  injure  the  other,  and  Ixjtii  fired 
into  the  air,  pistols  ijeing  the  weapons  used.  John  Adair  was 
Avery's  second,  Jackson's  being  unknown. 

"  There  are  two  versions  as  to  the  cause  of  the  duel,  the  first 
being  that  Jackson  had  ridiculed  Avery's  pet  authority — 
Bacon's  Abridgment — and  Avery,  in  his  retort,  had  grown, 
as  he  afterwards  admitted,  too  sarcastic,  intimating  that 
Jackson  had  much  to  learn  before  he  would  be  competent  to 
criticise  any  law  book  whatever.  Jackson  sprang  to  his  feet 
and  cried:  'I  may  not  know  as  much  law  as  there  is  in  Ba- 
con's Abridgment,  but  I  know  enough  not  to  take  illegal 
fees.'  Avery  at  once  demanded  whether  he  meant  to  charge 
him  with  taking  illegal  fees,  and  Jackson  answered  'I  do, 
sir, '  meaning  to  add  that  he  had  done  so  because  of  his  ignor- 
ance of  the  latest  law  fixing  a  schedule  of  fees.  But  Avery 
had  not  waited  for  him  to  finish  his  sentence  and  hissed  in 
Jackson's  teeth  'It's  as  false  as  hell.'  Then  Jackson  had 
challenged  Avery  and  Avery  had  accepted  the  challenge. 
When  they  had  arrived  on  the  ground  and  exchanged  shots, 
they  shook  hands;  after  which  Jackson  took  from  under  his 
arm  a  package  which  he  presented  to  Avery,  saying  that  he 
knew  that  if  he  had  hit  Avery  and  had  not  killed  him  the 
greatest  comfort  he  could  have  would  be  Bacon's  Abridg- 
ment.' When  the  parcel  was  opened  it  contained,  cut  to 
the  exact  size  of  a  law  book,  a  piece  of  well  cured  bacon. 

"The  other  version  is  that  Averj'  promised  to  produce  Bacon's 
Aljridgment  in  court  the  following  morning  and  that  Jackson 
had  gone  to  Avery's  room  and  removing  the  book  had  sub- 
stituted a  piece  of  Isacon  in  its  stead  in  Avery's  green  bag. 
When  Avery  opened  this  bag  in  court  the  next  day  and  the 
bacon  fell  out,  he  was  so  incensed  that  he  challenged  Jackson 
at  once.  The  challenge  had  been  accepted  and  shots  ex- 
changed, whereupon  each  had  expressed  himself  as  satisfied 
and  the  matter  ended."  ^ 


358        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Col.  F.  a.  Olds'  Account.  In  Harper's  Weekly  for  Decem- 
ber 31,  1904,  is  an  account  of  this  duel  which  had  and  still  has 
the  approval  of  Hon.  Alfonzo  C.  Avery,  oldest  descendant  then 
living  of  Hon.  Waightstill  Avery.  It  contains  the  challenge, 
which  follows: 

August  12,  1788. 
Sir: 

When  a  man's  feelings  &  character  are  injured  he  ought  to  seek  a 
speedy  redress;  you  reed  a  few  Hues  from  me  yesterday  &  undoubtedly 
you  understand  me.  My  character  you  have  Injured;  and  further  you 
have  insulted  me  in  the  presence  of  a  court  and  a  large  audience.  I 
therefore  call  upon  you  as  a  gentleman  to  give  me  satisfaction  for  the 
same.  I  further  call  upon  you  to  give  me  an  answer  immediately  with- 
out Equivocation  and  I  hope  you  can  do  without  dinner  until  the  busi- 
ness is  done;  for  it  is  consistent  with  the  character  of  a  gentleman  when 
he  Injures  a  man  to  make  speedy  reparation;  therefore  I  hope  you  will 
not  fail  in  meeting  me  this  day  from  yr  Hbl.  St. 

Col.  Avery.  Yrs.  Andw.  Jackson. 

"P.  S. — This  Evening  after  court  is  adjourned." 

The  Facts  of  the  Case.  These  were  told  to  Judge  A. 
C.  Avery  by  his  father  Col.  Isaac  T.  Avery,  who  was  the 
only  son  of  Waightstill  Avery.  "When  the  latter  practiced 
law  in  Mecklenburg,  N.  C,  he  and  young  Jackson  were  well 
acquainted.  Avery  was  elected  in  1777  the  first  attorney 
general  of  North  Carolina.  He  afterwards  married  a  lady 
who  lived  near  Newberne,  in  Jones  county,  and  soon  after 
this  marriage  resigned  and  settled  in  Jones,  becoming  colonel 
of  that  county's  regiment  of  militia.  His  command  was  not 
in  active  service  during  the  Revolution,  except  in  some  occa- 
sional troubles  with  the  Tories,  until  it  was  called  out  Avhen 
Lord  Cornwallis  invaded  North  Carohna.  .  .  .  He  secured 
the  passage  of  a  bill  creating  the  county  of  Washington,  which 
embraced  the  whole  State  of  Tennessee,  and  then  became  the 
leading  member  of  the  bar  at  Jonesboro,  which  was  the  county 
seat.  At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  Andrew  Jackson 
went  to  Burke  county  and  appHed  to  Waightstill  Avery  to 
take  him  as  a  boarder  at  his  country  home  and  instruct  him 
as  a  law  student.  Col.  Avery  told  him  he  had  just  moved 
to  the  place,  and  had  built  nothing  but  cabins,  and  could  not 
grant  his  request.  Jackson  went  to  Salisbury,  studied  law 
there  [under  Judge  Spruce  McCay],  and  settled  at  Jonesboro, 
until  the  new  county  of  Davidson  (with  Nashville  as  the  county 
seat)  was  established.     .     .     .     Just  before  the  challenge  to 


DUELS  359 

fight  was  sent  by  Jackson,  Avery  appeared  in  some  lawsuit 
at  Jonesboro  as  opposing  counsel  to  Jackson,  and  ridiculed 
the  position  taken  by  Jackson,  who  had  precetled  him  in 
argument.  Jackson  considered  the  argiunent  insulting  and 
sent  him  the  challenge.  Col.  Avery  was  raised  a  Puritan. 
He  graduatetl  at  Princeton  with  the  highest  honors  in  17G6, 
and  remained  there  a  year  as  a  tutor,  under  the  celebrated 
Jonathan  Edwards  and  the  famous  Dr.  Witherspoon,  who 
signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence  as  a  representative 
of  New  Jersey.  Avery  was  a  Presbyterian  and  opposed  on 
principle  to  dueling,  but  he  so  far  yielded  to  the  imperious 
custom  of  the  time  as  to  accept  the  challenge  and  go  to  the 
fieUl,  with  Colonel,  afterwards  Governor,  Adair  of  Kentucky 
as  his  second.  After  the  usual  preliminaries  he  allowed 
Jackson  to  shoot  at  him,  but  did  not  return  the  fire.  There- 
upon, having  shown  that  he  w-as  not  afraid  to  be  shot  at, 
Avery  walked  up  to  young  Jackson  and  delivered  a  lecture 
to  him,  very  much  in  the  style  a  father  would  use  in  lecturing 
a  son.  Avery  was  very  calm,  and  his  talk  to  the  brave  young 
man  who  had  fired  at  him  was  full  of  good  sense,  dispassion- 
ate and  high  in  tone,  and  was  heard  with  great  attention  by 
the  seconds  of  both  parties,  who  agreed  that  the  trouble  must 
go  no  further,  but  should  end  at  this  point,  and  so  then  and 
there  a  reconciliation  was  effected  between  these  two  brave 
spirits.  Col.  Avery  took  the  challenge  home  and  filed  it,  as 
.he  was  accustomed  to  file  all  his  letters  and  papers,  endorsing 
it  'Challenge  from  Andrew  Jackson.'  " 

The  Vance-Carson  Duel.  To  the  late  Silas  McDowell 
of  ]\Iacon  county  we  are  indebted  for  many  facts  concerning 
the  duel  between  Dr.  Robert  Brank  Vance  of  Buncombe 
and  Hon.  Samuel  P.  Carson  of  Burke.  Mr.  McDowell  was 
the  friend  of  both  these  gentlemen;  and,  although  he  waited 
forty-nine  years  after  the  duel  had  been  fought,  and  he  him- 
self was  in  his  eighty-first  year  before  committing  his  recol- 
lection of  that  lamentable  event  to  paper,  it  must  be  accepted 
as  the  most  authentic,  because  the  only,  account  now  avail- 
able of  that  affair.  Hon.  A.  C.  Avery  of  Morganton,  in  an  arti- 
cle published  in  the  North  Carolina  Renew  (Raleigh)  for 
March,  1913,  has  supplemented  this  statement  with  many 
injportant  facts  bearing  on  the  principals  and  seconds  con- 
cerned; and  from  these  two  statements  the  following  facts 
have  been  carefully  compiled: 


360        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Samuel  P.  Carson.  He  was  the  son  of  Col.  John  Carson 
and  of  his  wife,  who,  before  her  marriage  to  him,  had  been 
the  widow  of  the  late  Gen.  Joseph  JVIcDowell  of  Pleasant 
Gardens,  N.  C.  He,  like  his  father,  was  a  Democrat,  and 
was  young,  handsome,  eloquent,  magnetic,  blessed  with  a 
charming  voice,  delighting  in  all  the  pleasures  and  oppor- 
tunities of  a  healthful,  vigorous  physique.  He  was  educated 
at  the  "Old  Field  Schools"  of  the  neighborhood  till  he  reached 
his  nineteenth  year,  when  he  was  taken  into  the  family  of  his 
half  brother,  Joseph  M.  Carson,  where  he  was  taught  gram- 
mar and  directed  in  a  course  of  reading  with  an  eye  to  politi- 
cal advancement;  and  before  he  was  22  years  of  age  he  repre- 
sented the  county  of  Burke  in  the  legislature,  defeating  his 
kinsman  James  R.  McDowell  for  that  place.  He  was  born 
about  the  year  1797,  and  was  about  four  years  younger  than 
Dr.  Vance.  Even  when  a  boy  he  was  a  great  favorite  not 
only  with  people  of  his  own  walk  in  life,  but  was  worshipped 
by  the  negroes  on  his  father's  plantation.  His  mother  was  a 
Methodist  and  young  Samuel  was  a  great  favorite  at  camp 
meetings  where  his  deep-toned  and  harmonious  voice  led  in 
their  congregational  singing.  He  was  also  popular  with 
ladies. 

Gen.  Alney  Burgin.  He  was  Carson's  second,  and  was 
a  social  and  political  leader  of  Burke  county,  having  several 
times  been  elected  to  the  legislature.  He  preserved  the  chal- 
lenge which  ]Mr.  Carson  sent  by  him  to  Dr.  Vance.  This 
challenge  had  been  written  by  Carson  at  Pleasant  Gardens 
and  was  dated  September  12,  1827,  taken  to  Jonesboro,  Tenn., 
and  sent  from  there  in  order  to  avoid  a  violation  of  the  law 
of  North  Carolina  regarding  dueling;  for  he  states  in  the  chal- 
lenge: "I  will  do  no  act  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  my  State; 
but  as  you  have  boasted  that  you  had  flung  the  gaiinilet 
before  me,  which  in  point  of  fact  is  not  true;  for,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  chivalry,  to  fling  the  gauntlet  is  to  challenge — to 
throw  down  the  iron  glove;  .  .  .  but,  if  you  are  serious, 
make  good  your  boast;  throw  the  gauntlet  upon  neutral 
ground;  then,  if  not  accepted,  boast  your  victory."  He 
notified  Dr.  Vance  that  he  would  pass  through  Asheville  to 
meet  friends  in  East  Tennessee,  where  he  would  spend  a  week 
at  Jonesboro,  and  expected  to  receive  an  answer  by  way  of 
Old   Fort,   near   which   place   Gen.    Burgin   lived.     His   son. 


DUELS  361 

Joseph  Mel).  Biirgin,  was  iUv  fatluT  of  Mrs.  Locke  Craig, 
the  wife  of  the  i)resent  governor. 

Hon.  W.\rrex  D.wis.  This  gentleman  was  a  South  Car- 
olinian, a  cousin  of  John  C.  Calhoun,  a  nienihcr  of  Congress, 
a  man  of  decided  ability,  and  "thoroughly  conversant  with 
the  intricate  rules  of  the  Code  Duello."  He  was  called  in  by 
Mr.  Carson  as  an  additional  second  i>ecause  Gen.  Burgin 
was  not  well  versed  in  the  punctillio  of  the  duello,  and  Davis 
"was  expected  in  the  arrangements  for  the  encounter  and 
any   correspondence  that  might  ensue,   to  protect  Carson." 

Robert  Brank  Vance.  He  was  born  in  Burke  count}' 
about  1793,  and  was  the  son  of  David  Vance,  who,  after  serv- 
ing as  an  ensign  under  Washington,  married  the  daughter  of 
Peter  Brank,  who  lived  about  a  mile  from  Morganton,  and 
fought  as  captain  of  a  company  in  McDowell's  regiment  at 
Ramseur's  Mill,  Cowpens  and  Kings  Mountain,  while  his 
uncle,  Robert  Brank,  for  whom  Dr.  Vance  was  named,  had 
the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  most  daring  soldiers  in  his 
company.  Young  Vance  was  a  fine  scholar  as  a  school  boy; 
but,  owing  to  an  affliction  which  had  settled  in  his  left  leg, 
that  member  had  been  shortened  about  six  inches  and  so 
retarded  his  physical  development  that  when  fully  grown 
he  was  only  five  feet  and  five  inches  in  height.  His  face,  how- 
ever, was  handsome,  and  his  "mind  was  of  no  common  order." 
His  family  were  Presbyterians  and  he  attended  the  Newton 
academy  near  Asheville,  afterwards  graduating  from  an 
unnamed  medical  school  and  commencing  the  practice  of  med- 
icine in  Asheville  in  1818.  But,  having  drawn  a  five-thousand- 
dollar  prize  in  a  lottery,  and  his  father  having  willed  him  a 
large  portion  of  his  estate.  Dr.  Vance  purchased  a  fine  library 
and  retired  from  practice  three  years  after  opening  his  office. 
He  was  encouraged  by  his  friends,  and  especially  by  young 
Samuel  P.  Carson,  then  in  the  legislature  from  Burke,  to 
oppose  Felix  Walker,  whose  popularity  then  "was  in  the 
descending  node,"  for  Congress,  but  declined  to  do  so  till 
1823,  when  he  ran  for  Congress  and  was  elected  by  a  majority 
of  one  vote.  It  wassaid  that  when  he  appeared  in  Congress 
John  Randolph  of  Roanoke,  struck  by  his  diminutive  size  and 
physical  deformity,  remarked,  "Surely  that  little  man  has 
come  to  apply  for  a  pension."  But  Vance  soon  convinced 
the  strong  men  of  the  house  "that  Aesop's  mind  could  be  hid. 


362        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

but  not  long,  under  an  Aesop's  form,  and  at  the  close  of  the  term 
he  had  the  respect  of  every  distinguished  man  in  the  house." 
The  most  important  measure  before  the  session  was  an  appro- 
priation of  $250,000 — "and  many  townships  of  land"  for 
Gen.  Lafayette;  and  for  this  measure  Vance  voted. 

Friends  Become  Political  Rivals.  In  1825  Samuel  P. 
Carson  and  Dr.  Vance  were  opposing  candidates  for  Congress, 
and  Carson  was  elected;  but  in  1827  Dr.  Vance  invited  some 
of  his  friends  to  meet  at  Asheville,  and  announced  that  he 
would  oppose  Carson's  re-election,  and  would  insist  on  his  de- 
feat because  he  had  voted  for  an  appropriation  of  $25,000  to 
the  citizens  of  Alexandria,  Virginia,  which  had  been  recently  de- 
stroyed by  fire.  To  this  meeting  Silas  McDowell  was  invited,  but 
his  opposition  to  Vance's  idea  that  Carson  could  be  defeated 
because  of  this  vote  displeased  all  of  Vance's  friends,  but 
not  Vance  himself.  Vance  and  Carson  accordingly  were 
opposing  candidates  in  1827,  and  at  the  first  meeting  at  Ashe- 
ville Carson  spoke  first;  but,  in  reviewing  his  course  in  Congress, 
he  omitted  to  refer  to  his  vote  for  the  appropriation  for  the  cit- 
izens of  Alexandria.  When  Dr.  Vance  spoke  he  called  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  Carson  had  not  referred  to  that  vote, 
whereupon  Carson  answered  that  the  city  had  been  destroyed 
by  fire  and  its  citizens  left  homeless  and  destitute;  and  that 
Vance  himself,  if  he  had  been  in  Carson's  place,  would  have 
voted  hkewise,  because  "I  think  he  has  a  heart."  Vance 
retorted  that  if  those  who  had  applauded  Carson's  statement 
"could  admire,  as  some  seem  to  do,  the  heart  promptings 
that  send  a  man's  benevolent  hand  into  some  other  man's 
pocket  than  his  own,  all  I  have  to  say  about  it  is — I  can't." 
Upon  this  Carson  answered  that  "until  Vance  should  with- 
draw the  charge  that  he  had  put  his  hand  into  another's 
pocket  to  save  his  OAvn, "  they  could  be  friends  no  longer; 
and  proceeded  to  charge  Vance  with  inconsistency  as  he 
himself  had  voted  when  in  congress  for  the  larger  donation 
to  Lafayette.  Thereupon  Vance  charged  Carson  with  being 
a  demagogue,  and  when  Carson  replied  that  but  for  Vance's 
diminutive  size  he  would  hold  him  to  account  for  his  "vile 
utterances,"  Vance  retorted:  "You  are  a  coward  and  fear 
to  do  it."     This  closed  the  debate. 

The  Casus  Belli.  According  to  Mr.  McDowell,  Car- 
son's failure  to  challenge  Vance,  after  having  been  pubHcly 


DUELS  363 

called  a  coward,  coniinned  Vanci-  in  his  Ijclii-f  tiiat  lie  would  not 
fight;  this  idea  of  Carson's  cowardice  having  been  suggested 
in  the  first  instance  by  Carson's  refusal  to  accept  a  challenge 
from  Hugh  M.  Stokes,  a  lawj-er,  and  a  son  of  Gen.  Muniford 
Stokes  of  Wilkes,  on  the  alleged  ground  that  young  Stokes 
had  forfeited  his  right  to  recognition  as  a  gentleman  because 
of  his  intemperate  indulgence  in  strong  drink.  A  second 
meeting  of  \'ance's  friends  was  soon  hold  at  Ashevillc,  but 
from  it  Silas  ^McDowell  was  excluded.  There  it  was  deter- 
mined that  \'ance  should  attack  the  character  of  Carson's 
father  "on  a  floating  tratlition  that,  after  the  defeat  of  our 
army  at  Camden,  Carson,  with  many  other  hitherto  patriotic 
citizens  of  North  Carolina,  had  applied  to  Cornwallis,  while 
near  Charlotte,  to  protect  their  property.  The  tradition  went 
so  far  as  to  include  many  of  the  patriotic  men  of  Mecklenburg 
county.  Up  to  this  day  that  tradition  is  an  historic  doubt." 
But  Judge  Avery  points  out  that  Col.  John  Carson  had  been 
elected  by  the  people  of  Burke  to  attend  the  convention  held 
at  Fayetteville  for  the  Constitution  of  1787  of  the  United 
States,  as  a  sufficient  refutation  of  the  charge  as  applied  to 
him.  But,  at  the  next  joint  debate,  which  was  at  Alorganton, 
Vance  used  these  words:  "The  Bible  tells  us  that  'because 
the  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes,  their  sons'  teeth  have 
been  set  on  edge.'  .  .  .  My  father  never  ate  sour  grapes 
and  my  competitor's  father  did.  ...  In  the  time  of  the 
Revolutionary  War  my  father.  Col.  Vance,  stood  up  to  fight, 
while  my  competitor's  father.  Col.  Carson,  skulked,  and  took 
British  protection." 

The  Insult  Is  Resented.  All  of  Samuel  P.  Carson's 
brothers  were  present  when  this  statement  was  made  "and 
made  a  move  as  though  they  would  attack  Vance,  when 
prominent  citizens  interfered  and  the  excitement  calmed 
down."  The  election  resulted  in  Vance's  defeat,  three  to 
one,  \'ance  getting  only  2,419  votes.  Afterwards,  "Col. 
Carson  wTote  Vance  an  ill-natured  and  abusive  letter,  to  which 
Vance  sent  the  brief  reply.  ...  'I  can  have  no  alterca- 
tion with  a  man  of  your  age;  and,  if  I  have  aggrieved  you, 
you  certainly  have  some  of  your  chivalrous  sons  that  will 
protect  you  from  insult.'  A  few  days  thereafter  Gen.  Alney 
Burgin  came  to  Asheville  ...  to  enquire  which  one 
of  Colonel  Carson's  sons  Vance  alluded  to  in  his  lines  to  his 


364        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

father,"  and  Vance  replied  "Sam  knows  well  enough  I  meant 
him. "     Then  the  challenge  was  delivered  and  acceptetl. 

The  Duel.  It  was  agreed  that  three  weeks  should  elapse 
before  the  duel,  which  was  to  be  fought  at  Saluda  Gap,  on 
the  line  between  North  and  South  Carolina,  on  the  Greenville 
turnpike.  Gen.  Franklin  Patton  was  Vance's  second  and  Dr. 
George  Phillips  his  surgeon,  while  Dr.  Shuflin  was  Carson's 
surgeon.  "A  few  special  friends  attended  as  spectators, 
and,  though  invited  by  both  gentlemen,"  Mr.  McDowell  did 
not  go.  Davy  Crockett,  who,  according  to  Dr.  Sondley,  in 
"  Asheville's  Centenary,"  had  married  a  Miss  Patton,  of 
Swannanoa,  is  said  to  have  been  present  as  a  friend 
of  Carson's.  The  distance  was  ten  paces  and  the  firing 
was  to  be  done  between  the  words  "Fire,  One,  Two, 
Three,"  with  rising  or  falling  pistols.  Vance  chose  the  rising 
and  Carson  the  falling  mode;  and  at  the  word  "Fire,"  Car- 
son sent  a  ball  entirely  through  Vance's  body,  entering  one 
and  a  half  inches  above  the  point  of  the  hip  and  lodging  in 
the  skin  on  the  opposite  side.  It  does  not  appear  that 
Vance  fired  at  all.  Vance  died  the  next  day,  thirty-two  hours 
after  having  received  his  wound,  at  a  hotel  on  the  road, 
probably  Davis's. 

Contrition.  When  he  saw  that  Vance  had  been  wounded 
Carson  expressed  a  wish  to  speak  to  him,  but  was  led  away; 
and  before  his  death  Vance  expressed  regret  that  Carson  had 
not  been  permitted  to  speak  with  him,  and  stated  that  he 
had  "not  the  first  unkind  feeling  for  him."  Vance  also  told 
Gen.  Burgin  that  he  had  fallen  where  he  had  always  wished 
to  die — "on  the  field  of  honor."  He  was  buried  at  the  family 
grave-yard  on  Reems  creek. 

Carson's  Subsequent  Career.  Mr.  Carson  went  on  to 
Congress  after  the  duel,  was  elected  a  delegate  to  the  State 
convention  of  1835,  moved  to  Texas  and  became  Secretary 
of  State  in  David  G.  Burnett's  cabinet,  never  returning  to 
North  Carolina.  The  result  of  this  duel  is  said  to  have  embit- 
tered his  life.  Mr.  McDowell  hints  at  an  attachment  for 
Miss  Donaldson,  the  pretty  niece  of  Andrew  Jackson;  but 
Carson  died  unmarried. 

Premonition.  It  is  quite  evident  that  Vance  expected  to 
be  killed;  for  he  made  his  will  (dated  November  3,  1827) 
in  which  he  referred  to  the  approaching  duel,  and  after  his  death 
it  was  admitted  to  probate,  though,  when  the  court  house 


DUELS  365 

was  destroyeil  iu  tlu'  spriiiji;  of  18G5,  the  record  book  containing 
it  was  destroyed.  Fortunately,  however,  a  certified  copy  had 
been  obtained  prior  to  the  fire,  whicli  copy  is  still  in  existence.  - 
Judge  Avery  also  states  that  Dr.  Vance  stopped  at  his  father's 
house  on  his  way  to  the  dueling  ground  "anil  though  almost 
everyone  knew  what  was  about  to  occur,  no  allusion  was 
made  to  it  by  the  family  in  conversation  with  their  guest. 
The  impression  was  made  on  some  of  the  family  that  \'ance 
seemeil  sad.  Though  recklessly  fearless,  it  was  natural  that 
he  should  seem  depressed  in  view  of  the  prospect  that  he  or 
Carson,  or  both,  would  probably  be  killed." 

Vance's  jMotive.  Although  Mr.  McDowell  had  been 
"excluded"  from  the  second  conference  between  Vance  and 
his  friends  at  Asheville,  he  and  Dr.  Vance  lodged  at  the 
same  house  at  Morganton,  and  he  said  :  "When  Vance  returned 
to  our  room  ...  I  remarked  to  him,  '  Doctor,  you  have 
this  day  sounded  the  death  knell  over  yours  or  Carson's 
grave — perhaps  both.'  To  this  Vance  answered:  'There 
is  no  fight  in  Carson.  I  wish  he  would  fight  and  kill  me.  Do 
you  wish  to  know  why?  I  will  tell  you:  ^ly  life  has  no 
future  prospect.  All  before  me  is  deep,  dark  gloom,  my  way 
to  Congress  being  closed  forever,  and  to  fall  back  upon  my 
profession  or  former  resources  of  enjoyment  makes  me  shud- 
der to  think  of.  Understand  me,  McDowell,  I  have  no  wish 
to  kill  or  injure  Carson;  but  I  do  wish  for  him  to  kill  me,  as, 
perhaps,  it  would  save  me  from  self-slaughter.'"  Would  such 
a  statement  have  been  made  except  to  a  trusted  friend  and 
under  the  sacred  seal  of  friendship? 

CoL.  John  Carson's  Implacability.  Judge  Avery  tells  us 
that,  after  the  Morganton  insult.  Col.  Carson  agreed  to 
forego  his  privilege  of  challenging  Vance  only  upon  the  prom- 
ise of  his  six  sons  that  if  "Samuel  Carson  should  first  challenge 
Vance,  and,  if  he  should  fall,  then  the  oldest  son,  Joseph 
McDowell  Carson,  should  challenge  him,  and  if  every  one  of 
the  six  should  fall  in  separate  encounters  with  Vance,  then 
the  old  Colonel  should  be  at  liberty  to  wipe  out  the  insult  to 
the  family  by  meeting  Vance  on  the  field  of  honor."  He 
adds:  "Vance  was  not  only  mistaken  in  expecting  a  back 
down,  but  in  fact  he  was  provoking  a  difficulty  with  six  cool 
and  courageous  men,  everyone  of  whom  was  a  crack  marks- 
man."  But  that  was  not  all.  Judge  Avery  further  states 
that  Warren  Davis,  Carson's  second,  refused  to  "act  as  his 


366        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

second  unless  he  would  promise  to  do  his  best  or  use  his  utmost 
skill  to  hit  Vance."  Dr.  Vance  must  have  known  who  Davis 
was  and  why  he  had  been  brought  from  South  Carolina,  as 
well  as  of  the  marksmanship  of  the  six  Carsons;  and  that  he 
had  deliberately  offered  a  deadly  insult  to  the  venerable  head 
of  an  old  and  distinguished  family  because  he  believed  that 
Samuel  P.  Carson  would  not  fight  is  almost  incredible.  That 
Dr.  Vance  should  wish  to  be  killed  by  his  boyhood's  friend 
is  even  more  unbelievable.  But,  whatever  his  motive,  crit- 
icism of  his  conduct  was  silenced  above  his  open  grave;  for 
he  went  to  his  death  with  a  courage  that  was  sublime;  and  for 
more  than  three  quarters  of  a  century  censure  has  remained 
dumb,  "with  a  finger  on  her  lips  and  a  meaning  in  her  ej^es. " 
Judge  Avery's  Account.  In  his  "Historic  Homes  of 
North  Carolina"  (in  the  N.  C.  Booklet,  Vol.  IV,  No.  3)  the 
late  Hon.  A.  C.  Avery  recorded  the  fact  that  on  the  night 
after  the  debate  between  Vance  and  Carson  at  Morganton, 
Samuel  P.  Carson,  his  six  brothers  and  his  father  agreed  that 
if  the  father  would  not  challenge  Vance  Samuel  would  do  so, 
and  if  he  fell  each  son  in  succession  should  challenge  Vance 
till  he  should  be  killed.  In  the  event  that  all  the  seven  Car- 
son sons  should  fall,  then,  Col.  Carson,  the  father  would  send 
a  challenge.  It  is  also  stated  that  Carson  went  to  Tennessee 
to  send  the  challenge  in  order  not  to  violate  the  law  of  this 
state;  and  that  David  Crockett  was  one  of  Carson's  friends  at 
the  duel.  Just  before  taking  his  position  on  the  field  Carson 
told  Warren  Davis  that  he  (Carson)  could  hit  Vance  where- 
ever  he  chose,  but  preferred  not  to  inflict  a  mortal  wound. 
Thereupon,  Davis  said:  "Vance  will  try  to  kill  you,  and  if  he 
receives  only  a  flesh  wound,  he  will  demand  another  shot, 
which  will  mean  another  chance  to  kill  you.  I  will  not  act 
for  you  unless  you  promise  to  do  your  best  to  kill  him."  Car- 
son promised,  and  Vance  fell  mortally  wounded,  Carson  la- 
menting that  the  demands  of  an  imperious  custom  had  forced 
him  to  wreck  his  own  peace  of  mind  in  order  to  save  the  honor 
of  his  family.  In  1835  Carson  was  elected  to  the  Constitu- 
tional Convention  of  that  year.  He  emigrated  to  Texas  in  1836, 
was  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1836  in 
that  State,  and  Sam  Houston  made  him  secretary  of  State. 
Carson  was  active  in  securing  the  annexation  of  Texas.  The 
Biographical  Congressional  Directory,  1911,  says  that  Carson 
"after  his  retirement  from  Congress  moved  to  Arkansas;  died 


DUELS  367 

in  Hot  Springs,  Ark.,  in  November,  1840"  (p.  532).  The 
same  work  (p.  1070)  says  that  Vance  "moved  to  Nasliville, 
Nash  county,  where  he  held  several  local  positions."  All 
of  whicli  is  wrong.  It  does  not  give  the  date  of  his  birth  or 
of  his  ileath 

•The  Clingman- Yancey  Duel.  ^  "Although  kind,  social 
and  friendly  in  his  private  intercourse,  Gen.  Thomas  L.  Cling- 
man's  character  is  not  of  that  negative  kind  so  concisely 
described  bj^  Dr.  Johnson  of  one  'who  never  had  generosity 
enough  to  acquire  a  friend,  or  spirit  enough  to  provoke  an 
enemy.'  Whenever  the  rights  of  his  State  and  his  personal 
honor  were  infringed,  he  was  prompt  and  ready  to  repel  the 
assailant.     He  has  followed  the  advice  of  Polonius  to  his  son: 

'  Beware  of  entrance 
Into  a  quarrel;  but  being  in, 
So  bear  thyself  that  thy  opposer 
Will  beware  of  thee.' 

"In  1845,  Hon.  William  Yancey,  of  Alabama,  well  known 
in  his  day  as  'a  rabid  fire  eater,'  attempted  some  liberty  with 
General  Clingman.  A  challenge  ensued.  Huger,  of  South 
Carolina,  was  Yancey's  friend;  and  Charles  Lee  Jones,  of 
Washington  City,  was  the  friend  of  Clingman.  They  fought 
at  Bladenburg. 

"Mr.  Jones,  the  second  of  General  Clingman,  in  his  graphic 
description  of  this  duel,  published  in  the  Capital,  states: 

"  'After  the  principles  had  been  posted,  Mr  Huger,  who  had  won  the 
giving  of  the  word,  asked,  "Are  you  ready?     FIRE  !" 

"' Mr  Clingman,  who  had  remained  perfectly  cool,  fired,  missing  his 
adversary,  but  drawing  his  fire,  in  the  ground,  considerably  out  of  line, 
the  bullet  scattering  dust  and  gravel  upon  the  person  of  Mr.  Chngman. 
After  this  fire  the  difficulty  was  adjusted.' 

"Hon.  Kenneth  Rayner,  the  colleague  of  Mr.  Clingman 
in  Congress,  who  was  on  the  ground,  states  that  '  he  had  never 
seen  more  composure  and  firnmess  in  danger  than  was  mani- 
fested by  Mr.  Clingman  on  this  occasion. '  On  seeing  his  friend 
covered  by  the  dust  and  gravel,  and  standing  at  his  post 
unmoved  he  thought  he  was  mortally  wounded.  He  rushed 
to  him  and  asked  him  if  he  was  hurt.  'He  has  thrown  some 
dirt  on  my  new  coat, '  he  replied.  ...  On  other  occasions, 
as  with  Hon.  Edward  Stanley  and  others.  Gen.  Clingman 
has  evidenced  a  proper  regard  for  his  own  honor  Ijy  repelling 
the  insults  of  others.  " 


368        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Erwin-Baxter  Duel.  At  some  time  between  1851  and 
1857  the  late  Major  Marcus  Erwin  and  the  late  Judge  Jolm 
Baxter  fought  a  duel  with  pistols  at  Saluda  Gap  on  the  Green- 
ville, South  Carolina,  turnpike.  Judge  Baxter  was  shot  in 
the  knuckle  of  the  right  hand,  the  ball  ranging  up  and  along 
the  right  arm  to  the  shoulder.  It  was  not  a  serious  wound, 
but  disabled  its  recipient  for  a  second  shot.  It  was  claimed 
by  Baxter's  friends  that  he  was  opposed  to  dueling,  and  had 
not  fired  to  hit  Erwin.  Erwin's  friends  retorted  that  if  his 
right  arm  had  not  been  pointing  toward  Erwin  when  Erwin's 
bullet  struck  Baxter's  knuckle,  the  ball  would  not  have  ranged 
up  it  to  his  shoulder.  •*  The  late  Dr.  Edward  Jones  of  Hen- 
dersonville  was  Erwin's  second  and  the  late  Dr.  W.  L.  Hil- 
liard  was  Erwin's  surgeon.  Terrill  W.  Taylor  was  Baxter's 
second  and  Dr.  W.  D.  Whitted  his  surgeon.  ^ 

Result  of  a  Political  Quarrel.  It  is  agreed  that  the 
cause  of  this  duel  was  politics  pure  and  simple;  but  the  special 
offence  alleged  has  been  forgotten.  Judge  A.  C.  Avery 
writes : 

"My  recollection  is — in  fact,  I  know — that  the  duel  was  fought  just 
south  of  our  State  line  at  Saluda  gap.  According  to  my  best  recollec- 
tion it  occurred  in  1852,  soon  after  Gen.  Clingman  and  others  had  fol- 
lowed Calhoun  in  opposing  the  compromise  measure  of  1851  and  had 
been  put  beyond  the  pale  of  the  Whig  party,  on  that  account.  Marcus 
Erwin  was  editing  a  Democratic  paper  established  shortly  before  that 
time  in  Asheville.  My  impression  is  that  the  name  of  the  paper  was 
the  News.  I  know  it  was  sent  to  me  at  the  Bingham  School.  My  im- 
pression is  that  Erwin  had  written  some  very  strong  articles  or  edito- 
rials advocating  the  doctrine  of  State's  Rights.  Mr.  Baxter,  who  then 
lived  in  Hendersonville,  wrote  a  communication  to  the  Whig  paper  in 
which  he  criticised  Mr.  Erwin,  calling  him  the  'Fire-eating  Editor  of  the 
Neivs'  (if  that  was  the  name  of  the  paper);  and  in  answer  to  him  Mr. 
Erwin  wrote  a  very  caustic  criticism  of  Mr  Baxter,  in  which  he.  said, 
enclosing  the  article,  in  substance,  that  Mr.  Baxter  had  called  him  a 
fire-eater;  but  that,  while  he  did  not  devour  that  element,  Mr.  Baxter 
would  find  him  ready  and  willing  to  face  it.  This  editorial,  as  I  recollect 
it,  called  forth  a  challenge  from  Baxter,  which  was  accepted  and  Mr. 
Erwin  selected  Saluda  as  the  place  for  the  duel.  Judge  Avery  thinks 
Dr.  Jones  was  Erwin's  second  and  Dr.  Whitted  of  Hendersonville  was 
Baxter's  surgeon,  but  could  not  recall  Ba.xter's  second."^ 

"But  Dr.  J.  S.  T.  Baird,  who  remembers  seeing  Judge  Baxter  at 
court  while  the  Doctor  was  its  clerk,  between  1853  and  1857,  with  his 
hand  bandaged  from  the  effects  of  the  wound,  scouts  the  idea  that  Baxter 
sent  the  challenge.  Elias  Gibbs,  who  now  (1912)  lives  near  Henderson- 
ville, was  sitting  talking  to  Mr.  Baxter  when  the  challenge  came.     Col. 


DUELS  369 

Bjixter  road  tlu"  i-halleuge,  showed  it  to  him,  tlun  tore  it  into  minute 
scraps  and  threw  them  on  the  floor.  He  accepted,  and  with  his  second, 
Terrell  Taylor,  father  of  Mrs.  Joseph  Bryson,  went  on  hors('-I)ack  to  the 
South  Carolina  line,  fearinj;  the  law  in  his  own  state.  His  (Baxter's) 
wife's  suspicions  became  aroused  after  he  left,  so,  she  with  a  number  of 
slaves  gathered  the  torn  fragments  together  and  read  them,  discovering 
her  husband's  whereabouts.  Col.  Baxter  was  tinged  with  Quakerism, 
was  a  very  conscientious  and  honorable  man.  When  it  came  to  figliting 
the  duel,  a  large  crowd  of  citizens  had  learned  of  it,  and  were  present. 
Col.  Baxter  did  not  wish  to  show  the  white  feather  by  not  standing  up, 
but  without  any  intention  of  injuring  his  opponent,  shot  at   his  feet."'^ 

Major  Erwiii  was,  by  many,  considered  the  "brainiest" 
man  in  the  State;  while  Air.  Baxter  afterwards  moved  to 
Tennessee  where  he  was  made  United  States  circuit  judge, 
and  served  with  distinction  till  his  death. 

The  Hyman-Hilliard  Duel.  In  the  Summer  of  1855 
John  D.  Hyman,  editor  of  the  Spectator  said  in  his  paper  that 
the  mail  service  was  not  as  efficiently  conducted  as  when  it  had 
been  under  the  management  of  the  Whigs.  Dr.  W.  L.  Hil- 
liard,  now  deceased,  was  then  the  postmaster,  and  a  partner 
of  the  late  Dr.  J.  F.  E.  Hardy.  ^  Besides  this,  both  were 
Democrats.  Dr.  Hilliard  sent  Dr.  Hardy  to  Col.  Hyman  with 
a  polite  request  for  a  retraction  and  apology,  which  were 
refused.  Thereupon  a  challenge  to  mortal  combat  followed, 
which  was  promptly  accepted,  rifles  designated  as  the  weapons, 
and  Paint  Rock  on  the  Tennessee  line  agreed  on  as  the  place 
of  meeting. 

Dr.  Hilliard  had  married  the  year  before  Miss  Margaret 
Love,  a  daughter  of  Col.  J.  R.  Love,  and  was  living  over  the 
drug  store  of  Dr.  Thomas  C.  Lester  in  a  brick  building,  then 
on  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  Falk  Music  Store.  Between 
this  and  what  is  now  Aston  street,  then  a  mere  lane,  lived 
Mr.  James  Patton.  In  the  rear  of  Dr.  Hilliard 's  apartments 
were  his  barn  and  stable,  with  a  single  exit,  that  on  South 
Main  street.  The  postoffice  was  just  above  his  house  and 
on  that  street.  Capt.  James  P.  Sawyer,  or  Captain  Frank 
M.  Miller,  was  the  clerk  in  charge. 

Now,  Col.  Hyman  and  his  party  had  left  the  day  before 
the  duel  was  to  be  fought;  but  Drs.  Hilliard  and  Hardy  and 
Col.  David  Coleman,  Dr.  Hilliard's  second,  knew  that  the 
authorities  had  been  informed  of  the  contemplated  duel  and 
that  they  would  be  arrested  if  they  should  openly  attempt  to 

W.  N.  C— 24 


370        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

leave  towTi.  So  they  waited  till  nightfall,  when  they  had  the 
plank  from  the  rear  wall  of  the  stable  removed  and  slipped 
their  horses  out  into  the  lane  that  is  now  Aston  street.  They 
were  afraid  also  that  if  they  followed  the  most  direct  route 
to  Paint  Rock,  that  down  the  eastern  bank  of  the  French  Broad, 
they  might  be  arrested.  Consequently,  they  crossed  the 
French  Broad  at  Smith's  Bridge  and  went  down  the  left-hand 
side  of  the  river.  But  it  is  forty  miles  to  Paint  Rock,  and 
ride  as  hard  as  they  could  through  the  dark  night,  dawn  was 
breaking  when  they  reached  the  bridge  at  Warm  Springs. 
As  the  duel  was  fixed  for  sunrise  the  Hyman  party  began  to 
fear  that  the  doctor  had  been  arrested,  but  Col.  John  A.  Fagg, 
who  lived  at  Paint  Rock,  said  that  he  knew  Hilliard  and 
that  they  need  have  no  apprehensions. 

According  to  the  recollection  of  Francis  Marion  Wells,  now 
91  (1912)  years  old,  and  living  on  Grass  creek,  Madison  county, 
within  less  than  one  mile  from  where  the  duel  was  fought,  the 
Hyman  party  arrived  at  Paint  Rock  the  day  before  that  on 
which  the  duel  was  to  be  fought.  People  living  in  the  neigh- 
borhood began  to  suspect  the  truth,  and  the  authorities  of 
Cocke  county,  Tennessee,  were  notified.  So  that  when  the 
Hilliard  party  reached  the  scene  early  on  the  morning  of  the 
day  set  for  the  duel,  from  forty  to  fifty  men  had  assembled 
to  see  what  might  occur.  Among  these  were  peace  officers 
of  North  Carolina.  The  belhgerants,  realizing  that  a  duel  in 
the  circumstances  would  most  likely  be  interfered  with  by 
the  authorities  of  North  Carolina  or  Tennessee,  announced 
publicly  that  the  effort  to  have  the  encounter  take  place  had 
been  abandoned  and  all  parties  started  on  their  return  to 
Asheville.  This  seemed  to  have  accompHshed  its  purpose, 
for  no  one  followed.  But  when  Hot  Springs  was  reached  the 
parties  merely  crossed  to  the  left  or  western  bank  of  the  French 
Broad,  not  for  the  purpose  of  ascending  the  river  to  Ashe- 
ville, but  of  descending  it  to  the  Tennessee  line  by  a  road  lead- 
ing to  the  mouth  of  Wolf  creek.  As  they  passed  Mr.  Wells' 
house  he  noted  particularly  the  men  who  were  present:  They 
were  John  D.  Hyman  and  John  Baxter,  his  second,  and  Dr. 
Charles  Candler,  his  surgeon.  With  Dr.  W.  L.  Hilliard  was 
his  second,  Marcus  Er-wdn,  ^  and  Dr.  J.  F.  E.  Hardy,  his  sur- 
geon. Col.  John  A.  Fagg  was  along  to  show  the  way.  The 
duel  was  fought  with  rifles  at  fifty  paces  just  about  100  yards 


DUELS  371 

over  the  North  Carolina  line.  Dr.  C'aiuller  told  Wells  that 
he  weighed  the  powder  and  lead  that  went  into  eaeh  rifle.  The 
roail  on  which  the  tliul  was  fought  is  partly  grown  up  now, 
coming  into  the  new  road  in  a  slightly  oblique  direction  from  the 
gap  of  the  little  ridge.  The  spot  is  about  one  and  a  half  miles 
west  of  the  French  Broad  river.  As  the  party  returned  Col. 
John  Baxter  shouted  to  Squire  Wells  as  he  passed:  "No- 
body hurt,"  which  proved  to  be  true.  Only  one  shot  was 
exchanged,  a  second  shot  not  having  been  demanded.  There 
is  a  tradition  that  but  for  the  fact  that  Col.  Fagg  cried  "Halt!" 
as  the  commands  to  fire  were  being  given,  Hyman  would  prob- 
ably have  killed  Hilliard,  as  the  latter  fired  first,  his  ball 
striking  the  ground  near  Hyman's  feet.  Also  that  Hyman's 
bullet  clipped  a  button  from  Hilliard's  coat. 

A  One-Sided  Duel  Across  the  State  Line.  All  uncon- 
sciously two  men  of  Cherokee  county  imitated  famous  duel- 
ists of  former  years  by  standing  in  one  State  and  killing  a  man 
in  another: 

On  the  nth  day  of  July,  1892,  WilUam  Hall  and  John 
Dockery  were  on  the  "State  Ridge,"  which  is  the  boundary 
line  between  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee.  They  had  a 
warrant  for  the  arrest  of  Andrew  Bryson  whom  they  soon 
descried  coming  up  the  ridge  in  front  of  them.  They  hid 
behind  a  large  oak  tree  until  Bryson  came  within  gunshot 
range,  when  Hall  told  him  to  surrender.  Bryson  was  then 
just  over  the  line  and  in  Tennessee,  whereas  Hall  and  Dockery 
were  in  North  Carolina.  Instead  of  surrendering,  Bryson 
started  to  draw  his  gun,  when  he  was  shot  and  killed.  The 
case  was  tried  and  the  defendants  found  guilty  at  the  spring 
term,  1893,  of  the  Superior  court  of  Cherokee  county.  ^ "  A 
new  trial  was  granted  by  the  Supreme  court  at  the  February 
term  of  1894,  on  the  ground  that  at  common  law  there  could 
be  no  conviction  unless  the  men  who  were  killed  were  within 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  court  at  the  time  the  shot  was  fired. '  ^ 
The  defendants  were  re-tried  and  acquitted.  The  legislature 
at  its  next  session  passed  a  statute  making  such  an  act 
murder.  ^  - 

NOTES. 

'From  "Dropped  Stitches,"  Ch.  VIII. 

'It  was  probated  in  January,  l-^'iS,  and  the  certified  copy  wa8  made  March  11,  1S48. 
•Hon.  J.  H.  Wheeler's  "  Reminiscences." 
'Hon.  A.  C.  Avery  to  J.  P.  A.,  Dec.  12,  1912. 

»Dr.  T.  A.  .-Vllen  of  Hendersonville  writes,  November  12,  1912,  that  Dr.  W.  D.  Whitted 
was  Baiter's  surgeon  and  T.  W.  Taylor  may  have  been  his  second.     But  Col.  \Vm.  M. 


372        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Davies,  a  distinRuished  teacher  of  law  at  Asheville,  was  a  boy  in  Hendersonville  at  the 
timo,  and  insists  that  John  D.  Hyman  was  Baxter's  second.  It  is  difficult  to  state  posi- 
tively who  the  second  was. 

^Letter  from  Judge  Avery  to  J.  P.  A. 

'Mrs.  Mattio  S.  Candler's  "History  of  Henderson  County,"  1912.  As  Judge  Avery 
heard  of  it  while  he  was  at  Bingham's  school  and  graduated  there  in  1857.  it  is  clear  that 
the  duel  was  not  prior  to  that  date. 

'Dr.  Hilliard  was  born  in  Georgia  in  1823.  He  practiced  medicine  in  Asheville  nearly 
forty  years,  and  stood  in  the  front  rank.  He  was  a  surgeon  in  the  Confederate  army 
from  May,  1861,  to  August,  1863,  when  he  took  charge  of  a  ho.spital  in  Asheville.  After  the 
war  he  resumed  practice,  and  died  in  1890.  From  Dr.  G.  S.  Teniient's  "  Medicine  in  Bun- 
combe," 1906. 

'Dr.  VV.  D.  Hilliard,  Dr.  W.  L.  Hilliard's  son,  and  Theo.  F.  Davidson,  however,  agree 
in  saving  that  Col.  David  Coleman  was  Dr.  W.  L.  Hilliard's  second. 

"114  N.  C.  Reports,  p.  909. 

11115  N.  C.  Reports,  p.  811. 

•^Chapter  109,  Laws  of  1895. 


CHAPTER  XV 
BENCH  AND  BAR' 

First  Judiciary  Act.-  In  1777  (Ch.  11"),  p.  281)  the 
State  was  divided  into  six  districts,  viz.  :  Wilmington,  New 
Bern,  Halifax,  Hillsborough  and  Salisbury,  in  each  of  which 
places  a  Superior  court  for  the  trial  of  civil  and  criminal 
causes  should  be  held,  to  consist  of  three  judges  who  were 
to  hold  office  during  good  behavior,  the  jurisdiction  and  terms 
l)eing  prescril)ed.  It  is  sometimes  thought  that  the  Superior 
court  was  not  established  till  180G;  but  that  is  a  mistake;  the 
act  of  1806  having  simply  prescribed  two  terms  in  each  county 
after  having  changed  the  districts  into  so  many  circuits  (Ch. 
693,  Laws  1806,  p.  1050)  but  with  the  same  jurisdiction. 

County  Courts  of  Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions.  ^  These 
courts  were  provided  for  in  the  same  chapter,  and  their  juris- 
diction and  terms  prescribed.     (P.  297,  et  seq.) 

Appeals.  Provision  was  made  in  the  act  of  1777  (Ch.  115) 
for  appeals  from  the  County  courts  of  Pleas  and  Quarter  Ses- 
sions to  the  Superior  courts,  but  none  from  the  decisions  of 
the  Superior  courts,  till  1799.  In  that  year  was  established 
(Ch.  520)  * 

A  Conference  Court,  consisting  of  all  the  Superior  court 
judges,  who  were  to  meet  at  Raleigh  on  the  10th  day  of  June 
and  December  of  each  year,  appoint  a  clerk  and  decide  all 
"questions  of  law  and  equity  which  had  arisen  upon  the  cir- 
cuit before  any  of  the  judges  of  the  Superior  courts,  which 
the  judge  sitting  may  be  unwilling  to  determine,  and  shall 
be  desirous  of  further  consideration  thereon,  .  .  .  [by]  a 
conference  with  the  other  judges;  or  where  any  questions  of 
law  or  equity  have  already  arisen  on  the  circuit,  and  have 
remained  undecided  by  reason  of  a  disagreement  of  the  judges 
on  the  circuit. "     (See  2nd  ]\Iurphy's  Reports.) 

Name  Changed  to  Supreme  Court.  In  1805  (Ch.  674,  p. 
1039)  "the  name  and  style  of  the  court  of  conference  shall 
hereafter  be  that  of  the  Supreme  court  of  North  Carolina," 
and  it  was  made  the  duty  of  the  sheriff  of  Wake  county  to 
attend  its  sessions.  It  was  not,  however,  till  1818  (Ch.  962) 
that  the  Supreme  court,  composed  of  judges  elected  for  the 

(373) 


374        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

purpose  of  hearing  appeals,  etc.,  alone,  was  provided  for.  The 
court  was  to  consist  of  three  judges  to  be  elected  by  the  legis- 
lature and  to  hold  office  during  good  behavior.  Terms  were 
to  be  held  in  Raleigh  i\Iay  and  November  20th  of  each  year. ' 

Tennessee  Superior  Court.''  "The  act  of  the  general 
assembly  of  North  Carolina,  providing  for  or  establishing  a 
Superior  court  of  Law  and  Equity  for  the  counties  of  David- 
son, Sumner  and  Tennessee,  was  not  passed  till  November, 
1778.  .  .  .  The  first  volume  of  the  original  record  of 
the  minutes  of  the  Superior  Court  ...  for  the  District 
of  Washington — then  the  'Western  District' — at  Jonesboro, 
shows  that  David  Campbell  alone  held  that  court  from  the 
February  term,  1788  (which  was  the  first  term),  until  the 
February  term,  1789,  at  which  latter  term  the  record  shows 
that  Judge  McNairy  appeared  and  sat  with  Judge  Campbell." 

Judge  Spruce  McCay.  This  judge  held  the  second  term 
of  the  Superior  court  of  Ashe  county,  in  September,  1907. 
He  had  married  a  daughter  of  Gen.  Griffith  Rutherford,  and 
lived  at  SaHsbury.  ^  It  was  he  who  had  held  the  August, 
1782,  term  of  the  "Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  &  Gaol  De- 
livery," in  Jonesborough,  in  what  was  then  Washington  Dis- 
trict, now  in  Tennessee.  "He  had  the  court  opened  by  proc- 
lamation, and  with  all  the  formality  and  solemnity  charac- 
terizing the  opening  of  the  English  courts.  On  the  first  day 
of  the  term,  John  Vann  was  found  guilty,  by  a  jury,  of  horse- 
stealing, the  punishment  for  which,  at  that  time,  was  death. 
On  the  same  day  the  record  contains  an  entry  to  the  effect 
that  'the  Jury  who  passed  upon  the  Tryal  of  Vann  beg  Leave 
to  Recommend  him  to  the  Court  for  Mercy';  but  no  mercy 
was  shown  him  by  'the  Honl.  Spruce  McCay,  Esqr.'  . 
During  the  week  two  more  unfortunates — Isaac  Chote  and 
William  White — were  found  guilty  of  horse-stealing;  and,  on 
the  last  day  of  the  term  (August  20),  Judge  McCay  disposed 
of  all  three  of  these  criminals  in  one  order,  as  follows  :  'Ord. 
that  John  Vann,  Isaac  Chote  &  Wm.  White,  now  Under  Sen- 
tence of  Death,  be  executed  on  the  tenth  day  of  September 
next.'  This  is  the  whole  of  the  entry. "^  The  author,  John 
AUison,  now  a  chancellor  of  Tennessee,  says  :  "It  is  not 
probable  that  a  parallel  proceeding  can  be  found  in  judicial 
history."  He  adds  that  "tradition  in  that  country  gave 
Judge  McCay  the  character  of  a  heartless  tyrant."     But  the 


BENCH  AND  BAR  375 


juries  of  that  daj'  and  section  of  Nortli  Carolina  seem  to  have 
been  equal  to  the  occasion;  for  at  the  same  term  of  court  the 
following  incident  is  mentioned  :  "The  juries  could  not  be 
driven  or  intimidated  into  giving  verdicts  contrary  to  their 
convictions;  and  whenever  they  differed  with  the  judge — and 
they  always  knew  his  views — in  a  case  of  weight  or  serious 
results,  they  would  delil)erately  disperse,  go  to  their  homes, 
and  not  return  any  more  during  that  term  of  court.  In  a 
case  styled  'State  v.  Taylor,'  the  record  shows  that  the  jury 
was  sworn  and  the  defendant  put  on  'Tryal.'  Nothing  more 
appears  except  the  following  significant  entry  :  'State  v. 
Taylor.  The  jury  having  failed  to  come  back  into  court,  it 
is  therefore  a  mistrial.'"^ 

"Lewis  and  Elias  Pybourn."  At  the  May  Term,  1783,  at 
Jonesborough,  an  order  was  made  allowing  these  men  "who 
is  at  this  time  Lying  out"  to  return  home  upon  giving  bond 
for  good  behavior,  which,  probably  was  done.  But  whether 
it  was  done  or  not,  seven  years  later,  at  the  August  term  of 
the  same  court,  1790,  Elias  Pybourn  was  convicted  of  horse- 
stealing, and  was  sentenced  to  "the  public  pillory  one  hour. 
That  he  have  both  his  ears  nailed  to  the  pillory  and  severed 
from  his  head;  that  he  receive  at  the  public  whipping  post 
thirty-nine  lashes  well  laid  on;  and  be  branded  on  the  right 
cheek  with  the  letter  H,  and  on  his  left  cheek  with  the  letter 

Joseph  Culton's  Right  Ear.  At  the  November  Term, 
1788,  at  Jonesborough,  Joseph  Culton  proved  by  the  oath  of 
Alexander  Moffit  that  he  had  lost  his  left  ear  in  a  fight  with 
a  certain  Charles  Young,  and  prayed  that  the  same  be 
entered  on  record,  and  it  was  so  ordered. 

Without  Pass  or  Recommendation.  When  a  stranger 
came  into  the  Watauga  settlement  he  was  asked  to  account 
for  his  being  there,  and  if  his  explanation  proved  to  be  un- 
satisfactory, he  was  required  to  give  bond  for  his  good  beha- 
vior or  to  leave.  Wm.  Clatry  was  a  "  trancient  person  "  and  was 
required  to  give  security  for  his  behavior,  and  return  to  his 
family  "within  five  months,"  he  having  confessed  that  he  had 
left  home  and  taken  up  with  another  woman. 

However,  it  is  not  to  Judge  Spruce  McCay  to  whom  we 
are  indebted  for  the  following. 

A  Gruesome  Record.  At  the  March  Term,  1809,  of  the 
Superior  court  of  Ashe,  Judge  Francis  Locke  presiding,  the 


376        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

case  of  the  State  v.  Carter  Whittington,  indicted  for  per  jury- 
was  tried,  the  following  names  appearing  as  those  of  the 
jurors  :  James  Dixon,  Charles  Sherrer,  Daniel  Moxley,  Jo- 
siah  Connolly,  Young  Edwards,  Alex.  Latham,  Wm.  Powers, 
Andrew  Sherrer,  Chris  Crider,  Thomas  Tirey  (Tire?),  Charles 
Francis,  Jesse  Reeves.  The  jury  found  the  defendant  Carter 
Whittington  "guilty  in  manner  and  form  as  charged  in  the  bill 
of  indictment."  David  and  Elijah  Estep,  sureties,  thereupon 
delivered  up  Carter  AVhittington,  and  he  was  ordered  into  the 
custody  of  the  sheriff.  "Reasons  in  arrest  of  judgement  in 
the  case  of  Carter  Whittington  were  filed  by  Mr.  AIcGimsey,  * 
his  attorney — after  solemn  argument,  the  reasons  are  over- 
ruled by  the  court. " 

"  JUDGMENT. 

"Fined  £10,  and  the  said  Carter  Whittington  stand  in  the  pillorj'  for 
one  hour,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time,  both  his  ears  to  be  cut  off  and 
entirely  severed  from  his  head,  and  that  his  ears  so  cut  off  be  nailed  to 
the  pillory  by  the  officers  and  there  remain  till  the  setting  of  the  sun, 
and  that  the  sheriff  of  this  county  carry  this  judgment  immediately  into 
execution,  and  that  the  said  Carter  Whittington  be  confined  until  the  fine 
and  fees  are  paid.     .      .      .     SoUcitor's  fees  of  £1-6-8  paid  by  deft." 

The  Unwritten  Law^  in  1811.  ^  At  the  March  term,  1811, 
of  the  Superior  court  of  Ashe,  Samuel  Lowery,  judge  presid- 
ing, an  order  was  made  for  the  removal  to  Wilkes  court,  to  be 
held  on  the  third  Monday  of  ]\Iarch,  of  the  case  of  the  State 
V.  William  Tolliver,  indicted  for  the  murder  of  a  man  named 
Reeves;  and  the  sheriff  of  Ashe  was  required  to  "procure  a 
sufficient  guard  of  eight  men  from  the  proper  officers  of  the 
militia  to  convey  safely  the  said  William  Tolliver  to  the 
Superior  court  of  Wilkes  county,"  thus  indicating  either 
that  there  was  danger  of  a  lynching  or  a  rescue.  Tradition 
says  that  Tolliver  was  acquitted  at  Wilkesboro  on  the  ground 
that  Reeves  had  attempted  liberties  with  Tolliver's  wife. 
Robert  Henry  of  Buncombe  defended  him. 

Hanging  of  David  Mason.  When  Dr.  W.  A.  Askew  was 
about  fifteen  years  old  he  stayed  all  night  with  the  late  James 
Gudger,  the  ancestor  of  most  of  the  Gudgers  of  this  section, 
in  what  is  now  Madison  county.  Young  Askew  was  then  on 
his  way  from  his  home  on  Spring  creek  to  see  the  "hanging" 
of  a  man  named  David  Mason  who  had  been  convicted  of 
the  murder  of  his  wife  by  cutting  her  throat  in  Haj^'ood  county. 
,  Askew  rode  to  "towTi"   (Asheville)  with  Dr.  Montraville  W. 


BENCH  AND  BAR  377 


Ciuilger,  a  son  of  "Old  Jiininie. "  The  cv'uk'ncc  upon  which 
Morj2;an  had  been  fonvifted  indicated  that  he  had  shpped  up  on 
his  wife  while  she  was  cardinjj;  in  her  cabin  home  and  killed  her. 
Pierce  Roberts  was  the  sheriff  of  Buncombe  then,  and  the 
execution  took  place  in  the  woods  below  and  behind  Col. 
Lusk's  residence  on  College  Street,  or  where  .J.  D.  Henderson's 
residence  now  stands — there  being  two  accounts  as  to  its 
location.  This  must  have  been  between  1847  and  1850.  When 
asked  on  the  gallows  if  he  had  anything  to  say  Morgan  called 
up  Aaron  FuUbright  and  another  man  whose  name  Dr.  Askew 
has  forgotten  and  pointing  his  finger  at  them  said  :  "You 
have  sworn  my  life  away." 

Twenty-five  years  ago  (1887),  according  to  Dr.  Askew,  a 
woman  in  Sevier  county,  Tennessee,  confessed  on  her  death- 
bed that  she  had  killed  David  Mason's  wife. 

Col.  Davidson's  Recollections  of  the  Bar.  The  late 
Col.  Allen  T.  Davidson,  in  the  Lyceum  for  May,  1891,  says: 

"I  entered  the  profession  of  the  law  January  1,  1845,  with  Gen.  R. 
M.  Henry  and  J.  A.  B.  Fitzgerald  as  my  classmates.  We  were  the  stu- 
dents of  Michael  Francis  of  Waynesville.  .  .  The  gentlemen  then 
in  full  practice  were  Joshua  Roberts,  Geo.  W.  Candler,  Felix  Axley,  John 
Rolen,  Michael  Francis,  N.  W.  Woodfin,  John  Baxter,  George  Baxter, 
Col.  B.  S.  Gaither,  Wm.  Shipp,  Gen.  R.  M.  Henry  and  J.  A.  B.  Fitz- 
gerald. These  constituted  the  bar  and  rode  the  circuit,  as  we  did  then, 
until  about  1855,  when  Judge  A.  S.  Merrimon,  Senator  Z.  B.  Vance, 
Maj.  Marcus  Erwin,  Gen.  B.  M.  Edney,  P.  W.  Roberts,  and  Col.  David 
Coleman  were  added  to  the  list.  .  .  .  Several  distinguished  law- 
yers left  the  profession  just  as  I  entered,  Gen.  John  G.  Bynum  and  Gen. 
T.  L.  Clingman,  who,  added  to  the  list,  made  an  array  of  talent  and 
sound  ability  rarely  met  with.  .  .  The  court  usually  began  in 
Cherokee  (where  I  then  lived)  in  March  and  September,  and  we  all 
joined  and  made  the  circuit  from  thence  eastward  to  Asheville,  where  I 
usually  stopped.  We  traveled  together  on  horseback,  stopped  at  the 
same  hotels  in  the  towns,  and  at  the  same  way.side  inns  in  the  country; 
and  it  was  not  unusual  to  have  ten  or  fifteen  of  us  together  at  one  of 
these  country  stopping  places,  where  the  wit  and  humor  of  the  profes- 
sion broke  loose  in  all  its  force,  and  good  humor  ruled  the  house.  It  is 
a  fact  that  nearly  all  of  tho.se  mentioned  were  gentlemen  of  fine  humor, 
and  but  few  given  to  strong  drink,  so  that  the  jest  and  humor  were  of 
the  best  character,  without  bolstering  or  noise.  Mr.  N.  W.  Woodfin  was 
remarkable  for  his  humor,  clear-cut  and  original.  Mr.  Candler  excelled 
in  his  country  stories  .  .  and  when  he  took  the  floor  he  usually 
held  it  in  silence  till  the  climax,  when  there  were  uprorious  bursts  of 
applause.  Mr.  J.  W.  \\'oodfin  was  the  sunshine  of  the  circle,  was  always 
in  a  good  humor,  and  told  a  story  well.  ...  I  recall  many  of  the 
stopping  places,  the  first  going  from  Asheville  being  James  Patton's  be- 


378        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


yond  the  Pigeon.  Here  we  would  meet  a  good-humored  fine  old  gentle- 
man as  landlord,  with  his  big  country  fire-places,  and  roaring  hickory 
wood  fires,  a  table  groaning  with  all  that  was  desirable  to  eat,  good  beds 
and  plenty  of  cheer,  supper,  lodging  and  breakfast,  horse  well  fed  and 
groomed,  bill  fifty  cents,  and  this  was  uniform  for  twenty  years.  So  at 
Daniel  Bryson's  on  Scott's  creek,  same  fare  and  same  bill.  At  Wm. 
Walker's  at  Valleytown,  one  of  the  best  houses  in  Western  North  Caro- 
lina, the  bill  for  man  and  horse  was  fifty  cents.  A  great  staying  place 
was  N.  S.  Jarrett's  on  the  Nantahala,  at  a  place  called  Aquone.  Here  we 
met,  here  we  chased  the  deer,  here  we  beguiled  the  trout  in  that  crystal 
stream  with  the  fly,  here  we  whiled  away  many  a  pleasant  summer  after- 
noon in  these  attractive  sports.  Good,  dear  old  friends!  I  can  see  you 
all  now'"  in  fancy;  but  this  vanishes  and  I  remember  that  you  are  no 
more.  ...  I  must  be  allowed  to  close  with  a  general  resume  in- 
tended to  embrace  the  years  between  1845  and  1861  :  the  profession  was 
able,  studious,  painstaking  and  thorough.  I  have  been  an  honest  and 
careful  observer  of  many  deliberative  assemblies;  have  watched  with 
much  care  and  interest  the  application  and  power  of  the  human  mind 
so  as  to  learn  from  careful  observation  how  great  men,  so-called,  look 
at  subjects  and  reach  conclusions  .  .  .  but  after  all  I  am  bound  to 
say  that  the  trial  of  cases  in  the  mountain  circuit  has  impressed  me 
more  than  the  proceedings  of  any  other  body  of  men  I  have  ever  met 
for  its  sincerity,  force  and  logic.  Here  we  were,  in  a  large  and  extensive 
district  of  country,  the  courts  distantly  situated,  without  books,  at  each 
town  finding  only  the  Revised  Statutes  and  perhaps  a  digest;  yet  with 
these  we  tried  our  cases  ably  and  well,  and  our  contentions  have  been 
well  sustained  by  adjudged  cases.  In  court  the  common  law  pleading 
prevailed,  beginning  with  the  writ,  thus  bringing  the  defendant  into 
court.  Upon  the  appearance  of  the  defendant  the  issues  were  joined 
and  the  case  was  ready  for  trial  without  circumlocution  or  clerical  tal- 
ent. The  fight  was  an  old-field,  drawn  out  set-to.  As  Judge  Read  says  : 
"We  drew  the  sword  and  threw  away  the  scabbard;  or,  in  less  classical 
words,  "The  Devil  take  the  hindmost."  It  is  a  fact,  however,  that 
with  all  the  spirit  with  which  the  case  was  tried,  often  with  the  mani- 
festation of  temper,  no  unkind  or  angry  feeling  ever  went  outside  the 
court  house,  and  we  all  closed  the  circuit  to  enter  our  homes  as  friends." 

Judge  v.  Judge.  When  the  county  seat  was  at  Jewel  Hill 
Dr.  J.  S.  T.  Baird  was  clerk.  A  church  was  used  for  this 
purpose  and  having  a  window  the  sash  of  which  was  made 
to  open  by  shding  along  horizontally  instead  of  being 
raised,  as  is  usual,  the  presiding  judge,  needing  air,  tried  to 
raise  this  sash,  and  failing  kicked  a  hole  in  the  glass.  For 
this  the  late  Col.  John  A.  Fagg,  then  Chairman  of  the  County 
Court  of  Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions  of  Madison  county,  fined 
his  Honor,  the  presiding  Judge,  ten  dollars  and  his  Honor 
paid  it! 


BENCH  AND  BAR  379 


Certificate  as  to  Why  Right  Ear  Was  Missino.  From 
the  minutes  of  the  Count}'  court  of  Buneoml)e,  ()ctol)er,  1793, 
it  appears  tliat  it  was  "Ordered  by  court  tluit  Thomas  Hopper, 
upon  his  own  motion,  have  a  certificate  from  the  clerk,  certi- 
fying that  his  right  ear  was  bit  off  by  Philip  Williams  in  a 
tight  between  said  Hoj^per  and  Williams.  Certificate  issued." 
This  was  necessary  in  order  that  the  loss  of  a  part  of  his  ear 
might  not  cause  those  ignorant  of  the  facts  to  conclude  that 
the  missing  part  had  been  removed  as  a  punishment  for  per- 
jury or  forgery. 

Where  the  Sow-Skin  Lay.  As  far  back  as  1840,  prob- 
ably, James  Gwynn  of  Wilkes  county  was  solicitor  of  this  cir- 
cuit, which  embraced  all  the  mountain  counties  except  Ashe. 
James  Gwynn  of  the  East  Fork  of  Pigeon  river,  Haywood 
county,  is  a  near  relative  and  bears  his  honored  name.  He 
married  a  ]\Iiss  Lenoir  of  Fort  Defiance,  and  was  a  man  of 
very  decided  ability,  though  of  little  education.  His  spelling 
was  execrable,  but  his  power  over  a  jury  was  great.  Judge 
J.  L.  Bailey  and  Gen.  Clingman  knew  and  appreciated  his 
ability,  and  through  them  two  anecdotes  survive.  When 
Nathan  asked  David  for  an  opinion  of  the  man  who  took  the 
ewe-lamb  of  another,  and  David  had  expressed  himself  thereon, 
then  "Nathan  said  unto  David,  Thou  art  the  man. "  ^  ^  When 
attempting  to  quote  this  to  a  jury  Mr.  Gwynn  got  the  names 
of  the  principal  actors  confounded  with  two  other  Biblical 
characters,  and  after  detailing  the  circumstances  of  a  hog- 
stealing  case,  pointed  with  his  finger  at  the  defendant  and  ex- 
claimed: "As  Abraham  said  unto  Isaac,  Thou  art  the  man." 
The  other  story  was  also  of  a  hog  stealing  case;  but  had  refer- 
ence specifically  to  a  sow.  The  sow  had  been  stolen  and  her 
flesh  eaten.  But  the  sow's  skin  had  been  discovered,  and  it 
was  upon  it  and  the  place  of  its  concealment  near  the  defend- 
ant's home,  that  the  sohcitor  relied  for  a  conviction.  "Where, 
gentlemen  of  the  jury,"  he  asked  impressively,  "was  the  sow 
skin?"  He  raised  himself  on  his  toes  and  shouted  the  answer: 
"Far  up  under  the  shadder  of  the  Big  Yaller,  where  the  rocks 
are  rough,  and  the  waters  run  deep,  and  the  laurels  wave 
high  (crescendo)  the  sow  skin  lay!" 

Sad  Ending  of  a  Prison  Sentence.  ^ '  About  the  year 
1856  or  1857  a  talented  and  highly  respected  physician  of 
Hendersonville  by  the  name  of  Edward  II.  Jones  took  umbrage 


380        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

at  something  a  tailor  by  the  name  of  A.  J.  Fain  had  said  or 
done,  both  being  politicians  to  some  extent.  Jones  probably 
considered  Fain  his  social  inferior.  At  any  rate,  instead  of 
appealing  to  the  code  of  honor,  as  was  the  custom  of  that  day, 
Dr.  Jones  entered  Fain's  tailor  shop  and  literall}'  carved  him 
to  death.  He  was  indicted  and  the  case  removed  to  Ruther- 
fordton,  where  the  late  Colonels  N.  W.  and  John  W.  Wood- 
fin  defended,  while  the  late  John  Baxter  prosecuted.  Jones 
was  convicted  of  manslaughter  and  sentenced  to  a  term  of 
imprisonment  in  the  Rutherford  jail.  While  serving  that 
sentence  he,  in  a  fit  of  despondency,  cut  his  throat  and  died. 
Asheville's  First  Attorneys.  "At  its  first  session  in 
April,  1792,  the  county  court  elected  Reuben  Wood,  Esq., 
'attorney  for  the  state.'  He  is  the  first  lawyer  who 
appears  as  practicing  in  Buncombe  county.  Waightstill 
Avery,  the  first  attorney  general  of  North  Carolina,  attended 
at  the  next  session  of  the  court  and  made  therein  his  first 
motion,  which  "was  overruled  by  the  court."  At  this  term 
Wallace  Alexander  also  became  a  member  of  the  Buncombe 
bar.  Joseph  McDowell  appeared  at  October  term,  1793,  pre- 
sented his  license,  took  "the  oath  of  an  attorney,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  said  county."  On  the  next  day  James 
Holland  "came  into  court,  made  it  appear  (by)  Mr.  Avery 
and  Mr.  Wood,  that  he  has  a  license  to  practice  as  an  attor- 
ney— but  had  forgot  them."  He  too  was  admitted  as  an 
attorney  of  the  court.  At  January  court,  1794,  Joseph  Spen- 
cer proved  to  the  court  that  he  had  hcense  to  practice,  and 
was  likewise  admitted  as  an  attorney  of  the  court,  and  at 
April  term,  1795,  upon  the  resignation  of  Reuben  Wood,  he 
was  elected  solicitor  of  the  county.  The  next  attorney  admit- 
ted was  Bennett  Smith.  Upon  motion  of  Wallace  Alexander 
in  April,  1802,  Robert  Williamson  was  admitted  to  the  prac- 
tice. 

^  Robert  Henry.  ^  ^  "Then,  in  July,  1802,  on  motion  of 
Joseph  Spencer,  and  the  production  of  his  county  court 
license,  Robert  Henry,  Esq.,  became  an  attorney  of  the  court. 
This  singular,  versatile  and  able  man  has  left  his  impress 
upon  Buncombe  county  and  Western  North  Carolina.  Born 
in  Tryon  (afterward  Lincoln)  ^ounty,  North  Carohna.  on 
February  10,  1765,  in  a  rail  pen,  he  was  the  son  of  Thornas 
Henry,  an  emigrant  from  the  north  of  Ireland.  ^  ^  When  Rob- 
ert was  a  schoolboy  he  fought  on  the  American  side  of  Kings 


BENCH  AND  BAR  381 

Mountain,  and  was  hiully  wounded  in  the  hand  by  a  bayo- 
net thrust.  Later  lie  was  in  the  heat  of  the  liglit  at  Cowan's 
Ford,  and  was  very  near  Gen.  William  Davidson  when  the 
latter  was  killed.  After  the  war  he  removed  to  Buncombe 
county  antl  on  the  Swannanoa  taught  the  first  school  ever  held 
in  that  county.  He  then  became  a  surveyor,  and  after  a 
long  and  extensive  experience,  in  which  he  surveyed  many 
of  the  large  grants  in  all  the  counties  of  western  North  Caro- 
lina and  even  in  middle  Tennessee,  and  participated  in  1799, 
as  such,  in  locating  and  marking  the  line  between  the  State 
of  North  Carolina  and  the  State  of  Tennessee,  he  turned  his 
attention  to  the  study  of  law.  In  January,  1806,  he  was 
made  solicitor  of  Buncombe  county.  He  it  was  wdio  opened 
up  and  for  years  conducted  as  a  public  resort  the  Sulphur 
Springs  near  Asheville,  later  knowTi  as  Deaver's  Springs  and 
still  more  recently  as  Carrier's  Springs.  On  January  6,  1863, 
he  died  in  Clay  county,  N.  C,  at  the  age  of  98  years,  and 
was  'undoubtedly  the  last  of  the  heroes  of  Kings  Mountain. 
'  To  him  we  are  indebted  for  the  preservation  and, 
in  part,  authorship  of  the  most  graphic  and  detailed  accounts 
of  the  fights  at  Kings  Mountain  and  Cowan's  ford  which 
now  exist.  He  was  the  first  resident  lawyer  of  Buncombe 
county." 

Colonel  Davidson's  Recollections  of  Robert  Henry. 

"I  must  not  omit  ...  to  mention  Robert  Henry,  who  lived, 
owned  and  settled  the  Sulphur  Springs.  He  was  an  old  man  when  I 
first  knew  him,  say  fifty  years  ago  [that  was  in  1891];  he  had  then  re- 
tired from  the  profession  of  the  law  which  he  had  practiced  many  years. 
This  was  before  I  knew  him  well.  He  was  tedious  and  slow  in  conver- 
sation, but  always  interesting  to  the  student.  He  had  been  a  fine  law- 
yer, and  remarkable  in  criminal  cases.'*  He  could  recite  his  experi- 
ences of  cases  in  most  minute  detail.  He  insisted  that,  underlying  all, 
there  was  invariably  a  principle  which  settled  every  rule  of  evidence 
and  point  of  law.  I  chanced  to  get  some  of  his  old  criminal  law  books, 
such  as  Foster's  Crown  Law,  Hale's  Pleas  of  the  Crown,  etc.,  and  I 
found  them  well  annotated  with  accurate  marginal  notes,  showing  great 
industry  and  thought  in  their  perusal.  He  had  a  grand  history  in  our 
struggle  for  independence;  was  at  Charlotte  when  the  Declaration  of 
Independence  was  made;'*  but,  being  a  boy  at  this  time,  he  did  not 
understand  the  character  of  the  resolutions;  l>ut  .«:aid  he  heard  the  crowd 
shout  and  declared  themselves  freed  from  the  British  government.  He 
afterwards  fought  at  the  battle  of  Kings  Mountain  and  was  severely 
wounded  in  the  hand  and  thigh,  by  a  bayonet  in  the  charge  of  Fergu- 
son's men.  "'^ 


382        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Michael  Francis.  Col.  Allen  T.  Davidson,  in  the  same 
paper,  has  left  this  record  concerning  this  man,  once  known 
as  "the  Great  Westerner": 

"]\Iichael  Francis  was  a  Scotchman,  educated  in  Edinburgh,  a  thor- 
ough schohir,  was  one  of  those  warm  hearted,  florid  Scotchmen  so  char- 
acteristic of  Bonnie  Scotland.  He  weighed  three  hundred  and  thirty 
pounds,  was  one  of  the  most  forcible  and  clear  logicians  at  the  bar,  was 
remarkable  for  his  study  and  observation  of  the  human  mind.  He  was 
always  a  complete  master  of  the  facts  of  his  cases,  and  was  able  to  de- 
duce from  them  the  true  intent  of  the  mind  of  the  witness,  and  had  a 
happy  and  forcible  way  of  illustrating  the  methods  by  which  the  ordi- 
nary intellect  reaches  conclusions.  He  had  studied  human  nature  so 
closely  that  he  could  divine  the  secret  intents  of  the  heart.  As  a  conse- 
quence, he  was  a  power  invincible  before  a  jury.  Added  to  this,  he  was 
a  thorough  lawj'er,  able  to  cope  with  the  best,  and  remarkable  for  his 
power  of  condensation  and  forcible  expression.  He  was  a  pioneer  in  the 
settlement  of  many  new  points  of  law  in  this  circuit,  as  many  cases  ar- 
gued by  him  before  the  Supreme  court  will  attest.  .  .  .  He  was  a 
great  platform  speaker  and  a  leader  in  the  formation  of  political  senti- 
ment. He  was  a  member  of  the  house  and  senate  and  discharged  every 
public  duty  with  honor  and  credit.  .  .  .  He  was  my  good  pre- 
ceptor whom  I  have  closely  studied  and  tried  to  follow." 

Israel  Pickens  and  Others.  ^  ^  The  next  la'\^yers  admitted 
in  that  county  were,  in  the  order  in  which  their  names  are  given: 
Thomas  Barren,  Israel  Pickens,  Joseph  Wilson,  Joseph  Car- 
son, Robert  H.  Burton,  Henry  Harrison,  Saunders  Donoho, 
John  C.  ElHott,  Henry  Y.  Webb,  Tench  Cox,  Jr.,  A.  R.  Ruf- 
fin,  and  John  Paxton.  These  were  admitted  between  Janu- 
ary, 1804,  and  October,  1812,  from  time  to  time.  Probably 
the  most  distinguished  of  them  were  Israel  Pickens,  repre- 
sentative of  the  Buncombe  District  in  the  lower  house  of  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  from  1811  to  1817,  inclusive, 
and  afterwards  governor  of  Alabama  and  United  States  senator 
from  that  State;  Joseph  Wilson,  afterwards  famous  as  a  solic- 
itor in  convicting  Abe  Collins,  Sr.,  and  the  other  counter- 
feiters who  carried  on  in  Rutherford  county  in  the  first  quar- 
ter of  this  century  extensive  operations  in  the  manufacture 
and  circulation  of  counterfeit  money;  and  Robert  H.  Burton 
and  John  Paxton,  who  became  judges  of  the  Superior  courts 
of  North  Carolina  in  1818. 

David  L.  Swain.  ^  ^  The  first  lawyer  of  Buncombe  county 
who  was  a  native  thereof  was  the  late  Gov.  D.  L.  Swain. 
Born,  as  has  been  already  stated,  at  the  head  of  Beaverdam, 


BENCH  AND  BAR  383 

on  January  4,  1801,  he  was  ocUicatod  under  the  Rev.  George 
Newton  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Porter  at  Newton  Academy,  where 
he  hatl  for  chissmates  B.  F.  Perry,  afterward  governor  of 
South  Carohna,  Waddy  Thompson,  of  South  CuroHna,  dis- 
tinguished as  congressman  and  minister  to  Mexico,  and  M. 
Patton,  R.  B.  Vance  and  James  W.  Patton  of  Buncombe 
county.  In  1821  he  was  for  a  short  while  at  the  University 
of  North  Carolina.  In  December,  1822,  he  was  of  the  Eden- 
ton  Circuit,  and  in  1832  became,  and  for  five  years  continued 
to  be,  a  representative  of  Buncoml^e  county  in  the  House  of 
Commons  of  the  State,  in  1829  was  elected  solicitor,  admitted 
to  practice  law  in  1824,  became  governor  of  the  State.  After 
the  expiration  of  three  successive  terms  as  governor,  he  be- 
came president  of  the  University  of  North  Carolina  in  1835, 
and  continued  in  that  place  until  August  27,  1868,  the  time 
of  his  death.  He  was  largely  instrumental  in  securing  the 
passage  of  the  act  incorporating  the  Buncombe  Turnpike 
Company,  and  to  him  more  than  to  any  other  man  North 
Carolina  is  indebted  for  the  preservation  of  her  history  and 
the  defence  of  her  fame.  His  early  practice  as  a  law^-er  was 
begun  in  Asheville.  For  further  details  than  are  given  here 
in  regard  to  the  life  of  this  truly  great  man,  the  reader  is 
referred  to  Wheeler's  History  of  North  Carolina,  and  his 
Reminiscences,  and  to  the  more  accurate  lecture  of  the  late 
Governor  Z.  B.  Vance  on  the  Life  and  Character  of  Hon. 
David  L.  Swain. 

"Old  Warping  Bars.''^^  Governor  Swain  was  tall  and 
ungainly  in  figure  and  awkward  in  manner.  When  he  was 
elected  judge  the  candidate  of  the  opposing  party  was  Judge 
Seawell,  a  very  popular  man,  whom  up  to  that  time,  his 
opponents,  after  repeated  efforts  with  different  aspirants,  had 
found  it  impossible  to  defeat.  "Then,"  said  a  member  of 
the  legislature  from  Iredell  county,  "we  took  up  Old  Warping 
Bars  from  Buncombe  and  warped  him  out."  From  this  re- 
mark Mr.  Swain  acquired  the  nickname  of  "Old  Warping 
Bars,"  a  not  inapt  appellation,  which  stuck  to  him  until  he 
became  president  of  the  University  when  the  students  be- 
stowed upon  him  the  name  of  "Old  Bunk."  He  continued 
to  be  Old  Bunk  all  the  rest  of  his  life.  While  he  was  prac- 
ticing at  the  bar  the  la\\'yers  rode  the  circuits.  Beginning  at 
the  first  term  of  the  court  in  which  they  practiced,  they  fol- 


384        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

lowed  the  courts  through  all  the  counties  of  that  circuit. 
Among  Swain's  fellow  lawyers  on  the  Western  Circuit  were 
James  R.  Dodge  (afterwards  clerk  of  the  Supreme  court  of 
the  State  and  a  nephew  of  Washington  Irving),  Samuel  Hill- 
man  and  Thomas  Dews. 

Dodge,  Hillman,  Swain  and  Dews.  ^  ^  On  one  occasion 
these  were  all  present  at  a  court  in  one  of  the  western  coun- 
ties and  Dodge  was  making  a  speech  to  the  jury.  Swain  had 
somewhere  seen  a  punning  epitaph  on  a  man  whose  name  was 
Dodge.  This  he  wrote  off  on  a  piece  of  paper  and  passed  it 
around  among  the  lawyers,  creating  much  merriment  at 
Dodge's  expense.  After  the  latter  took  his  seat  some  one 
handed  it  to  him.     It  read  : 

"Epitaph  on  James  R.  Dodge,  Attorney  at  Law. 

"Here  lies  a  Dodge,  who  dodged  all  good, 
And  dodged  a  lot  of  evil; 
But,  after  dodging  all  he  could 

He  could  not  dodge  the  devil." 

''Mr  Dodge  perceived  immediately  that  it  was  Swain's 
writing,  and  supposed  that  Hillman  and  Dews  had  had  some- 
thing to  do  with  it.     He  at  once  wrote  this  impromptu  reply : 

"Another  Epitaph  on  Three  Attorneys. 

"  Here  lies  a  Hillman  and  a  Swain — 
Their  lot  let  no  man  choose. 
They  lived  in  sin  and  died  in  pain, 
And  the  devil  got  his  Dews."  ^'^ 

Their  Lives  a  Part  of  the  State's  History.  "Of  the 
late  Thomas  L.  Clingman,  who  was  for  many  years  a  member 
of  the  Asheville  bar,  the  late  Gov.  Z.  B.  Vance,  who  was  born 
in  Buncombe  county,  and  began  life  as  a  lawyer  in  Asheville, 
and  to  whose  memory  a  granite  monument  upon  her  public 
square  is  now  in  process  of  erection,-^  and  the  late  A.  S. 
Merrimon,  chief  justice  of  North  Carolina,  who  studied  law 
at  Asheville  and  continued  his  practice  here  till  about  1867, 
it  is  unnecessary  to  speak  here.  Their  careers  have  recently 
closed  and  are  known  to  all  who  care  for  Asheville  or  her 
affairs."  ^  2 

CoL.  Nicholas  W.  Woodfin.  "  Soon  after  Gov.  Swain  be- 
gan the  practice,  Nicholas  W.  Woodfin  became  a  lawyer,  and 
served  as  the  connecting  link  between  the  old  times  and  the 


BENCH  AND  BAR  385 


luodeni  bar  l\)r  many  years.  He  was  burn  in  Jiiuifonibe 
county  on  the  uj^per  Freneli  Broad  river,  and  be^an  life  under 
tile  most  unfavorable  eireumstances,  and  for  awhile  labored 
under  the  greatest  disadvantages.  He  became,  however,  one 
of  North  Carolina's  most  famous  and  astute  lawyers.  But 
few  men  have  ever  met  with  such  distinguished  success  at 
the  bar  as  he.  He  w^as  Buncombe's  representative  in  the 
State  senate  in  1844,  1846,  1848,  1850,  1852.  In  the  course  of  his 
career  he  acquired  a  large  fortune,  and  owned  great  quanti- 
ties of  land  in  Asheville  and  its  neighborhood.  With  the 
practice  of  law  he  carried  on  an  extensive  business  as  a  farmer, 
in  which  he  was  famous  for  the  introduction  of  many  useful 
improvements  in  agriculture.  He  it  was  who  first  introduced 
orchard  grass  in  Buncombe  county,  and  turned  the  attention 
of  her  farmers  to  the  raising  of  cattle  on  a  large  scale  and  the 
cultivation  of  sorghum. "  -  ^ 

He  was  born  in  old  Buncombe,  now  Henderson,  countjs 
January  29,  1810,  and  was  married  to  Miss  Eliza  Grace 
^^IcDowell  at  Quaker  Meadows,  near  Morganton,  the  16th  of 
June,  1840,  afterwards  residing  on  North  Main  street,  Ashe- 
ville, N.  C,  now  a  girls'  school,  till  his  death.  May  23,  1875, 
she  surviving  him  less  than  one  year.  He  was  always  identi- 
fied with  any  movement  for  the  uplift  and  progress  of  his 
State,  and  especially  of  Buncombe  county.  Much  has  been 
written  of  his  success  as  a  lawyer,  his  humanitarianism,  his 
devotion  to  his  family  and  his  care  of  his  aged  parents. 

Colonel  John  W.  Woodfin.  He  was  born  in  what  is  now 
Henderson  county  in  1818,  married  Miss  Maria  McDowell 
at  Quaker  Meadows,  and  lived  in  Asheville.  He  was  a  bril- 
liant lawyer,  a  brave  soldier,  and  formed  one  of  the  first  com- 
panies in  Buncombe  county,  saying  he  had  enlisted  for  the 
war.  He  was  killed  by  Kirk's  men  at  Hot  Springs  in  the 
fall  of  1863. 

The  First  Trl\l.  ^  •«  The  first  case  tried  in  Buncombe 
county  was  that  of  the  State  v.  Richard  Yardly,  in  July,  1792. 
He  was  indicted  for  petit  larceny,  was  convicted,  and  appealed 
to  Morgan  [Burke]  Superior  court.  The  first  civil  suit  was  that  of 
ir.  Avery  v.  William  Fletcher,  which  was  tried  by  order  of  the 
court  on  the  premises  on  the  third  Monday  in  April,  1795, 
by  a  jury  summoned  for  that  purpose.  The  first  pauper  pro- 
vided for  by  the  court  was  Susannah  Baker  with  her  child. 

W.  X.  C— 25 


386        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

The  first  processioning  was  in  April,  1776,  when  William 
Whitson  the  processioner  thereof  returned  into  court  "the 
processioning  of  a  tract  of  two  hundred  acres  of  land,  on  the 
east  side  of  French  Broad  river  about  one  mile  and  a  quarter 
from  AIorristo^\^l,  the  place  whereon  James  Henderson  now 
lives,"  dated  April  20,  1796.  This  embraces  the  property 
lying  on  Park  avenue  and  in  that  vicinity.  Its  eastern  boun- 
dary line  is  formed  in  part  by  the  Lining  Branch,  the  small 
branch  immediatelj^  eastward  of,  and  for  some  distance  par- 
allel with.  Depot  street.  The  first  will  admitted  to  probate 
therein  was  that  of  Jonas  Gooch  in  July,  1792.-^  The  first 
dower  assigned  was  to  Demey  Gash,  widow  of  Joseph  Gash, 
April,  1805." 

To  Suppress  Vice  and  Immorality.  ^  s  Mr.  Sondley  men- 
tions also  that  at  the  October  term,  1800,  the  Rev.  George 
Newton,  the  first  Presbyterian  preacher  in  Buncombe,  pre- 
sented to  the  court  a  petition  from  the  Presbytery  of  Con- 
cord which  "humbly  sheweth"  many  gross  immorahties  as 
abounding  among  our  citizens  all  of  which  were  in  violation 
of  laws  already  enacted.  Wherefore,  they  asked  that  those 
laws  be  "carried  into  vigorous  execution."  At  the  January 
term,  1801,  the  court  resolved  to  exert  itself  to  suppress  "such 
enormous  practices." 

Judicial  Sanction  of  a  Lottery.-^  In  January,  1810, 
the  court  ordered  that  the  managers  of  the  Newton  Academy 
lottery  "come  into  court  and  enter  into  bond  for  the  discharge 
of  office  and  took  the  oath  of  office. "  This  lottery  was  prob- 
ably for  educational  purposes. 

"Twenty-Five  Lashes  on  His  Bare  Back,  Well  Laid 
On. "2^  Such  was  the  order  of  the  court  in  1799,  when  the 
jury  had  found  Edward  Williams  guilty  of  petty  larceny. 
This  was  to  be  inflicted  at  the  public  whipping  post;  but  an 
appeal  was  "prayed,"  and  it  may  be  that  Edward  Williams 
got  off. 

Adjudged  Fit  "to  be  Set  Free. "-^  At  this  term  the 
court  adjudged  that  Jerry  Smith,  a  slave  belonging  to  Thomas 
Foster,  was  a  fit  person  to  be  set  free  and  emancipated,  and 
the  clerk  was  ordered  to  issue  a  license  or  certificate  to  the 
said  Jerry  Smith  for  his  freedom  "during  his,  the  said  Jerry's, 
natural  life." 


BENCH  AND  BAR  387 

Buncombe's  First  Fairs. -^  At  the  July  torm,  1790,  the 
court  ordered  two  fairs  to  be  established  in  Buncombe  to 
commence  the  first  Thursday  and  Friday  in  November  fol- 
lowing and  the  first  Tiiursday  and  Friday  in  June  following, 
and  continue  on  said  days  annually,  "without  said  court  should 
find  it  more  convenient  to  make  other  alterations. " 

First  Case  of  Mother-in-Law.  -  ^  At  the  July  term,  1802, 
it  was  ordered  that  the  deposition  of  Caty  Troxell,  to  the  effect 
that  her  daughter  Judith  had  married  John  Morrice  on  the 
nineteenth  and  twentienth  of  May,  179G,  and  that  for  two 
years  they  had  Uved  together  "for  the  space  of  two  years 
in  all  possible  connuptial  (sic)  love  and  friendship,"  after 
which,  "without  cause  assigned  or  any  application  for  a 
divorce,"  he  had  "absconded  and  has  never  been  heard  of 
by  his  said  wife  or  any  other  person."  In  the  description 
which  followed  he  is  described  as  having  been  at  that  time 
"upwards  of  twenty  large  odd  years  of  age  .  .  .  with 
his  speech  rather  on  the  shrill  key. " 

Power  of  County  Courts.  ^  ^  "All  the  elections  to  county 
offices  at  this  time  from  sheriff  and  clerk,  register  of  deeds,  cor- 
oner, entry  taker,  surveyor  and  treasurer,  down  to  treasurer 
of  public  buildings  and  standard  keeper,  were  made  by  the 
county  court. 

Superior  Courts.-^  "It  will  be  remembered,  too,  that 
at  the  beginning  the  Superior  courts  were  held  at  Morganton. 
In  1806,  the  legislature  of  the  State,  after  reciting  that  'the 
delays  and  expenses  inseparable  from  the  constitution  of  the 
courts  of  this  State  do  often  amount  to  a  denial  of  justice, 
the  ruin  of  suitors,  and  render  a  change  in  the  same  indispen- 
sibly  necessary, '  enacted  '  that  a  Superior  court  shall  be  held 
at  the  court  house  in  each  county  in  the  State  twice  in  every 
year,'  and  divided  the  State  into  six  circuits,  of  whicht  he 
last  comprised  the  counties  of  Surry,  Wilkes,  Ashe,  Buncombe, 
Rutherford,  Burke,  Lincoln,  Iredell,  Cabarrus  and  Mecklen- 
burg, and  directed  the  courts  to  be  held  in  Buncombe  the 
first  Monday  after  the  fourth  Monday  in  March  and  Sep- 
tember. " 

Randall  Delk's  Conviction."  "Thus  in  1807  was  held 
Buncombe's  first  Superior  court,  in  the  spring  of  that  year. 
The  first  trial  for  a  capital  offence  in  Buncombe  county  was 
that  of  Randall  Delk.     This  trial  occurred  in  1807  or  1808. 


388        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Delk  had  fled  after  the  commission  of  the  offence  to  the  In- 
dian nation,  but  he  was  followed,  brought  back,  tried,  con- 
demned and  hung.  This  was  the  first  execution  in  Buncombe 
county,  and  took  place  just  south  of  Patton  avenue  opposite 
to  the  postoffice.  It  is  said  that  soon  after  a  negro  was  exe- 
cuted in  the  county,  but  the  third  capital  execution  in  Bun- 
combe is  the  most  celebrated  in  her  annals. 

Judicial  Murder.-^  "Subsequent  to  the  execution  of 
Delk  and  between  the  years  1832  and  1835,  inclusive,  Sneed 
and  Henry,  two  Tennesseeans,  were  charged  with  highway 
robbery  committed  upon  one  Holcombe  at  the  Maple  Spring, 
about  one-half  mile  east  of  the  [former]  city  water  works,  on 
the  road  until  recently  traveled  up  Swannanoa.  This  was  then 
a  capital  offence.  They  strenuously  insisted  that  they  had 
won  from  Holcombe  in  gambling  the  horse  and  other  articles 
of  which  he  claimed  that  they  had  robbed  him.  They  were 
convicted,  however,  and  hanged  in  the  immediate  vicintiy 
of  the  crossing  of  East  and  Seney  streets.  The  field  here  was 
until  recently  known  as  the  Gallows  Field.  The  trial  created 
intense  public  excitement,  and  it  has  always  been  the  pop- 
ular opinion  that  it  was  a  judicial  murder.  It  is  said  that  after 
their  conviction  they  sent  for  Holcombe,  who  shrank  from  fac- 
ing them,  and  that  the  subsequent  life  of  this  man  was  one 
of  continued  misfortune  and  suffering." 

Col.  a.  T.  Davidson's  Recollection  of  This  Execu- 
tion. ^^  "The  first  time  I  ever  was  in  Asheville  was  in  1835 
when  I  was  sixteen  years  of  age.  It  was  on  the 
occasion  of  the  hanging  of  Sneed  and  Henry.  The  town  was 
then  small;  to  me,  however,  it  seemed  very  large.  I  remember 
distinctly  Wiley  Jones,  sheriff,  and  Col.  Enoch  Cunningham, 
captain  of  the  guard.  The  religious  services  at  the  scaffold 
were  conducted  by  Thomas  Stradley  and  Joseph  Haskew. 
What  a  surging,  rushing,  mad,  excited  crowd!  This  was 
my  introduction  to  the  county." 

Dr.  J.  S.  T.  Baird's  Reminiscences.  About  the  year 
1855  Know-Nothingism  was  rampant  even  in  Buncombe,  and 
Dr.  J.  S.  T.  Baird  was  temporarily  won  by  its  wiles;  but  he 
soon  deserted.  From  1853  to  1857  Dr.  Baird  was  clerk  of 
Buncombe  county  court,  and  was  called  to  attend  a  term 
at  Jewel  Hill,  ]\Iadison  county.  Neely  Twxed  was  the  clerk 
and  Ransom  P.  Merrill  sheriff;  the  latter  was   killed   by   the 


BENCH  AND  BAR  389 

fornuT  at  .Marshall  iii  a  i)olitical  quarrel  after  the  Civil  War. 
SheritY  Merrill  made  a  return  on  a  ji.  Ja.  as  follows  :  "Trew 
Sareh  made.  No  goods,  chatties,  lands  or  tenements  to  he 
found  in  my  county.  The  defendant  is  dead  and  in  hell,  or 
in  Texas,  I  don't  know  which."  For  this  facetiousness  Judge 
Caldwell  summoned  the  sheriff  to  the  bar  and  gave  him  a 
reprinuuul.  Dr.  Ixiird  defeated  Philetus  W.  Roberts,  incum- 
bent, in  1853,  .1.  M.  Israel  in  18")5,  and  Silas  Dougherty 
for  clerk  of  courl  in  1857. 

The  following  recollections  of  incidents  and  members  of  the 
l)ar  are  taken  from  Dr.  J.  S.  T.  Baird's  sparkling  "Reminis- 
cences" [about  1840]  published  in  the  Asheville  Saturday 
Register  in  1905. 

Court  House. 

"The  court  house  was  a  brick  building  two  stories  high  and  about 
thirty-six  by  twenty-four  feet  in  dimensions.  The  upj^er  room  was  used 
for  court  purposes  and  was  reached  by  a  flight  of  stone  steps  about  eight 
feet  wide,  and  on  the  front  outside  of  the  building,  commencing  at  the 
corners  at  the  ground  and  rising  gradually  till  they  formed  a  wide  land- 
ing in  front  of  and  on  a  level  with  the  door  of  the  court  room.  The 
judge's  bench  or  pulpit,  as  some  called  it,  was  a  sort  of  box  open  at  the 
top  and  one  side,  with  plank  in  front  for  the  judge  to  lay  his  'specks' 
on.  He  entered  it  from  the  open  space  in  the  rear  and  sat  on  an  old 
stool-bottom  chair,  which  raised  his  head  parely  above  the  'spectacle 
board.'  There  was  room  enough  in  this  little  box  for  such  slim  men 
as  Judge  J.  L.  Bailey,  David  Caldwell,  David  Settle  and  others  of  their 
build,  but  when  such  men  as  Judge  Romulus  M.  Saunders  came  along 
he  filled  it  plumb  'up.'  Most  of  the  lower  story  was  without  floors  or 
door  shutters  and  furnished  comfortable  quarters  for  Mr.  James  M. 
Smith's  hogs  and  occasionally  a  few  straggling  cattle  that  could  not  find 
shelter  elsewhere. 

In  Terror  of  the  Whipping-Post. 

''It  will  be  remembered  that  in  those  days  the  great  terror  set  up 
before  rogues  was  the  whipping-post  where  the  fellow  convicted  of  lar- 
ceny got  thirty-nine  lashes  well  laid  on  his  bare  back  with  long  keen 
switches  in  the  hands  of  the  sheriff.  This  writer  never  had  the  heart 
to  witness  but  one  of  these  performances.  A  fellow  by  the  name  of  Tom 
G.  had  been  convicted  of  stealing  a  dozen  bundles  of  oats  and  ordered 
by  the  court  to  be  whipped.  The  sheriff.  Pierce  Roberts,  took  this 
writer  and  some  other  boys,  and  went  to  Battery  Park  hill,  which  was 
then  a  dense  chinquapin  thicket,  and  there  cut  eight  of  the  nicest  and 
keenest  switches  to  be  found  and,  returning,  took  Mr.  G.  from  the  jail, 
placed  his  feet  and  hand?  in  the  stocks,  and  stripping  him  'stark  naked' 
from  neck  to  hips,  laid  upon  his  bare  back  thirty-nine  distinct  stripes 
from  some  of  which  the  blood  oozed  out  and  ran  down  his  back.     Five 


390        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


strokes  were  given  with  each  switch  save  the  last,  and  with  it  four.  The 
sheriff  was  merciful  and  made  his  strokes  as  light  as  possible,  yet  he  gave 
him  a  blooming  back  to  carry  out  of  the  state  with  him,  for  he  went  in- 
stanter. 

"M"  FOR  Manslaughter. 

"In  that  day  the  penalty  for  manslaughter  was  branding  in  the  palm 
of  the  right  hand  with  a  red  hot  iron  shaped  to  the  letter  M.  I  saw  one 
fellow  taken  through  this  barbarous  process  and  this  was  enough  for  me. 
He  was  convicted  and  ordered  to  be  branded.  The  sheriff  went  to  the 
tinner's  shop  and  procured  a  little  hand  stove  filled  with  good  live  coals 
and  brought  it  into  the  court  room  and,  putting  his  branding  iron  into 
it,  soon  had  it  to  a  white  heat.  In  the  meantime  the  prisoner's  hand 
and  arm  were  securely  strapped  to  the  railing  of  the  bar,  and  then  all 
things  were  ready.  During  the  branding  the  prisoner  was  required  to 
repeat  three  times  the  words  :  'God  save  the  state,'  and  the  duration  of 
the  branding  was  limited  by  the  time  in  which  he  could  repeat  those 
words.  In  this  case  the  prisoner's  counsel,  General  B.  M.  Edney,  who 
was  a  rapid  talker,  had  gotten  the  consent  of  the  judge,  inasmuch  as 
the  prisoner  was  much  agitated  and  slow  spoken  anyway,  for  him  to 
repeat  the  words  for  his  cUent.  When  the  hot  u-on  was  applied,  for  some 
reason,  the  general  got  tangled  and  his  mouth  did  not  go  off  well,  but  the 
iron  was  doing  its  work  and  the  fellow  was  writhing  and  groaning  all 
the  same.  At  this  juncture  the  general  sprang  forward,  and  knocking 
the  iron  aside,  said  :  'Mr  Sheriff,  you  have  burnt  him  enough.'  The 
judge  then  taking  his  hands  from  over  his  face,  heaved  a  sigh  of  relief 
and  ordered  the  prisoner  turned  loose.  A  story  was  told  of  a  fellow 
who,  a  few  years  before  this,  was  branded  by  the  sheriff  whose  name  was 
David  Tate.  The  prisoner  was  a  man  of  wonderful  nerve.  He  felt  very 
resentful  toward  the  sheriff  whom  he  considered  responsible  for  all  his 
suffering.  When  the  iron  was  applied  he  repeated  the  required  words 
three  times  in  a  firm  voice.  Saying  :  'God  save  the  State,  God  save  the 
State,  God  save  the  State,'  and  then  raising  his  voice  to  a  high  pitch  he 

yelled  out  :  ' d — n  old  Dave  Tate'!     This  last    is  tradition.     I 

will  not  vouch  for  the  truth  of  it.     Yet  grotesque  scenes  often  charac- 
terized the  courts  of  that  day. 

Old  Lawyers. 

"The  bar  of  Asheville  in  1840  was  not  large  in  numbers  but  was  e.x- 
ceedingly  strong  in  all  the  qualities  that  go  to  make  up  a  grand  and  noble 
profession.  General  Thomas  L.  Chngman  early  turned  aside  from  his 
profession  and  gave  his  Ufe  to  poHtics,  in  which  field  he  maintained 
through  a  long  career  and  to  the  day  of  his  death  the  purity  of  his  es- 
cutcheon. Although  not  as  magnetic  in  his  personahty  as  some  men, 
yet  a  wiser  statesman  or  braver  soldier  or  truer,  grander  man  and  patriot 
North  Carolina  has  never  produced.  The  people  especially  of  Western 
North  Carohna  owe  to  his  memory  a  lasting  monument. 

"Ezekiel  McClure,  was  a  man  of  good  attainments  in  the  law,  but 
being  enamored  of  rural  life,  gave  up  his  profession  at  an  early  day  and 
spent  his  life  quietly  in  the  country. 


BENCH  AND  BAR  391 


Not  a  "Skelper." 

"Williiim  Williams  went  from  the  mercantile  counter  to  the  bar  but 
failed  to  reach  'the  top.'  I  will  not  class  him  with  the 'skelpers';  but 
then  he  was  what  Capt.  Jim  Gudf^or  woidil  t(>nn  'shifty.'  The  word 
'skelper'  in  fox  hunter's  parlance  when  applied  to  a  dog  means  one  that 
for  want  of  bottom,  cannot  come  down  to  'dead  packing'  and  follow  the 
game  tlrough  all  its  windings  and  doublings,  but  short  cuts  and  skims 
the  high  ridges  and  jumps  high  to  sec  and  ciiich  the  game  unawares. 

Gen.  Bayles  M.  Edney,  Wit. 

"Generiil  Bayles  M.  Edney  was  a  man  of  fine  physique,  who  always 
kept  his  whiskers  trimmed  'a  la  mode'.  He  was  of  commanding  appear- 
ance and  possessed  of  sparkling  wit  and  infinite  and  pleasing  humor. 
He  wixs  a  stormer  before  a  jury." 

The  Nominal  Fine  and  the  Real  Cow. -^  One  of  his 
clients  in  Yancey  county,  having  been  convicted,  was  called 
up  for  sentence.  Col.  Edney  urged  in  mitigation  that  he  was 
a  poor  man  and  a  good  citizen,  and  the  Court  said  he  would 
impose  a  nominal  fine  of  twenty  dollars.  Whereupon,  Bayles 
retorted  that  it  would  take  not  a  nominal  but  a  real  cow  to 
pay  that  nominal  fine. 

Joshua  Roberts,  Old-Time  Gentleman.  ' "  "  Mr.  Roberts, 
about  the  time  of  which  I  [Dr.  Baird]  write  (1840),  established  a 
most  pleasant  and  delightful  home  on  the  French  Broad,  about 
where  the  Southern  depot  now  stands,  and  there  he  spent 
his  life  and  raised  a  large  family.  To  bear  testimony  to  the 
high  character  and  noble,  sterling  qualities  of  such  a  man  as 
Joshua  Roberts  is  a  privilege  of  which  I  am  glad  to  avail 
myself.  He  was  truly  a  model  old-time  gentleman;  a  law- 
yer by  profession,  though  not  engaging  largely  in  practice  at 
the  bar.  It  was  said  of  him,  by  those  who  were  capable  of 
judging,  that  he  had  no  superior  as  far  as  knowledge  of  the 
law  was  concerned.  He  was  especially  held  in  high  esteem 
by  the  boys  and  young  men  toward  whom  his  manner  was 
always  kindly  and  gracious.  He  took  great  interest  and  pride 
in  the  institution  of  Free  Masonry  and  was  the  first  and,  for 
many  years,  the  Worshipful  Master  of  Mt.  Hermon  Lodge. 
He  loved  to  bring  men  into  the  order  for  he  believed  in  and 
practiced  its  principles. 

Another  Charming  Family.  •"'  o  "  His  family  consisted  of  four 
sons  and  four  daughters.  The  sons  were  Philetus  W.,  John 
M.,  William  and  Martin;  the  daughters  were  Miss  Aureha, 


392        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

who  married  a  Methodist  minister,  Rev.  Mr.  Wells;  Miss 
Sarah,  who  married  Mr.  John  H.  Christie;  Miss  Harriett, 
who  married  Rev.  William  M.  Kerr,  well  known  to  many 
citizens  of  Asheville  and  father  of  INIr.  J.  P.  Kerr;  Miss  Jane, 
who  married  Dr.  George  W.  Whitson,  who  is  also  well  known 
to  our  people. 

Philetus  W.  Roberts.^"  "Philetus  W.  Roberts  was  an 
able  young  lawyer  and  was  just  entering  upon  a  career  which 
promised  great  usefulness  and  success  when  the  Civil  War 
came  up,  in  which  he  sacrificed  his  life  for  his  country.  This 
writer  succeeded  him  as  clerk  of  the  Superior  court  of  Bun- 
combe in  1853  .  .  .  and  I  have  never  known  a  more 
scrupulously  honest  and  conscientious  man  in  all  my  life." 

Otium  "Cum"  Dignitate.  ^ "  General  Robert  M.  Henry, 
who  came  to  the  bar  some  later,  was  a  fine  lawyer,  but  a  great 
lover  of  "rest  and  ease."  He  loved  to  hear  and  tell  good  jokes 
and  laugh  in  his  deep  sepulchral  tones.  From  1868  to  1876 
he  was  solicitor  of  the  Western  circuit. 

Judge  Riley  H.  Cannon.  ^  °  Riley  H.  Cannon,  who  came 
in  about  this  time,  was  a  modest  and  even-timed  man.  He 
was  not  prominent  until  after  the  war  when  he  was  made  a 
judge  of  the  Superior  courts  of  the  State. 

Col.  John  W.  Woodfin.  ^°  Maj.  John  W.  Woodfin  came 
to  the  bar,  I  think,  about  1845.  He  was  a  man  of  splendid 
qualities  all  round.  He  was  a  magnetic  man,  a  genial,  sunny 
man.  While  not  possessing  the  "heft"  of  his  brother  Nicho- 
las as  a  lawyer,  he  was  nevertheless  a  fine  lawyer  and  suc- 
ceeded well  in  his  profession.  In  his  forensic  efforts  he  often 
found  occasion  to  deal  in  bitter  sarcasm  and  keen  and  wither- 
ing invective,  which  he  could  do  to  perfection  for  he  was  a 
master  of  both.  He  was  a  handsome,  dashing  and  brave 
man,  and  gave  his  life  for  his  country's  cause. 

"How  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest 
By  all  their  country's  wishes  blest. 
There  honor  comes  a  pilgrim  gray, 
To  bless  the  turf  that  wraps  their  clay. " 

Col.  N.  W.  Woodfin's  Charming  Family.  ^  ^  Mr.  Woodfin 
married  Miss  Eliza  McDowell,  daughter  of  Col.  Charles 
McDowell  of  Burke  County.  She  was  a  queenly  woman 
and  most  gracious  and  lovable  in  her  disposition.  The 
family,  consisting  of  three  daughters,  who  are  all  now  [1905] 


BENCH  AND  BAR  393 

living  in  Aslu'ville,  are  as  follows:  Miss  Anna,  so  well  l)eloved 
by  all  the  people  of  Asheville;  Mrs.  Lillie  Jones,  widow  of  Mr. 
Benson  Jones,  who  died  many  j'ears  ago,  and  ]\Irs.  Mira 
Holland. 

George  W.  Candler.  ' "  Almost  the  exact  counterpart  of 
Mr.  N.  W.  Woodfin  was  George  W.  Candler.  Here  was  a 
sturdy,  stalwart,  rugged  man  of  the  people,  with  brawn  and 
brain  to  match,  a  powerful  frame  encasing  a  big,  warm  heart, 
and  all  presided  over  by  a  masterly  intellect.  When  he  began 
to  planth  imself  for  a  legal  battle  on  the  "Serug"  style,  it 
was  like  a  mighty  giant  placing  his  feet  and  clothing  his  neck 
and  gathering  his  strength  to  upturn  everything  that  came  in 
his  way,  and  he  generally  did  so.  He,  too,  was  a  close  stu- 
dent of  human  nature  and  knew  where  to  feel  for  a  respon- 
sive chord.  This  and  his  exceeding  plain  manner  made  him  a 
"power"  before  a  jury.  He  generally  won  his  cases.  He 
was  fond  of  rural  life  and  loved  much  more  to  wade  in  the 
creeks  and  fish  than  to  "bother  with  courts."  We  shall  see 
few,  if  any,  more  like  him.  He  was  my  valued  friend  and  I 
cherish  with  affection  his  memory. 

Non-Residext  Lawyers.  '  °  Those  who  attended  the  courts 
of  Buncombe  from  other  counties  were:  Col.  John  Gray 
Bynum,  Col.  Burgess  S.  Gaither,  Col.  Waightstill  W.  Avery, 
Col.  John  Baxter,  George  Baxter,  Esq.,  Samuel  Fleming, 
Michael  Francis  and  William  Bryson,  with  occasionally  some 
others.  These  were  all  exceedingly  strong  lawyers  and  when 
they  were  all  present  with  our  local  bar  and  with  such  judges 
to  preside  as  Romulus  M.  Saunders  or  David  R.  Caldwell  or 
John  L.  Bailey  or  David  Settle,  John  M.  Dick  or  Mathias 
Manly,  it  was  "court  right  and  commanded  universal  respect." 

Sticklers  for  Fashion  as  Well  as  Form.  ^ "  The  law- 
yers of  that  day  almost  universally  dressed  in  regulation  style 
and  not  as  they  do  now.  A  coat  of  the  finest  French  broad- 
cloth of  swallow-tail  or  cutaway  style  with  fine  doe-skin  cas- 
simer  pants,  silk  or  satin  vest,  "nine  biler"  silk  hat,  ruffled 
and  fluted  bosom  shirt  and  French  calf-skin  boots  and  a  hand- 
some necktie,  made  up  the  lawyer's  suit. 

Young  Men  of  Ability. ^o  "From  about  1849  to  18.52, 
there  came  to  the  bar  of  Asheville  half  a  dozen  young  men 
who,  for  brilliancy  and  real  ability,  have  never  been  equaled 
at  any  bar  in  the  State,  coming  as  they  did  so  nearly  at  the 


394        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

same  time.  There  were  Philetus  W.  Roberts,  ^Marcus  Erwin, 
Newton  Coleman,  David  Coleman,  Zebulon  B.  Vance,  James 
L.  Henry,  and  Augustus  S.  Alerrimon.  All  these  were  men 
of  the  first  order  of  ability  and  those  of  them  who  lived  to 
maturer  manhood  all  made  their  mark,  not  only  in  their  pro- 
fession, but  in  the  councils  of  the  State  and  nation  as  well 
and  some  have  left  their  names  emblazoned  high  on  the  roll 
of  fame,  but  of  all  of  those  of  whom  I  have  written,  there  is 
no  one  left  to  greet  me  today.  They  have  all  passed  to  the 
'other  shore'  and  are  resting  with  the  great  silent  host. 
May  we  see  them  all  again  in  that  'great  bright  morning.'" 

Joseph  W.  Todd,  Esq.,  was  born  in  Jefferson  September  3, 
1834,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  after  the  Civil  War,  in  which  he 
had  served  gallantly.  He  is  said  to  have  been  the  only  lawyer 
who  ever  told  a  joke  (successfully)  to  the  State  Supreme  court. 
He  was  never  a  very  ardent  student,  but  his  wit,  humor  and 
resourcefulness,  at  the  bar  and  on  the  hustings,  were  marked. 
He  died  June  28,  1909.  His  contest  with  the  Rev.  Christian 
Moretz  for  the  legislature  in  the  seventies  is  still  remembered  for 
the  vigor  and  energy  displayed  by  both  candidates.  He  gave 
the  name  of  "red-legged  grass-hoppers"  to  the  internal  revenue 
agents,  who,  soon  after  the  Civil  War,  were  the  first  to  wear 
leather  leggins  in  their  peregrinations  through  the  mountains 
in  search  of  blockade  stills.  Those  who  remember  the  famous 
joint  canvass  of  Gov.  Vance  and  Judge  Thomas  Settle  in  the 
summer  of  1876  for  the  office  of  governor  will  recall  that  Vance 
made  much  capital  of  the  red-legged  grass-hoppers,  a  name 
he  applied  to  all  in  the  service  of  the  general  government, 
until  Settle  showed  that  two  of  Vance's  sons  were  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  United  States,  one  in  the  naval  academy  and  the 
other  at  West  Point.  Mr.  Todd's  daughter  still  preserves  a 
caricature  of  this  canvass.  He  married  Sallie  Waugh  of  Shouns, 
Tenn. 

"Twenty-Dollar  Lawyers."  Under  the  act  of  1868-69, 
(ch.  46)  any  male  twenty-one  years  of  age  could,  by  proving 
a  good  character,  and  paying  a  license  tax  of  twenty  dollars — 
that  was  the  main  thing  in  the  eyes  of  the  carpet-bag  legis- 
lators of  that  time — get  a  license  to  practice  -law  in  North 
Carolina  without  undergoing  any  examination  as  to  academic 
or  legal  knowledge  whatever.  Under  it  several  lawyers  began 
practice  of  this  "learned  profession."  This  act,  however, 
was  repealed  in  1872. 


BENCI I  AND  BAR  395 

Marcus  Erwix,  He  was  the  son  of  Lcandcr  Erwin  and  a 
prandson  of  Wni.  Willoupihhy  Erwin  and  a  p,roat  grandson  of 
Arthur  Erwin.  His  fath(>r  rcinovod  from  Burke  county  to 
New  Orleans,  from  which  phice  ]\Iarcus  was  sent  to  Center 
College  in  Kentucky,  where  he  was  a  college-mate  of  Gen.  John 
C.  Breckenridge.  After  graduation  Marcus  Erwin  was  study- 
ing law  in  New  Orleans  when  the  Mexican  War  began,  in 
which  he  served  six  months.  After  this  war  he  came  to 
Asheville  and  became  editor  of  the  News,  a  Democratic  paper, 
after  having  changed  from  Whig  politics  on  account  of  the 
acquisition  of  new  territory.  His  connection  with  this  paper 
led  to  a  duel  with  the  late  John  Baxter.  Later  he  became  a 
prominent  laywer  and  Democratic  leader,  and  was  elected 
solicitor  of  the  large  district  extending  from  Cleveland  to 
Cherokee.  He  was  a  member  of  the  legislature  in  1850, 
1856  and  1860.  "  He  was  a  powerful  prosecutor,  and  maintained 
as  high  a  reputation  as  B.  S.  Gaither  and  Joseph  Wilson  had 
established."''  He  was  a  Secessionist,  and  in  the  discussion 
between  himself  and  Governor  John  M.  Morehead  in  the  State 
senate  in  1860-61  made  an  especially  powerful  and  memorable 
speech.  He  joined  the  Confederate  Army  and  became  a  major 
in  a  battalion  of  which  0.  Jennings  Wise,  a  son  of  Henry  A. 
Wise  of  Virginia,  was  lieutenant-colonel.  This  battalion  was 
captured  in  the  fall  of  1861  at  Roanoke  Island.  Major  Erwin 
"rendered  volunteer  service  subsequently  in  the  southwest. 
He  ran  as  a  candidate  for  the  Confederate  Congress,  but  was 
defeated.  In  1868  he  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  Republican  party, 
and  afterwards  became  assistant  district  attorney  of  the 
United  States,  where  he  displayed  great  ability."  He  was  a 
man  of  varied  attainments  and  versatile  talents,  and  spoke 
a  number  of  modern  languages.  He  was  famihar  with  the 
best  literature  and  was  one  of  the  most  effective  and  eloquent 
of  political  speakers.  Governor  Vance  is  said  to  have  dreaded 
meeting  Major  Erwin  on  the  stump  more  than  any  other. 
Their  debates  may  be  likened  to  the  storied  duel  between  the 
battle-ax  of  Richard  and  the  cimeter  of  Saladin. 

Calvin  Monroe  McCloud.  He  was  born  at  Franklin,  Macon 
county,  N.  C,  February  9,  1840,  where  he  obtained  only  a  com- 
mon school  education.  He  volunteered  in  the  Confederate  Army, 
where  he  served  till  the  close  of  the  War.  In  1805-66  he  studied 
law  in  Asheville  under  the  late  Judge  J.  L.  Bailey.     On  the  5th 


396        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

of  July,  1866,  he  married  Miss  Ella  Pulliam,  daughter  of  the 
late  R.  W.  Pulliam.  He  formed  a  partnership  with  the  late  N. 
W.  Woodfin  for  the  practice  of  law.  He  died  June  20,  1891. 
He  was  a  public  spirited  citizen  and  did  much  to  promote 
the  welfare  of  Asheville  and  the  community,  having  been 
among  'the  first  to  agitate  a  street  railway,  gas,  telegraph, 
and  other  enterprises. 

Judge  Edward  J.  Aston.  He  was  born  in  November,  1826, 
in  Rogersville,  Term.  He  married  Miss  Cordelia  Gilliland 
in  November,  1852,  moving  to  Asheville  in  1853,  where  he  en- 
gaged in  the  drug,  stationery  and  bookstore  business.  He 
was  three  times  mayor  of  Asheville  and  a  director  of  the  first 
railroad.  He  was  among  the  first  to  see  Asheville's  great 
future  as  a  health  and  pleasure  resort.  He  not  only  donated 
books  but  suppHed  the  first  room  for  the  Asheville  public 
library.  In  1865  he  added  real  estate  to  his  business,  and 
later  on  insurance,  soon  becoming  head  of  the  firm  of  Aston, 
Rawls  &  Co.  He  is  credited  with  having  originated  the  idea 
of  making  Asheville  the  sanatorium  of  the  nation.  He  devoted 
much  time  and  large  means  to  the  distribution  of  circulars 
and  literature  setting  forth  the  advantages  of  this  climate. 
In  1871  he  interested  the  Gatchel  brothers  in  establishing 
the  first  sanatorium  at  Forest  Hill.  Then  he  got  Dr.  Gleitz- 
man  of  Germany  to  open  another  in  Asheville.  It  was  largely 
through  his  influence  that  the  Rev.  L.  M.  Pease  established 
his  school  for  girls  here.  He  also  had  much  to  do  with  get- 
ting the  late  G.  W.  Pack  to  build  a  home  in  Asheville.  Judge 
Aston  was  so  called  because  he  had  studied  law,  but  had  aban- 
doned the  practice.     He  died  in  1893. 

Post-Bellum  Lawyers.  Space  can  be  given  to  only  a 
few  of  the  more  prominent  attorneys  who  came  to  the  bar 
after  the  Civil  War  and  have  passed  beyond  the  nisi  prius 
courts.  William  Henry  Malone  wrote  several  valuable  law 
books,  his  "Real  Property  Trials"  being  indispensable;  Melvin 
E.  Carter  for  years  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  and  able 
of  the  Asheville  bar,  enjoying  an  extensive  practice,  and 
being  a  sound  lawyer;  T.  H.  Cobb  was  one  of  the  clearest 
and  most  forceful  of  attorneys;  Kope  Elias  of  Franklin  en- 
joyed an  extensive  practice  in  Cherokee,  Macon,  Clay,  Gra- 
ham and  Jackson  counties.  For  a  sketch  of  Gen.  James  G. 
Martin,  who  came  to  the  bar  late  in  life,  after  the  Civil  War, 


BENCH  AND  BAR  307 

see  chapter  27.  He  was  one  of  the  commissioners  in  the  inves- 
tigation of  the  Swepson  and  Littleliekl  frauds. 

Judge  John  Baxter.  He  was  the  son  of  WiUiam  Baxter 
and  Catherine  Lee,  and  was  born  at  Ilutherfordton,  N.  C, 
March  19.  1810.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1840.  He 
married  Orra  Alexander,  daughter  of  James  M.  Alexander  of 
Buncombe,  June  26,  1842.  He  was  a  member  of  the  legis- 
lature from  Rutherford  county  in  1842.  He  lived  for  several 
years  in  Hendersonville,  but  afterwards  removed  to  Asheville. 
About  1852  he  fought  a  duel  with  tiie  late  Marcus  Erwin, 
Esq.,  and  was  wounded  in  the  hand.  He  moved  to  Knox- 
ville,  Tennessee,  in  J\Iay,  1857.  He  was  a  strong  Union  man 
during  and  before  the  Civil  War.  He  was  appointed  United 
States  Circuit  Judge  by  President  Hayes  in  December,  1877, 
for  the  sixth  circuit  —  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Ohio  and 
Michigan.  Some  of  his  decisions  are  said  to  stand  high 
with  the  English  courts.  He  died  at  Hot  Springs,  Arkansas, 
April  2,  1880,  and  was  buried  in  Cray  cemetery,  Knoxville, 
Tennessee. 

Judge  J.  C.  L.  Gudger.  He  was  born  in  Buncombe 
county,  July  4,  1837.  His  father  was  Samuel  Bell  Gudger 
and  his  mother  Elizabeth  Siler  Lowery,  a  daughter  of  James 
Lowery  who  held  a  captain's  commission  in  the  war  of  1812. 
He  was  educated  at  Sand  Hill  academy  and  Reems  Creek 
high  school,  now  known  as  Weaverville  college.  He  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  August,  1860.  He  enlisted  in  the  25th 
N.  C.  Infantry  July  22,  1861,  and  served  till  the  close  of  the 
war.  He  moved  to  Waynesville  December,  1865.  He  was 
married  to  Miss  Mary  Goodwin  Willis  of  Buncombe  county 
August  28,  1861.  He  was  elected  judge  of  the  Superior  court 
in  August  1878,  and  served  eight  years.  He  held  a  position  in 
the  United  States  Treasury  for  years.  He  died  January  29, 
1913. 

Judge  William  L.  Norwood.  He  was  bom  in  Franklin 
county,  N.  C,  July  1,  1841.  His  father  was  James  H.  Nor- 
wood, a  native  of  Hillsborough  and  a  graduate  of  the  State 
University.  In  1846  James  H.  Norwood  moved  with  his  fam- 
ily to  Haywood  county  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  the 
law,  and  for  several  years  conducted  a  classical  school.  In 
1852  he  was  murdered  at  Sargents  Bluff  on  the  Missouri 
river,  while  serving  as  agent  of  the  Sioux  Indians.     W.   L. 


398        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Norwood  was  graduated  from  Bingham's  School  in  1856,  after 
which  he  attended  the  school  of  Leonidas  F.  Siler  in  Alacon 
county.  He  taught  school  in  Haywood  county  till  18G1,  when 
he  enlisted  in  Arkansas  and  served  throughout  the  war.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1866,  and  was  elected  judge  of 
the  Superior  court  in  November,  1894,  from  which  position 
he  resigned  in  1899.  On  March  4,  1872,  Judge  Norwood  mar- 
ried Miss  Anna  Duckworth  of  Brevard.     He  died  about  1909. 

Judge  Eugene  Douglas  Carter.  He  was  the  eldest  son 
of  Thomas  D.  and  Sarah  A.  E.  Carter,  and  was  born  May  18, 
1856,  in  North  Cove,  McDowell  county,  was  educated  at 
Col.  Lee's  school  in  Chunn's  cove,  at  Wafford  College,  at 
Weaverville  College,  and  at  the  University  of  North  Carolina. 
He  married  Miss  Sallie  M.  Crisp  in  June,  1877,  at  Fayette- 
ville,  and  began  the  practice  of  law  at  that  place,  but  soon 
removed  to  Asheville,  where  he  was  several  times  elected 
solicitor  of  the  Criminal  court  of  Buncombe  county,  making 
an  excellent  prosecutor.  He  was  appointed  by  Gov.  Russell 
in  the  summer  of  1898  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the  sup- 
posed resignation  of  Judge  W.  L.  Norwood  as  judge  of  the 
Superior  court.  But  Judge  Norwood  denied  that  he  had 
legally  resigned,  and  began  quo  warranto  proceedings  to  re- 
cover the  office,  which  abated  by  Judge  Carter's  death,  Octo- 
ber 10,  1898.  Judge  Carter  evinced  throughout  his  Ufe 
a  high  order  of  Uterary  and  oratorical  talent.  As  an  advo- 
cate he  had  no  superior  at  this  bar. 

Judge  John  Lancaster  Bailey.  He  was  born  August  13, 
1795,  in  eastern  North  Carolina;  was  married  June  21,  1821, 
to  jNIiss  Priscilla  E.  Brownrigg;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  some 
date  prior  to  1821;  was  representative  from  Pasquotank  county 
in  House  of  Commons  in  1824  and  a  senator  in  1828  and  1832 ;  was 
a  delegate  to  the  State  Convention  of  1835;  was  elected  judge 
of  the  Superior  court  January  11,  1837,  and  resigned  there- 
from November  29,  1863,  after  a  service  of  over  twenty-six 
years;  practiced  law  at  Elizabeth  City,  and  also  taught  law 
there,  probably  up  to  the  time  of  his  election  as  judge.  It 
was  about  the  time  of  his  election  as  judge  or  a  few  years 
afterward  that  he  removed  to  Hillsboro,  and  with  Judge  Nash 
taught  school  there.  In  1859  he  moved  to  Black  Mountain, 
near  what  is  now  the  intake  of  the  Asheville  water  system 
and  Mrs.  J.  K.  Connally's  summer  home,  where  he  taught  a 


BENCH  AND  BAR  399 


law  scliool  from  18.")9  to  ISGl.  He  moved  to  Asheville  in 
1865  and  taught  a  law  school  there  until  al)out  187G.  He 
also  practiced  law  in  Asheville  in  copartnershij)  with  the  late 
Gen.  J.  G.  Martin.  He  dird  June  20,  1877.  .Judfj;e  Bailey 
was  loved  and  honored  by  all  as  an  able  and  upright  lawyer 
and  a  worthy  and  useful  citizen.  (For  fuller  sketch  see  "Bio- 
graphical History  of  North  Carolina,  \o\.  IV,  p.  52,  and  Vol. 
VI,  p.  6.) 

Judge  Fred  Mooue  was  born  in  Buncombe  countj^  on  the 
10th  tlay  September,  1869.  He  was  the  son  of  Daniel  K. 
]\Ioore,  and  the  grandson  of  Charles  Moore  and  the  great- 
grandson  of  William  Moore,  one  of  the  pioneers  who  helped 
to  drive  back  the  Indians  and  establish  peace  in  this  section. 
He  attended  school  at  Sand  Hill  near  his  home,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  at  the  September  term,  1892,  of  the  Supreme 
court.  He  spent  part  of  his  youth  in  Macon  and  Clay  coun- 
ties, and  began  the  practice  of  the  law  at  Webster,  Jackson 
county  as  a  partner  of  his  cousin,  Hon.  Walter  E.  Moore.  In 
1893  he  removed  to  Asheville  and  formed  a  copartnership 
with  another  cousin,  Hon.  Charles  A.  Moore.  In  1898  he 
was  elected  judge  of  the  Superior  court  of  this  judicial  dis- 
trict. He  died  in  August,  1908.  Judge  Moore's  mother  was 
a  Miss  Dickey  of  Cherokee,  and  his  wife  a  Miss  Enloe  of 
Webster.  He  tried  many  important  cases,  and  his  rulings 
and  decisions  were  fair  and  sound.  His  life  was  as  nearly 
blameless  as  it  is  possible  for  human  lives  to  be.  When  first 
made  a  judge  he  was  probably  the  youngest  who  ever  served 
on  the  Superior  court. 

Judge  George  A.  Jones.  He  was  born  in  Buncombe 
county  February  15,  1849,  a  son  of  Andrew  and  Margaret 
Jones.  He  attended  Sandhill  Academy  on  Hominy  creek  while 
it  was  open  during  the  Civil  War,  and  early  in  the  seventies 
removed  to  Franklin,  Macon  county,  where  he  became  an 
assistant  in  the  high  school  and  later  principal.  He  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1878,  having  married  in  December, 
1875,  Miss  Lily  Lyle,  daughter  of  Dr.  J.  M.  Lyle  and  Mrs. 
Laura  Siler  Lyle,  his  wife.  There  were  six  children  by  the 
union,  and  after  the  death  of  his  first  wife,  he  married,  Janu- 
ary 31,  1895,  ]\Iiss  Hattie  B.  Sloan,  by  whom  he  had  four 
children.  She  was  a  daughter  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  M. 
Sloan.      In    1889    Judge   Jones    represented    ]Macon    county 


400        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

in  tlie  legislature.  In  1891  he  was  elected  solicitor  of 
the  twelfth  judicial  district,  and  was  re-elected  in  1895, 
serving  two  full  terms.  In  1901  he  was  appointed 
by  Gov.  Aycock  judge  of  Superior  court  of  the  newly 
created  sixteenth  judicial  district  and  served  about  two  years, 
when  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law  at  Franklin,  where  he 
died  August  13,  1906. 

Judge  Robert  P.  Dick.  Judge  Dick  was  for  many  years 
U.  S.  district  judge  for  the  district  of  western  North  Caro- 
lina, having  been  appointed  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Civil 
War,  and  serving  continuously  till  July,  1898,  when  President 
McKinley  appointed  Hamilton  G.  Ewart  of  Hendersonville  to 
that  position;  but  as  the  senate  failed  to  act  upon  this  ap- 
pointment the  President  sent  his  name  to  three  successive 
sessions  of  the  senate.  But  as  that  body  persisted  in  its 
refusal  either  to  reject  or  confirm  this  appointment.  Judge 
Ewart's  name  was  withdrawn  and  that  of  Hon.  James  E. 
Boyd  sent  in  instead.  This  appointment  was  confirmed  in 
1900,  Judge  Ewart  having  served  since  July  13,  1898.  Judge 
Dick  had  a  great  deal  to  do  wath  the  trial  and  sentencing  of 
those  who  had  violated  the  internal  revenue  laws,  and  was 
always  considerate  and  merciful  in  imposing  punishment  on 
the  poor  people  who  were  found  guilty  in  this  court,  "thirty 
days  in  jail  and  a  hundred  dollars  fine"  being  the  almost 
universal  sentence. 

Judge  Leonidas  L.  Greene.  He  was  born  in  Watauga 
county,  in  November,  1845,  and  was  elected  Superior  Court 
Judge  in  1896,  and  served  as  such  till  his  death,  November  2, 
1898. 

Hon.  Charles  H.  Simonton.  Judge  Simonton  of  Charleston, 
N.  C,  was  Circuit  judge  of  the  United  States  for  a  number  of 
years,  succeeding  the  late  Judge  Hugh  Bond  of  Baltimore  of 
KuKlux  fame.  Upon  his  death  in  May,  1904,  President  Roosevelt 
appointed  Hon,  Jeter  C.  Pritchard  judge  of  this  circuit,  and 
he  w^as  confirmed  by  the  senate  without  reference  to  the  ju- 
diciary committee.  He  qualified  June  1st,  1904,  having  re- 
mained in  Washington  as  judge  of  the  District  court  there  to 
try  an  important  case  by  special  request  of  President  Roose- 
velt. 

Colonel  Allen  Turner  Davidson.  He  was  born  on  Jon- 
athan's creek,  Haywood  county.  May  9,  1819.  His  father  was 
William  Mitchell  Davidson  and  his  mother  Elizabeth  Vance 


"-^^  J\c^Cl><rc^^?>^f-!^ 


BENCH  AND  BAR  401 


of  Burke  county,  a  daughter  of  Captain  David  Vance  of  Rev- 
olutionary fame.  William  Davidson,  first  senator  from 
Buncombe  county  and  a  soldier  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
was  the  father  of  William  jMitchell  Davidson,  and  a  cousin 
of  Gen.  William  Davidson  who  was  killed  at  Cowan's  Ford. 
Col.  Allen  T.  Daviilson  attended  the  country  schools  of  his  day, 
anil  at  twenty  years  of  age  he  was  employed  in  his  father's 
store  at  Wa>niesville,  and  in  1842  married  Miss  Elizabeth  A. 
Howell.  He  began  the  study  of  law,  and  in  1843  became  clerk 
and  master  in  equity  of  Haywood  county,  being  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1845.  In  1846  he  removed  to  Murphy,  Cherokee 
count3%  then  a  remote  backwoods  place.  He  at  once  took 
a  leading  place  at  the  bar  of  the  western  circuit,  and  during 
his  sixteen  years  residence  there  served  as  solicitor  of  Chero- 
kee county,  and  became  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  this 
section.  In  April,  1860,  he  became  president  of  the  Mer- 
chants and  Miners  Bank.  The  secession  convention  of  1861  chose 
him  one  of  the  delegates  from  Macon  county  to  the  provisional 
congress  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  He  served  out  the  pro- 
visional term  and  was  elected  in  1862  a  member  of  the  permanent 
congress,  serving  till  the  spring  of  1864,  being  succeeded  by 
the  late  Judge  G,  W.  Logan  of  Rutherford  county.  In  1864-65 
he  served  as  a  member  of  the  council  of  Governor  Vance, 
and  at  the  same  time  acted  as  agent  of  the  commissary  depart- 
ment of  the  State  in  supplying  the  families  of  Confederate 
soldiers  in  this  section.  In  the  fall  of  1865  he  settled  in  Frank- 
lin, Macon  county,  and  in  1869  he  came  to  Asheville  to  live, 
buying  and  occupj'ing  the  Morrison  house,  which  stood  where 
the  present  county  court  house  stands.  He  soon  became 
leader  of  the  Asheville  bar,  and  continued  in  active  practice 
till  1885,  when  he  retired.  He  died  at  Asheville,  January 
24,  1905. 

Following  is  an  editorial    which    appeared    in    the  Ashe- 
ville Gazette-News  on  that  date: 

"The  last  survivor  of  the  Coufederatc  Congress  is  no  more.  After  a 
long  and  eventful  life  he  has  now  been  introduced  to  the  mystery  of  the 
Infinite.  He  has  read  the  riddle  of  life  in  the  darkness  of  death. 
He  knows  it  all  now.  The  veil  has  been  lifted  and  the  fontracted  vision 
of  earth  has  been  expanded  into  the  measureless  profundity  of  eternity. 
Born,  lived  and  died — behold  the  great  epitome  of  man. 

"The  announcement  of  the  passing  of  this  historic  figure  from  the 
familiar  scenes  of  life  will  awaken  sorrow  in  many  hearts  from  the  Blue 

\V.  N.  C— 26 


402        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Ridge  to  the  Unakas  and  the  Great  Smokies,  for  it  was  upon  this  ele- 
vated stage  that  his  active  Ufe  was  spent.  It  was  here  that  he  began, 
a  strong-limbed  herder  of  cattle  upon  the  verdant  slopes  and  ghostly 
balds  of  the  Cataloochee  mountains,  that  career  of  activity  that  led  him 
by  successive  stages  to  the  bar,  to  the  Confederate  Congress,  to  the  chan- 
cel-rail of  the  church,  and  to  a  warm  place  in  the  hearts  of  many  of  the 
best  people  of  the  State. 

"Twelve  years  ago  (1893)  he  stood  on  the  Bunk  mountain  in  Hay- 
wood county  with  a  boyhood  companion  (Lafayette  Palmer)  and  pointed 
out  the  place  of  the  lick-logs  where  he  had  been  wont  to  repair  at  inter- 
vals to  tend  the  cattle  pastured  there;  and,  looking  fondly  around  at 
the  once  famiUar  scene,  said,  as  great  tears  streamed  down  the  age-fur- 
rowed face,  'Good-bye,  world!'  That  was  his  last  visit  to  that  sacred 
spot,  and  he  said  then  that  he  would  never  look  upon  that  scene  again. 
Probably  there  was  no  tie  that  he  had  to  break  as  age  grew  upon  him 
that  caused  him  a  sharper  pang  than  the  parting  from  his  beloved  moun- 
tains. Certainly  no  man  will  be  more  missed  by  the  people  who  live  in 
these  mountains  than  this  man  who  bade  them  farewell  so  many  years 
ago. 

"Col.  Davidson  was  a  strong  and  rugged  character.  He  had  strong 
passions,  strong  muscles,  strong  intellect.  He  wore  his  heart  upon  his 
sleeve.  He  was  open  and  above-board  in  his  likes  and  dislikes.  He  was 
a  true  and  faithful  friend  and  a  bold  and  unconcealed  enemy.  Meeting 
in  mid-life  the  stormy  discords  of  civil  strife  in  a  community  rent  asunder 
over  the  question  of  union  or  disunion,  it  was  inevitable  that  he  should 
have  awakened  animosities. 

"But  no  man  had  any  reason  to  doubt  where  Allen  Davidson  stood* 
on  personal,  public  or  other  questions.  He  spoke  his  mind  freely  and 
fearlessly.     He  hated  shams  and  pretenses  with  holy  hatred. 

"From  1865  until  1885  he  was  admittedly  the  leader  of  the  bar  of 
what  was  then  known  as  the  Western  Circuit,  extending  to  Cherokee  in 
the  west  and  to  Yancey  and  Mitchell  in  the  north.  There  was  no  large 
case  tried  in  this  section  between  the  years  named  in  which  he  did  not 
take  a  conspicuous  and  important  part.  Bold,  aggressive  and  persist- 
ent, he  stormed  the  defences  of  his  opponents  with  all  the  dash  and  elan 
of  a  Prentiss  or  a  Pinckney. 

"Like  a  true  poet  he  was  'dowered  with  the  hate  of  hate,  the  scorn  of 
scorn,  the  love  of  love.'  His  sense  of  humor  was  acute  and  never  fail- 
ing. No  adversity  could  quench  it.  Some  of  his  remarks  will  live  as 
long  as  the  traditions  of  the  old  bar  survive.  He  knew  the  life  and  hab- 
its of  the  mountain  people  better,  perhaps,  than  any  other  man  at  the 
bar,  and  his  speeches  always  pointed  a  moral  and  adorned  a  tale.  Juries 
and  judges  were  swayed  by  his  intense  earnestness,  for  he  always  made 
his  client's  cause  his  own. 

"Even  in  his  old  age  he  'was  yet  in  love  with  life  and  raptured  with 
the  world.'  He  rejoiced  in  his  youth  as,  with  halting  foot-step  he  went 
downward  to  the  grave;  but  for  him  the  evil  days  came  not  nor  did  the 
years  draw  nigh  in  which  he  said  :  'I  have  no  pleasure  in  them.'  Strong, 
vigorous  and  healthy  in  mind  and  body,  he  enjoyed  to  the  utmost  the 


BENCH  AND  RAR  403 


good  things  of  life  and  made  no  hypocritical  pretense  of  despising  thera. 
With  splendid  phj'sieal  development  he  towered  among  his  fellows  like 
a  giant,  and  to  him  fear  was  an  alien  and  a  stranger. 

"He  was  a  kind-liearted  and  charitable  man,  loving  to  give  of  what- 
ever he  had  of  worldly  gooils,  sympathy  or  kindly  deeds.  He  was  a 
faithful  and  affectionate  husband,  father,  friend.  A  commanding  and 
picturesque  figure  has  pivssed  from  our  midst." 

His  widow  still  survives  him,  and  of  his  children  the  fol- 
lowing still  emulate  his  name  and  example  most  worthily: 
Hon.  Theo.  F.  Davidson,  late  attorney  general  of  the  State; 
Mrs.  Theodore  S.  Morrison,  Mrs.  W.  B.  Williamson,  Mrs. 
William  S.  Child,  Robert  Vance  Davidson,  for  several  terms 
attorney  general  of  Texas,  Wilber  S.  David.son,  president  of 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Beaumont,  Texas 

Judge    James    L.    Henry.     He    was    born    in    Buncombe 

^  —  ■ 

county,  in  1838,  and  received  only  such  education  as  the 
schools  of  the  county  afforded.  He  was  a  son  of  Robert 
Henry  and  Dorcas  Bell  Love,  his  wife.  He  was  elected  Supe- 
rior court  judge  of  the  eighth  judicial  district  in  1868,  and  served 
till  1878,  having  previously  acted  as  solicitor  for  that  district.  ^  ^ 
He  was  editor  at  the  age  of  nineteen  of  the  Asheville  Spectator, 
served  in  the  Civil  War  as  adjutant  of  the  1st  North  Carolina 
Cavalry,  and  on  Hampton's  and  Stewart's  staffs,  and  as 
colonel  of  a  cavalry  battalion  stationed  at  Asheville.  He 
died  in  1885. 

Col.  David  Coleman.  He  was  born  in  Buncombe  county 
Feliruary  5,  1824,  and  died  at  Asheville  March  5,  1883.  His 
father  was  William  Coleman  and  his  mother  Miss  Cynthia 
Swain,  a  sister  of  Governor  D.  L.  Swain.  He  attended  New- 
ton Academy  and  entered  the  State  University,  and  just  prior 
to  graduation  entered  the  Naval  Academy  at  Annapolis, 
graduated,  and  served  in  the  navy  till  he  resigned  in  1850,  return- 
ing to  Asheville  and  entering  upon  the  practice  of  law.  In  1854 
he  was  the  Democratic  candidate  for  State  senator,  defeating 
Col.  N.  W.  Woodfin,  and  was  reelected  in  1856,  defeating 
Zebulon  Baird  Vance,  the  only  defeat  by  the  people  Vance 
ever  sustained.  In  1858  Coleman  and  Vance  were  rivals  for 
Congress,  but  Vance  won.  Coleman  was  one  of  the  few  men  of 
this  section  who  were  secessionists,  and  was  appointed  to  the 
command  of  a  ship,  but  the  delays  in  its  fitting  out  tried  his 
spirit  beyond  endurance  and  he  entered  the  army,  and 
was   a.ssigned   to   a  battalion   which   afterwards  became    the 


404        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

39th  North  Carolina  regiment,  of  which  he  was  colonel.  He 
resumed  the  practice  of  the  law  after  the  War,  and  was  emi- 
nent as  a  lawyer.  He  was  solicitor  for  a  time  and  represented 
Buncombe  county  with  Gen.  Clingman  in  the  State  convention 
of  1875.  He  was  a  highly  cultivated  gentleman,  a  brave 
soldier  and  a  lawyer  above  all  chicanery.  He  never  married. 
Gov.  Swain  was  the  first  boy  to  enter  the  State  University 
from  the  west,  David  Coleman  was  the  second,  and  James 
Alfred  Patton,  a  son  of  James  W.  Patton,  the  third.  ^  ^ 

Judge  Riley  H.  Cannon.  The  following  extract  is  taken 
from  his  obituary,  written  by  the  Hon.  Robert  D.  Gilmer,  late 
attorney  general  of  North  Carolina:  "He  was  born  in  Bun- 
combe county  March  26,  1822,  went  to  school  at  Sandhill 
Academy,  was  graduated  from  Emory  and  Henry  College, 
Virginia;  married  Ann  Sorrels  October  18,  1850,  to  whom 
four  children  were  born,  namely,  George  W.,  once  postmas- 
ter at  Asheville,  Eva,  Lula  A.,  and  Laura.  He  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1851,  was  appointed  judge  of  the  Superior  court 
in  1868,  and  wore  the  judicial  ermine  during  a  troubled  period 
in  our  State  history.  It  was  said,  even  by  his  political  oppo- 
nents, that  he  never  allowed  it  to  trail  in  the  dust  of  party 
rancor  or  become  soiled  by  the  stains  of  partial  rulings.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Church  for  thirty  years.  He 
died  in  that  faith  February  15,  1886.  He  was  an  honest 
man. " 

Jacob  W.  Bowman  was  born  in  what  is  now  Mitchell  county 
July  31,  1831,  and  died  at  Bakersville,  June  9,  1905.  He 
married  Miss  Mary  Garland  in  1850.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  before  the  Civil  War,  and  was  appointed  United  States 
assessor  of  internal  revenue  by  Gen.  Grant  April,  1869.  Gov- 
ernor Russell  appointed  him  Superior  court  judge  in  November, 
1898,  to  fill  an  unexpired  term.  He  received  the  nomination 
of  the  Republicans  for  the  full  term,  but  was  defeated  by  Judge 
Councill,  Democrat. 

Judge  George  W.  Logan.  He  was  born  in  Rutherford 
county.  He  lived  near  the  Pools  at  Hickory  Nut  Falls,  where 
he  kept  a  tavern.  He  was  elected  to  the  Confederate  Con- 
gress and  qualified  in  May,  1864.  He  was  a  Superior  Court 
judge  from  1868  till  his  death  in  1874. 

Judge  Joseph  Shepard  Adams.  He  was  born  at  Straw- 
berry Plains,  Tennessee,  October  12,  1850,  and  died  at  War- 


BENCH  AND  BAR  405 


renton,  X.  C,  April  2,  1911.  His  father  was  Rev.  Stephen 
B.  Adams  and  his  mother  Miss  Cordeha  Shepard.  His  father 
estabUshed  a  school  at  Burnsville,  Yancey  county,  before  the 
Civil  War,  which  was  known  as  Burnsville  Academy.  Joseph 
Adams  was  a  pupil  at  this  academy,  and  afterwards  attended 
the  school  of  Col.  Stephen  Lee  in  Chunn's  Cove.  He  was 
graduated  with  honor  from  Emory  and  Henry  College,  Vir- 
ginia, in  1872.  He  studied  law  at  Asheville  untler  the  late 
Judge  J.  L.  Bailey,  and  was  soon  afterwards  admitted  to 
practice,  opening  an  office  at  Bakersville.  He  was  elected 
sohcitor  of  the  Eighth  district  soon  after  beginning  practice 
and  served  in  that  capacity  eight  years.  In  1877  he  married 
Miss  Sallie  Sneed  Green  of  Greensboro,  N.  C.  She  died 
November  16,  1901,  leaving  six  children  surviving.  In  1885 
he  moved  from  Statesville  to  Asheville  and  began  the  prac- 
tice of  law,  which  he  continued  till  his  election  to  fill  out  the 
unexpired  term  of  the  late  Judge  Fred  Moore  in  1908.  He 
was  elected  for  a  full  term  in  1910. 

Alfonzo  Calhoun  Avery.  He  was  the  son  of  Isaac  T. 
and  the  grandson  of  Waightstill  Avery,  and  was  born  at  Swan 
Ponds  near  Morganton,  Burke  county,  September  11,  1835. 
He  died  at  Morganton,  June  13,  1913.  He  attended  Bingham 
School  in  Orange  county  and  graduated  from  the  State  Uni- 
versity as  A.  B.  in  1857,  first  in  his  class.  He  was  admitted 
to  practice  before  the  county  courts  in  June,  1860,  and  before 
the  Superior  courts  in  1866.  He  was  an  officer  in  the  Sixth 
North  Carolina  regiment,  and  later  became  major  and  adju- 
tant general  of  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill's  division.  Later  he  was  on 
the  staffs  of  Generals  Breckenridge,  Hood  and  Hindman. 
In  1864  he  was  made  colonel  of  a  battahon  in  western  North 
Carolina,  was  captured  near  Salisbury  by  Stoneman's  army, 
and  confined  at  Camp  Chase  till  August,  1865.  In  1861  he 
married  at  Charlotte  Miss  Susan  W.  Morrison,  a  sister 
of  Mrs.  "Stonewall"  Jackson,  and  after  her  death  he 
married  Miss  Sarah  Love  Thomas  in  18S9.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  the  late  Col.  W.  H.  Thomas  of  Jackson 
county.  In  1866  he  was  elected  State  senator  from  the  Burke 
district,  and  aided  in  building  the  Western  North  Carolina 
Railroad  to  Asheville  and  in  locating  the  State  hospital  for  the 
insane  at  Morganton.  He  was  presidential  elector  in  1876, 
and  in  1878  he  was  elected  judge  of  the  Superior  court.     In 


406        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

1889  he  was  elected  associate  justice  of  the  Supreme  court, 
and  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  1897,  at  Mor- 
ganton,  and  was  active  till  his  death.  In  1889  the  State  Uni- 
versity conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  doctor  of  laws,  and 
for  more  than  twenty-five  years  he  was  a  ruling  elder  of  the 
Morganton  Presbyterian  church. 

NOTES. 

'A  sketch  of  the  judges  of  this  State  to  1865  will  be  found  in  the  fourth  volume  of 
Battle's  Digest,  by  W.  H.  Battle,  Esq.,  and  in  Vol.  II,  Rev.  St.  N.  C,  p.  527  et  seg.,  is  a 
"Sketch  of  the  Judicial  History  of  North  Carolina,"  with  a  list  of  the  judges  and  attorney 
generals  since  the  adoption  of  the  constitution.  It  also  contains  a  sketch  of  the  judicial 
procedure  under  the  proprietary  government.  103  N.  C.  Rep.  has  history  of  Supreme 
court. 

U'otter's  Re%'isal,  p.  281  and  p.  1050. 

3Ibid.,  p.  297. 

Ubid.,  p.  887. 

'Chief  Justice  Pearson  is  said  to  have  pronounced  Judges  Leonard  Henderson  and 
John  Hall  the  most  profound  jurists  ever  in  North  Carolina. 

'Dropped  Stitches. 

'Potter's  Revisal,  p.  1039. 

^Battle's  Digest. 

^Dropped  Stitches,  pp.  51-52. 

'Ibid.,  pp.  52-53. 

8Mr.  McGimpsy  was  one  of  the  ancestors  of  Judge  Jeter  C.  Pritchard  of  Asheville. 

'Ashe  county  record — -not  paged. 

'"Soon  after  the  formation  of  one  of  the  newer  counties  Judge  Boykin  gave  a  defend- 
ant his  choice  between  thirty  days  in  jail  and  one  week  at  the  only  hotel  in  town.  The 
defendant  chose  the  jail.     This  was  since  the  war,  however. 

iiRecollection  of  Hon.  J.  H.  Merrimon  and  Dr.  T.  A.  Allen,  Sr. 

i^Asheville's  Centenary. 

I'Thomas  Henry  also  was  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution,  and  although  he  died  soon  there- 
after, his  name  appears  as  a  pensioner.  Col.  Rec,  Vol.  XVII,  p.  217,  where  it  appears  that, 
he  was  paid  through  A.  Lytle  £60,  15s,  8d,  according  to  the"  Abstracts  of  the  N.  C.  Line" 
settled  by  commissioners  at  Halifax  from  September  1, 1784,  to  February  1,  1785.  He  fought 
at  Eutaw  Springs. 

i<"I  have  myself  heard  my  grandfather  Michael  Shenck,  of  Lincolnton,  N.  C,  speak 
of  Mr.  Henry  as  "a  great  land  lawyer'."  D.  Schenck,  Sr.,  March  28,  1891,  in  note  to  "Nar- 
rative of  the  Battle  of  Cowan's  Ford,"  published  by  D.  Schenck,  Sr. 

isHe  said  he  asked  his  father  what  the  shouting  was  about,  and  he  answered  that 
"They  are  declaring  for  Liberty."  W.  L.  Henry's  affidavit  filed  with  Mecklenburg  Decla- 
ration Committee  in  1897. 

"Col.  A.  T.  Davidson  in  Lyceum,  p.  24,  April,  1891. 

I'Asheville's  Centenary. 

"Ibid. 

"Ibid. 

2 "According  to  Judge  James  H.  Merrimon,  Hillman  and  Dews  lived  at  Rutherford- 
ton.  He  does  not  know  the  given  name  of  Mr.  Hillman,  but  states  that  Mr.  Dew's  was 
Thomas,  and  that  in  crossing  the  Green  river  he  was  drowned  while  yet  a  very  young  man, 
not  much  if  any  over  twenty-five  years  of  age.  He  says  that  the  late  Mr.  N.  W.  Woodfin 
considered  Dews  the  ablest  man  in  the  State  of  his  age. 

2 'The  reference  is  to  1898,  the  monument  having  been  completed  in  that  year 

2  2The  same  is  true  of  Governor  Swain,  Generals  Sevier,  Waightstill  Aver>-,  the  two 
McDowells,  Ruthertord,  Shelby,  Pickens,  and  others  of  Revolutionary  fame,  and  little  or 
no  space  can  be  spared  in  this  volume  in  re-recording  what  has  been  already  written  and 
preserved  of  them. 

2  3Asheville's  Centenary. 

2^1 bid. 

26Ibid. 

"Ibid. 

2'Ibid. 

2SThe  Lyceum,  April,  1891,  p.  23. 

^'Related  by  Judge  Geo.  A.  Shuford. 

'"From  Reminiscences  of  Dr.  J.  S.  T.  Baird,  published  in  1905. 

'iProm  Mrs.  Mattie  S.  Candler's  History  of  "Henderson  County." 

'2J.  H.  Wheeler's  "  Reminiscences. " 

"Miss  Fanny  L.  Patton  in  the  "Woman's  Edition  of  the  .\she\-ille  Citizen,"  November 
28,  1895. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
NOTABLE  CASES  AND  DECISIONS 

Not  Especially  Contentious.  Considering  our  ancestry 
and  former  isolation,  we  are  not  more  contentious  or  liti- 
gious than  others  of  our  kind;  but  it  must  be  admitted  that 
we  sometimes  indulge  in  a  lot  of  unnecessary  litigation.  Some 
of  us  are  accused  even  of  taking  delight  therein.  Mr.  J.  H. 
Martin  tells  of  an  old  Covenanter  who  announced  with  glee 
that  all  his  children  were  married  off,  all  his  own  debts  paid, 
and  that  he  had  nothing  else  to  do  now  but  "to  spend  the 
balance  of  his  life  a-lawin'."  Owing  to  the  legislation  regard- 
ing land  grants  and  the  registration  of  deeds,  etc.,  much  liti- 
gation has  arisen,  notably  the  large  case  of  Gilbert  v.  Hopkins, 
involving  many  thousands  of  acres  of  land  in  Graham  and 
Cherokee  counties.  That  case  was  tried  before  Judge  Connor 
in  the  U.  S.  Court  at  Asheville  in  1910,  but  the  jury  disagreed. 
It  was  tried  again  before  Judge  Boyd  at  the  same  place,  and 
he  decided  it  in  favor  of  defendants,  plaintiffs  appealing.  A 
new  trial  was  granted.  But  as  no  final  decision  has  been  reached 
in  it,  no  results  can  be  stated  here.  In  it  are  involved  almost 
everj'  point  of  real  estate  law  possible  to  arise.  Pains  have  been 
taken  to  refer  in  this  work  only  to  the  most  notable  cases 
that  have  been  heard  and  decided.  Each  was  of  interest  at 
the  time  it  was  tried. 

Litigation  and  Legislation.  James  McConnell  Smith  was 
the  first  white  child  born  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  in  Buncombe 
county,  but  he  will  be  remembered  longer  than  many  because  of 
his  will.  He  died  December  11,  1853,  leaving  a  will  by  which  he 
devised  to  his  daughter,  Elizabeth  A.,  ^^^fe  of  J.  H.  Gudger, 
certain  real  estate  in  Asheville,  "to  her  sole  and  separate  use 
and  benefit  for  and  during  her  natural  life,  with  remainder  to 
such  children  as  she  may  leave  surviving  her,  and  those  repre- 
senting the  interest  of  any  that  may  die  leaving  children."^ 
A  petition  was  filed  in  the  Superior  court  asking  for  an  order 
to  sell  this  property,  and  such  an  order  was  made  and  sev- 
eral lots  were  sold  with  partial  payments  made  of  the  pur- 
chase money,  when  a  question  was  raised  as  to  the  power  of 
the  court  to  order  the  sale  of  the  property  so  devised.     In 

(407) 


408        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Miller,  ex  'parte  (90  N.  C.  Reports,  p.  625),  the  Supreme  court 
held  that  land  so  devised  could  "not  be  sold  for  partition  dur- 
ing the  continuance  of  the  estate  of  the  life  tenant;  for,  until 
the  death  of  the  life  tenant,  those  in  remainder  cannot  be 
ascertained."     The  sales  so  made,  were,  therefore,  void. 

But  years  passed  and  some  of  the  property  became  quite 
valuable,  while  another  part  of  it,  being  unimproved,  was  non- 
productive, and  a  charge  upon  the  productive  portion.  But 
there  seemed  to  be  no  remedy  till  the  city  of  Asheville  con- 
demned a  portion  of  the  productive  part  for  the  widening  of 
College  Street.  The  question  then  arose  as  to  how  the  money 
paid  by  the  city  for  the  land  so  appropriated  to  public  use 
should  be  applied.  On  this  question  the  Supreme  court  de- 
cided in  Miller  v.  Asheville  (112  N.  C.  Reports,  759),  that  the 
money  so  paid  by  way  of  damages  should  be  substituted  for 
the  realty,  and  upon  the  happening  of  the  contingency — the 
death  of  the  life  tenant — be  divided  among  the  parties  en- 
titled in  the  same  manner  as  the  realty  would  have  been  if 
left  intact. 

Upon  this  hint,  on  the  petition  of  the  life  tenant  and  the 
remaindermen,  a  special  act  was  passed  by  the  legislature 
(Private  Laws  of  N.  C,  1897,  Ch.  152,  p.  286)  appointing  C. 
H.  Miller  a  commissioner  of  the  General  Assembly  to  sell  the 
land,  the  proceeds  to  become  a  trust  fund  to  be  applied 
as  the  will  directs. 

This  was  done;  but  the  Supreme  court  {Miller  v.  Alexander, 
122  N.  C,  718)  held  this  was  in  effect  an  attempted  judicial 
act  and  therefore  unconstitutional.  The  legislature  after- 
wards passed  a  general  act,  which  is  embodied  in  section  1590 
of  the  Revisal,  for  the  sale  of  estates  similarly  situated,  and 
under  this  authority  some  of  the  land  was  sold  and  the  pro- 
ceeds were  applied  to  the  construction  of  a  hotel  on  another 
part.  The  proceeds,  however,  proved  insufficient  to  com- 
plete the  hotel,  and  in  an  action  brought  to  sell  still  more  of 
this  land  for  the  purpose  of  completing  the  hotel,  the  Supreme 
court  held  in  Smith  v.  Miller  (151  N.  C,  p.  620),  that,  while 
the  purchasers  of  the  land  already  sold  had  received  valid 
title  to  the  same,  still  as  the  hotel,  when  completed,  would  not 
be  a  desirable  investment,  the  decree  for  the  sale  of  the  other 
land,  in  order  to  provide  funds  for  its  completion,  was  void 
because  it  did  not  meet  the  statutory  requirements  that  the 
interests  involved  be  properly  safeguarded. 


NOTABLE  CASES  AND  DECISIONS  409 

A  Long  Legal  Battle.  In  July,  1897,  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Aslieville  failed,  and  indietments  were  found  in 
in  Greensboro  against  W.  E.  Breese,  president,  W.  H.  Pen- 
land,  cashier,  and  J.  E.  Dickerson,  a  director,  for  violating 
the  United  States  banking  laws.  -  In  1909  Breese  and  Dicker- 
son  were  tried  on  a  new  indictment  at  Asheville  before  Judge 
Purnell,  Judge  of  the  United  States  District  court  of  the 
Eastern  District  of  North  Carolina,  assigned  to  hold  the  court 
for  this  trial.  The  defendants  were  convicted,  but  took  an 
appeal  and  a  new  trial  was  granted.  In  1902  Breese  alone 
was  tried  at  Asheville  before  Judge  Jackson  of  Virginia,  and 
there  was  a  mistrial.  In  the  same  year  the  case  was  sent  to 
Charlotte  and  there  was  another  mistrial.  He  was  tried  there 
again  and  convicted,  and  sentenced  to  seven  years  in  the  pen- 
itentiary; but  the  court  of  appeals  quashed  the  indictment 
because  two  members  of  the  grand  jurj^  who  found  the  true 
bill  had  not  paid  their  poll  taxes.  This  apparently  ended 
these  cases,  as  the  offences  by  this  time  had  been  barred  by 
the  statute  of  limitations.  But  District  Attorney  Holton 
resurrected  the  indictment  found  first  at  Greensboro  in  1907,  and 
Breese  and  Dickerson  were  tried  at  Asheville  upon  that  before 
Judge  Newman  of  Atlanta,  in  the  summer  of  1909,  and  convicted. 
They  were  sentenced  to  two  years  and  to  a  fine  of  S2,500 
each,  but  appealed.  The  court  of  appeals  were  unable  to 
agree  and,  in  November,  1911,  certified  the  case  to  the  Su- 
preme court  of  the  United  States.  In  the  spring  of  1912  a 
motion  was  made  before  that  court  to  advance  the  case  upon 
the  docket.  It  was  granted  and  the  appeal  decided  adversely 
to  the  defendants  in  October,  1912. 

The  Solicitorship.  In  the  controversies  over  the  SoHcit- 
orship  in  this  section,  between  Ewart  and  Jones,  ^  McCall  and 
Webb,  ■•  McCall  and  Zachery,  ^  and  McCall  and  Gardner,  the 
impression  has  gone  out  that,  in  one  or  the  other  of  these 
cases,  the  Supreme  court  reversed  its  holding  in  Hoke  v.  Hen- 
derson, ^  to  the  effect  that  an  office  to  which  a  salary  was 
attached  was  property,  and  that  the  legislature  could  not  de- 
prive one  elected  to  such  an  office  of  his  rights  by  abolishing 
the  position.  This,  however,  is  wrong,  as  that  case  was  not 
overruled  until  August,  1903,  in  Mile  v.  Ellington  (134  N.  C. 
Reports,  131). 

Many    Legal    Points    Settled.     The    Western    Carolina 


410        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Bank  was  chartered  in  1887  (Ch.  48)  and  began  business  in 
January,  1889.  It  failed,  however,  October  12,  1897,  and 
its  officers  executed  a  deed  of  assignment  to  Lewis  Maddux, 
its  president,  and  L.  P.  McCloud,  its  cashier;  but  the  Bat- 
tery Park  Bank  and  other  creditors  commenced  an  action 
against  the  bank  for  the  purpose  of  setting  this  deed  of  assign- 
ment aside;  in  consequence  of  which  Judge  H.  G.  Ewart, 
judge  of  the  Circuit  Criminal  court,  undertook  to  appoint 
receivers  of  the  property.  A  few  days  later  Judge  W.  L. 
Norwood,  holding  Superior  court  in  Clay  county,  appointed 
the  same  parties  receivers,  there  being  doubt  as  to  Judge 
Ewart's  jurisdiction.  ^  George  H.  Smathers  alone,  however, 
acted  as  receiver,  the  others  having  declined  or  resigned. 
There  was  a  class  of  creditors  which  filed  a  general  creditors' 
bill  between  the  date  of  the  appointment  of  receivers  by 
Judge  Ewart  and  the  date  of  the  appointment  by  Judge  Nor- 
wood, who  thus  sought  to  secure  priority  over  the  assets  not 
affected  by  the  lien  of  creditors  who  had  obtained  judgments 
before  justices  of  the  peace,  as  many  had  done;  but  the  Su- 
preme court  refused  priority  to  those  thus  seeking  to  secure 
it.^ 

There  were  many  other  questions  settled  in  the  ensuing 
litigation,  for  Receiver  Smathers  was  removed  and  W.  W. 
Jones,  Esq.,  appointed  in  his  place  in  May,  1902;  and  he 
immediately  began  to  collect  the  assets  of  the  bank,  and  to 
compel  Madison  county  to  pay  certain  of  its  bonds  which  he 
held  among  the  assets  of  the  defunct  bank.  The  Supreme 
court  decided  that  each  stockholder  was  liable  to  the  extent 
of  double  the  amount  of  his  stock.  ^  It  at  first  denied  the 
mandamus  asked  for  to  compel  the  commissioners  of  Madi- 
son county  to  levy  a  tax  to  pay  its  bonds  ^ "  but  on  a  rehearing 
granted  the  mandamus.     (137  N.  C,  579.) 

The  question  as  to  whether  a  married  woman  could  escape 
her  liability  as  a  stockholder  was  also  settled  adversely  to 
such  claim.  ^  ^  In  pursuit  of  the  stockholders  it  became  nec- 
essary for  the  receiver  to  get  the  legislature  to  pass  an  act 
authorizing  him  to  sue  outside  the  State.  ^  ^ 

LiNviLLE  Litigation.  S.  T.  Kelsey  and  C.  C.  Hutchinson 
had  started  Highlands;  but  Mr.  Hutchinson,  who  was  to 
have  provided  the  money,  found  himself  unable  to  do  so, 
and  Mr.  Henry  Stewart,  editor  of    the  agricultural  depart- 


NOTABLE  CASES  AND  DECISIONS  411 

ment  of  n  New  York  newspaper,  bought,  through  Kelsey, 
all  the  laiul  Huteiiinson  was  to  iiave  paid  for.  Then  Stewart 
broke  with  Kelsey  and  the  latter  turned  his  attention  to  the 
development  of  the  Linville  eountry.  Mr.  S.  P.  Ra venal, 
Sr.,  advanced  S500  for  preliminary  investigations,  which 
resulted  in  the  formation,  about  1890,  of  tlie  Linville  Im- 
provement Company  with  Messrs.  Ravenal  and  Kelsey  and 
the  late  Mr.  DonaKl  MacRae  of  Wilmington,  N.  C,  as  the 
principal  stockholders.  Neither  Ravenal  nor  MacRae  held 
a  majority  of  the  stock,  thus  giving  Kelsey  the  balance  of 
power. 

There  were  three  distinct  lines  of  policy  advocated  by  each 
of  these  gentlemen.  Mr.  MacRae  wanted  to  bond  the  prop- 
erty for  the  construction  of  a  railroad  from  Cranberry;  Mr. 
Kelsey  wished  to  establish  an  industrial  center  at  Linville 
City;  and  Mr.  Ravenal  opposed  both,  but  wanted  to  estab- 
lish a  health  and  pleasure  resort  at  Linville  City,  sell  lots  and 
hold  the  15,000  acres  of  timber  land  the  company  had  acquired 
for  future  development.  After  a  while  Mr.  Thomas  F.  Par- 
ker succeeded  Mr.  Ravenal  and  Mr.  Hugh  MacRae  succeeded 
his  father,  Mr.  Donald  MacRae.  These  two  could  not  agree 
and  Mr.  Kelsey,  siding  with  the  McRaes,  a  receiver  was  applied 
for  and  appointed  between  September  1,  1893,  and  September 
1,  1894. 

These  disagreements  among  the  stockholders  of  the  Lin- 
ville Improvement  Company  in  relation  to  the  general  policy 
to  be  pursued  by  the  officers  in  control,  and  especially  in 
respect  to  the  method  of  liquidating  the  outstanding  indebt- 
edness and  encumbering  the  property  of  the  company,  were 
involved  in  an  action  brought  against  that  company  by  T.  B. 
Lenoir,  executor  of  W.  W.  Lenoir,  and  decided  by  the  Su- 
preme court.  (See  117  N.  C.  Reports,  p.  471.)  Thomas 
F.  Parker  had  been  president  from  September  1,  1893,  to 
September  1,  1894,  and  Harlan  P.  Kelsey  secretary  for  the 
same  time.  A  special  master  had  rejected  the  claims  of 
these  two  officers  for  pay  for  services  during  this  time,  and 
the  court  held  that  they  should  have  been  allowed  to  prove 
that  they  had  a  contract  for  employment  with  the  company 
for  the  entire  year  and  not  only  up  to  the  time  of  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  receiver. 

After  a  while  Mr.  MacRae  offered  to  sell  his  interest  or  buy 
that  of  Mr.  Ravenal  at  a  certain  price.     Mr.  Ravenal  sold. 


412        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

A  railroad  was  finally  built  to  Pinola  and  Montezuma,  two 
miles  from  Linville  City.  But  the  golden  opportunity  had 
passed.  For,  while  the  company  was  constructing  the  Yonah- 
lossie  turnpike  from  Linville  City  around  the  base  of  the 
Grandfather  mountain  to  Blowing  Rock,  erecting  a  fine  hotel 
and  constructing  a  large  dam  for  a  lake  at  Linville  City,  the 
press  was  ringing  with  praises  of  the  beauty  of  the  scenery, 
the  healthfulness  of  the  surroundings  and  the  general  attract- 
iveness of  the  place.  Visitors  came  in  numbers  from  various 
parts  of  the  country  and  wished  to  invest  in  lots  and  build 
cottages.  But,  as  the  property  was  in  litigation,  titles  could 
not  be  made  to  the  lots,  and  the  boom  subsided.  Blo\ving 
Rock,  however,  which  before  had  been  a  mere  hamlet,  sud- 
denly developed  rapidly  and  substantially,  and  is  today  one 
of  the  finest  and  most  attractive  health  and  pleasure  resorts 
in  the  mountains. 

Color  of  Title.  In  all  countries  one  who  enters  upon  land 
and  holds  possession  under  any  paper  writing  of  record  that 
proclaims  to  the  world  that  he  is  there  by  some  real  or  pre- 
tended authority  will  secure  title  by  adverse  occupancy  sooner 
than  will  he  who  "squats"  upon  land  without  any  pretence 
that  he  has  any  right  to  be  there  other  than  his  bare  posses- 
sion. In  the  early  days  of  North  Carolina  the  State  granted 
large  tracts  of  land  to  William  Cochran  and  William  Tate  in 
July,  1795;  and  in  July,  1796,  just  one  year  later,  William 
Cathcart  secured  grants  which  were  found  to  lap  on  those 
lands  already  granted  to  Tate  and  Cochran.  It  was  impos- 
sible for  Tate  and  Cochran  to  put  settlers  on  their  lands  at 
that  time,  and  having  the  senior  grant  they  rested  on  their 
rights.  But  Cathcart  was  unwilling  to  lose  any  portion  of 
the  land  he  had  paid  the  State  ten  cents  an  acre  for,  even 
though  part  of  it  was  already  the  property  of  Tate  and  Coch- 
ran. So,  in  September,  1838,  he  leased  all  this  disputed 
land  to  Abram  Johnson,  put  him  in  possession  of  a  part  of  it, 
and  told  him  to  exercise  rights  of  ownership  over  as  much  as 
he  did  not  actually  occupy  as  he  could.  In  order  to  do  this 
Johnson  built  a  forge  near  the  Old  Fields  of  Toe,  and  cut 
timber  and  burnt  charcoal  at  many  other  places  on  the  land. 
More  than  one  hundred  years  after  all  these  grants  had  been 
taken  out  the  Supreme  court  decided  that  Cathcart's  lease 
to  Johnson  was  color  of  title  to  the  lands  described  therein, 


NOTABLE  CASES  AND  DECISIONS  413 

and  that  his  title  had  ripened  in  seven  years  after  the  date 
of  the  lease  and  Johnson's  entry  and  occiipanc}',  the  lease 
havinjz;  been  duly  recorded  in  jNIorganton.  Thus  a  junior 
grunt  had  held  over  its  senior,  because  of  this  color  of  title. 
(Cochran  v.  Improvement  Co.,  127  N.  C,  387.) 

Adams  v.  Westfeldt.  As  early  as  1850  or  1851,  the  late 
Stephen  Munday  entered  land  on  Little  Fork  ridge,  the  Fos- 
ter ridge,  south  and  southeast  of  Haw  Gap,  and  south  of 
Thunderhead  mountain,  because  he  believed  that  copper  was 
in  the  land;  but  positive  indications  of  its  existence  were  not 
found  until  about  1858.  The  war  coming  on  and  interest 
dying  out,  nothing  further  was  done  about  investigating  the 
indications  until  about  1899. 

In  1869  George  Westfeldt  of  New  Orleans  bought,  at  the 
bankrupt  sale  of  E.  H.  Cunningham,  four  tracts  of  land  on 
the  waters  of  Hazel  creek  which  had  been  granted  to  the 
latter.  In  1877  Westfeldt,  through  his  agent,  Tennent,  tried 
to  locate  these  tracts,  but  had  to  call  in  Wm.  R.  McDowell, 
who  lived  near  Franklin,  to  assist.  He  located  them  several 
miles  from  where  Tennent  thought  they  lay.  About  1888 
copper  was  discovered  on  one  of  these  tracts  and  men  named 
Cook,  Hall,  Mark  Bryson  and  others  attempted  to  find  what 
grant  covered  the  copper  deposit.  They  discovered  that  Epp. 
Everett  of  Bryson  City  had  several  grants  which  he  had  not 
succeeded  in  locating  satisfactorily,  but  which  he  appeared  to 
think  were  several  miles  from  the  Westfeldt  lands.  It  was 
charged  that,  in  attempting  to  locate  one  of  these  grants  on 
the  copper  vein,  Adam  Wilson  had  hacked  a  tree  and  then 
smoked  the  hacks  with  pine  splinters  in  order  to  give  the 
marks  the  appearance  of  age.  On  the  other  hand,  Adams' 
side  claimed  that  persons  in  the  interest  of  Westfeldt  had 
chopped  the  marks  entirely  out  of  a  corner  tree  and  had  car- 
ried the  marks  off  in  the  block  of  wood  which  had  been  re- 
moved. From  this  smoked  tree  it  was  claimed  the  line  had 
been  run  in  1890;  but  it  was  not  satisfactory,  and  was  aban- 
doned, until  in  1899,  when  W.  S.  Adams,  of  Massachusetts, 
bought  up  the  Everett  grants  and  took  possession  of  the  cop- 
per lands.  An  old  man  living  in  Tennessee  by  the  name  of 
Proctor,  who  had  carried  the  chain  when  the  Everett  grants 
were  originally  located,  was  brought  to  the  land  to  help 
establish  Adams'   contention  as  to  the  location.     Westfeldt 


414        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

had  warned  Adams  not  to  trespass  on  this  land  and,  in  1901, 
he  sued  Adams  in  Swain  county  and  won  the  suit.  But  a 
new  trial  was  granted  by  the  Supreme  court  on  the  ground  of 
the  admission  of  incompetent  evidence.  The  case  was,  by 
consent,  removed  to  Haywood  county,  where  the  North  Caro- 
lina Mining  Company  was  made  an  additional  defendant,  and 
it  set  up  a  claim  to  the  land  in  dispute,  under  the  act  of  1893, 
for  determining  adverse  claims  to  real  estate.  Westfeldt  won 
again,  but  the  Supreme  court  granted  still  another  new  trial, 
because  the  trial  judge  had  failed  to  call  proper  attention  to 
the  difference  between  substantive  evidence  and  evidence  that 
went  merely  to  the  credibility  of  a  witness.  Then  the 
North  Carolina  Mining  Company  brought  its  bill  in  equity 
in  the  United  States  court  for  the  Western  District  of  North 
Carolina,  to  clear  the  title  of  the  cloud  placed  upon  it  by 
Westfeldt's  claim  to  the  land.  Judge  Pritchard  decided  that 
he  had  jurisdiction,  notwithstanding  the  pendency  of  the  ac- 
tion between  substantially  the  same  parties  in  the  State  court. 
He  heard  the  testimony,  sitting  as  a  chancellor,  and  without 
a  jury  to  enlighten  the  court  upon  the  disputed  facts;  and  a 
short  time  before  the  case  was  to  have  been  tried  in  Hay- 
wood, he  filed  his  decree  holding  against  Westfeldt. 

After  several  years  of  effort  the  Supreme  court  of  the 
United  States  decided  that  Judge  Pritchard  had  not  had 
jurisdiction  when  he  took  the  case  from  the  Superior  court 
of  Haywood  county,  and  in  1910  the  cause  was  tried  at 
Waynesville,  the  plaintiff  winning.  The  Supreme  court  of 
North  Carolina  in  1912  set  the  verdict  aside,  however,  and 
the  case  will  have  to  be  tried  again.  ^  ^  Both  Westfeldt  and 
Adams  have  since  died. 

An  Erroneous  Impression.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  the 
Supreme  court  of  North  Carolina  has  decided  that  a  munici- 
pality may  legally  freeze  a  prisoner  to  death.  This  is  wrong, 
the  decision  in  Aloffit  v.  AsheviUe  having  held  quite  to  the 
contrary  (103  N.  C,  p.  237).  It  was  decided  that  when 
towns  are  "exercising  the  judicial,  discretionary  or  legisla- 
tive authority  conferred  by  their  directors,  or  are  discharging 
a  duty  imposed  solely  for  the  public  benefit,  they  are  not 
liable  for  the  negligence  of  their  officers,  unless  some  statute 
subjects  them  to  hability  for  such  negligence."  Conse- 
quently, they  held  that  the  city  was  not  liable  for  a  severe 


NOTABLE  CASES  AND  DECISIONS  415 


2old  and  illness  caustHl  to  Moffit  by  confincmont,  January  5, 
1887,  in  a  cell  in  a  room  from  which  wimlow  lights  had  l)een 
broken,  the  city  having  provided  fuel  and  a  stove  and  police 
officers  to  keep  the  room  comfortable. 

Cr\nberuy  Magnetic  Iron  Mines.  From  Hon.  A.  C. 
Avery  of  Morganton  it  has  been  learned  that  about  1780 
Reuben  White  took  out  a  grant  for  tlie  100  acres  supposed 
to  cover  the  iron  deposit  at  these  mines,  and  that  Hon. 
Waightstill  Avery  took  out  four  small  grants  surrounding  the 
Reul)en  White  grant. '  *  In  addition,  he  took  out  hundreds  of 
6-40-acre  grants,  covering  almost  all  of  the  North  Toe  valley 
from  its  source  to  Toecane,  except  that  here  and  there  along 
the  valley  some  older  grants  intervened.  He  also  took  grants 
to  lands  along  Squirrel,  Roaring,  Henson  and  Three -Mile 
creeks,  and  the  lower  valley  of  South  Toe  and  Linville  riv- 
ers. In  1795  William  Cathcart  took  out  two  large  grants, 
one  known  as  the  "99,000-Acre  Tract"  and  the  other  as  the 
"59, 000- Acre  Tract,"  which  two  grants  covered  practically 
all  of  what  is  now  JXIitchell  and  Avery  counties,  except 
some  tracts  along  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  embrace  all  the 
tracts  along  the  streams  theretofore  granted  to  Waightstill 
Avery.  He  devised  all  these  lands  to  his  son,  Isaac  T. 
Avery.  A  controversy  arose  between  the  father  of  John 
Evans  Brown,  agent  for  the  claimants  under  the  Cathcart 
grants,  which  resulted  in  the  execution  of  compromise  deeds 
in  1852,  by  which  I.  T.  Avery  got  a  quit  claim  to  about 
50,000  acres  of  land,  so  as  to  include  most  of  the  land  de- 
scribed, including  the  Cranberry  Mines.  The  Reuben  White 
tract  had  in  the  meantime  passed  by  a  succession  of  con- 
veyances to  William  Bugger,  who  sold  his  interest  to  Hoke, 
Hutchinson  and  Sumner;  Bugger,  Avery  and  Brown  having 
entered  into  a  written  agreement  under  which  Avery  and 
Brown  were  to  hold  one-half  of  one-fourth  each  of  the  min- 
eral interest  in  all  the  Bugger  land  outside  of  the  Reuben 
White  tract.  .  .  .  But,  before  Bugger  conveyed  to 
Hoke,  Hutchinson  and  Sumner,  he  had  contracted  to  sell  to 
John  Harding,  Miller  and  another,  and  had  put  Harding  in 
possession,  so  that  the  Hoke  purchase  was  from  Harding  and 
associates,  taking  the  legal  title  from  Bugger.  Judge  A.  C. 
Avery,  as  executor  of  his  father's  (I.  T.  Avery)  estate,  gave 
notice  to  Hoke  and  company  of  the  equitable  claim  of  Brown 


416        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

and  Avery  in  three  thousand  acres,  embracing  the  Cranberry- 
ore  bank,  before  they  bought  from  Dugger,  and  in  the  ensu- 
ing litigation  compelled  Hoke  and  Company  to  pay  between  fif- 
teen and  twenty  thousand  dollars  for  the  Brown  and  Avery 
interests  in  the  Cranberry  ore  bank. 

Before  the  Litigation  Began.  Exactly  when  the  Cran- 
berry Iron  mine  was  first  operated  cannot  be  determined 
now.  Joshua  Perkins  and  a  man  named  Asher  built  what 
was  afterwards  knowm  as  the  Dugger  mine,  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Watauga  in  what  is  now  Johnson  county,  Tenn.,  and 
four  miles  above  Butler.  Remains  of  the  old  forge  are  still 
visible  there,  just  above  the  present  iron  bridge,  the  forge 
itself  having  been  washed  away  in  the  freshet  of  1886  or  1887. 
Tradition  says  that  Perkins  and  Asher  sold  this  forge  to  Wil- 
liam, Abe  and  John  Dugger,  and  then  went  to  Cranberry 
and  built  the  forge  there.  These  Dugger  brothers  were  the 
sons  of  Julius  Dugger  who  o^Tied  a  farm  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Watauga,  opposite  Fish  Springs;  and  soon  took  charge 
of  the  forge  Perkins  had  built  at  Cranberry.  But  when 
either  forge  was  built  "no  man  knoweth. "  Only  one  fact 
could  be  secured,  and  that  was  that  in  November,  1886, 
Joshua  Perkins  bought  a  bill  of  goods  at  Curtis  and  Farthing's 
store  at  Butler.  All  agree  that  he  was  then  over  eighty  years 
of  age,  and  that  he  died  soon  afterwards.  Assuming,  then, 
that  he  was  eighty-six  years  of  age  in  1886,  and  that  he  was 
at  least  twenty-one  when  he  built  the  Dugger  forge  four  miles 
above  Butler,  the  Cranberry  forge  most  probably  was  built 
not  earher  than  1821  to  1825.  Benjamin  Dugger  was  also 
concerned  in  this  Cranberry  forge,  but  afterwards  went  to 
Ducktown,  Tenn.  Upon  his  death  John  Hardin  went  into 
possession  of  the  mine,  either  by  his  own  right  or  as  guard- 
ian of  Abie's  heirs.  It  was  sold  by  John  Hardin  or  his  son 
Councill  Hardin,  to  Gen.  R.  F.  Hoke  for  $10,000  and  he  sold 
to  the  company  now  owning  it.  Shep.  M.  Dugger,  in  his  "Bal- 
sam Groves  of  the  Grandfather  Mountain"  (p.  15),  says:  "In 
the  year  1850  the  now  famous  Cranberry  Iron  mines  were  in 
their  infantile  state  of  development.  The  Dugger  family 
had  been  the  first  to  build  forges  and  hammer  iron  in  Ten- 
nessee, and  the  writer's  grandfather  and  great  uncle  had  now 
crossed  the  line,  and  purchased  the  mines  and  tilt-hammer 
forge  at  Cranberry." 


NOTABLE  CASES  AND  DECISIONS  417 

The  Carter  and  Hoke  Litigation.  Tlionuis  D.  Carter 
had  an  equitable  contract  for  the  sale  of  a  part  of  the  interest 
held  under  bond  for  title  by  John  Hardin,  Miller  and  another, 
and  this  led  to  the  litigation  which  culminated  in  the  case  of 
Thomas  D.  Carter  v.  Robert  F.  Hoke  and  others  (64  N.  C.  Rep., 
p.  348).  It  appears  that,  in  May,  1867,  the  plaintiff  agreed  to 
convey  his  interest  in  the  Cranberry  Iron  mines  to  Gen.  Hoke 
and  others  for  S44,000,  and  when  he  tendered  a  deed  there- 
for he  was  given  a  sight  draft  on  a  New  York  bank  for  the 
amount  of  the  purchase  money,  which  draft  was  protested 
and  never  paid;  but  that  the  reason  it  had  not  been  paid  was 
because  it  had  been  well  understood  by  the  parties  to  the 
transaction  that,  although  it  was  a  sight  draft,  the  funds  to 
meet  it  were  to  have  been  provided  by  the  proceeds  of  a  sale 
of  the  same  property  by  Hoke  and  associates  to  another  pur- 
chaser, which  contemplated  sale  Carter  had  defeated.  Upon 
this  state  of  facts  a  receiver  was  appointed  and  the  sale  of 
the  property  was  enjoined.  At  the  Spring  term,  1869,  of  the 
Superior  court  of  jNIadison  county,  Hoke  moved  to  dissolve 
the  injunction  and  end  the  receivership.  Upon  the  hearing 
of  that  motion  it  appeared  that  Hoke  and  associates  had 
effected  another  sale  of  the  property  to  the  Russells  and  asso- 
ciates, for  850,000,  and  they  claimed  to  have  been  inno- 
cent purchasers  without  notice.  Judge  Henry  granted  the 
motion;  but  on  appeal  the  Supreme  court  continued  the  injunc- 
tion against  a  sale  of  the  property  till  Carter  had  been  paid 
and  the  question  as  to  whether  the  Russells  were  innocent 
purchasers  had  been  tried.  Hoke  and  company  soon  after- 
wards compromised  with  Carter  and  the  title  to  the  property 
was  thus  settled  so  far  as  Carter  was  concerned. 

A  Further  Story  of  the  Litigation.  The  interests  of 
the  original  purchasers  of  the  White  and  Avery  Ore-Bank 
tracts,  as  well  as  the  interests  of  the  claimants  of  adjacent 
lands  under  a  forge  bounty  grant  (junior  to  the  o9,000-acre 
grant  of  1790),  were  sold  for  partition  under  a  decree  of  the 
Supreme  court  at  its  session  at  Morganton  before  the  Civil 
War,  and  was  bought  by  William  Dugger.  He  subsequently 
paid  the  purchase  money  and  got  a  decree  that  James  R. 
Dodge,  clerk  of  the  Supreme  court  at  Morganton,  should 
make  title  to  him.  Before  getting  his  title,  however,  but 
after  he  had  paid  the  purchase  money,  William  Dugger  en- 

W.  X.  C— 27 


418        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

tered  into  an  agreement  with  Isaac  T.  Avery  and  J.  Evans 
BrowTi  that  the  three  should  hold  an  equal  one-third  interest 
in  all  the  mineral  outside  of  the  original  White  Ore-Bank 
tract.  But  this  agreement  seems  not  to  have  been  registered; 
and,  the  Civil  War  coming  on,  the  sessions  of  the  Supreme  court 
at  Morganton  were  abolished.  Then  Col.  Dodge,  the  clerk,  died 
without  having  made  title  to  William  Dugger.  Meantime, 
Judge  A.  C.  Avery  secured  through  Hon.  B.  F.  Moore  an 
ordinance  of  the  Convention  of  1866  authorizing  Mr.  Free- 
man, who  was  then  clerk  of  the  Supreme  court  at  Raleigh, 
to  make  the  title  to  William  Dugger  which  Col.  Dodge  should 
have  made.  Clerk  Freeman  made  this  title  to  Dugger,  but 
failed  to  include  in  it  any  reference  to  the  equitable  agree- 
ment which  had  been  made  between  William  Dugger,  Isaac 
T.  Avery  and  J.  Evans  Brown  to  the  effect  that  each  should 
have  a  one-third  interest  in  the  property  outside  of  the  orig- 
inal White  Ore-Bank  tract.  William  Dugger,  too,  had  sold 
his  interest  in  the  property  without  excepting  the  two-thirds 
interest  equitably  owTied  by  Avery  and  BrowTi,  and  executed 
a  deed  therefor.  These  purchasers  were  proposing  to  sell 
under  their  deed  from  Dugger  \^dthout  notice  to  Avery  and 
Brown;  whereupon  Judge  A.  C.  Avery,  as  executor  of  Isaac 
T.  Avery,  who  had  died,  and  J.  Evans  Brown  gave  notice  of 
their  equity  to  the  proposed  purchasers,  and  thereby  com- 
pelled the  purchasers  from  Dugger  to  buy  their  interest  in 
the  property.  This  covered  all  interests  in  the  property.  ^  ^ 
The  Nantahala  Talc  Case.  About  1895  or  1896  there 
was  considerable  litigation  over  the  rich  and  valuable  talc 
and  marble  mine  or  quarry  at  Hewitts  in  Swain  county. 
Thomas  and  others  had  bought  from  the  late  Alexander  P. 
Munday,  as  executor  of  the  late  Nimrod  S.  Jarrett.  The 
Nantahala  Marble  and  Talc  Company  of  Atlanta  had  also 
bought  land  adjoining  from  the  same  party.  On  a  question 
of  the  location  of  a  boundary  line  between  these  properties 
the  case  was  tried  at  Asheville  before  the  late  Judge  Paul, 
United  States  district  judge  of  Virginia,  who  had  been  trans- 
ferred to  this  jurisdiction  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  this  case. 
He  decided  it  in  favor  of  Thomas  and  his  co-plaintiffs;  and 
it  was  appealed  to  the  circuit  court  of  appeals,  where  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1901,  this  decision  was  sustained.  (106  Fed.  Rep., 
p.  379,  and  76  Fed.  Rep.,  p.  59.) 


NOTABLE  CASES  AND  DECISIONS  419 


NOTES. 

'Mr*.  Eliz!\l>(>tli  Sniitli  died  in  October,  1912. 

'\V.  H.  IVuliind,  liiiviiig  iitireed  to  furuisli  viiliiable  information  to  tho  Kovcrnment, 
was  not  tried. 

'UtJ  N.  C.oTO. 

M26  .\.  C.  760. 

^4  Dov..  p.  I. 

•Dev.,  p.  1. 

'fia/uT  r.  Bank.  132  N.  C.  769. 

'Bank  v.  B.mk,  127  N.  C.  Rep.,  432. 

'Smalhira  t.  Bank.  13.i  N.  C.  410. 

^ojones  c.  Com  ,  135  X.  C.  Kep..  p.  215. 

>'fi<in/t  t.  MaiUui.  156  N.  C. 

'jPub.  L.1WS  hK)3,  Ch.  283. 

"In  this  dcci.sion  it  was  lieM  that  land.s  in  the  vacant  and  tinsiirveyed  class  as  shown 
on  the  maps  re(|uirod  to  be  made  by  the  act  of  1S36  and  dcpo.situd  in  register  of  deeds  office 
at  Franklin  were  subject  to  entry,  Justice  Walker  discussing  the  matter  fully. 

i*Coclirans  v.  Impruvement  Co.,  127  N.  C,  3X7,  anil  Diti/ger  v.  Kobbins,  100  N.  C,  1. 

"Letter  of  Hon.  A.  C.  .\very  to  J.  P.  A.,  February  7,  1913. 


CHAPTER   XVII 
SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES 

A  Laggard  in  Education.  North  Carolina  has  httle  rea- 
son to  be  proud  of  her  early  history  in  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion. For  years  there  was  greater  illiteracy  in  this  State  than 
in  any  other,  and  the  improvement  of  late  years  has  not  been 
any  greater  than  it  should  have  been.  In  1816  the  legislature 
appointed  a  committee  with  Archibald  D.  Murphey  at  its  head  to 
suggest  a  plan  for  State  education.  The  plan  suggested  in  1817 
provided  for  primary  schools  in  each  county  and  for  ten  acad- 
emies in  different  parts  of  the  State,  wnth  the  State  Univer- 
sity at  the  head.  A  school  for  deaf,  dumb  and  bhnd  was  pro- 
vided for  and  the  children  of  the  poor  were  to  be  supported 
while  at  school.  But  this  benevolent  scheme  to  provide  for 
the  children  of  the  poor  defeated  the  entire  plan.  ^ 

The  Literary  Fund.  In  1825  the  legislature  created  a 
literary  fund  which  was  to  come  from  the  sale  of  swamp  lands 
and  other  sources.  In  1837  part  of  a  large  sum  derived  from 
the  United  States  was  added,  making  the  entire  fund  about 
$2,000,000. 2 

Public  Schools  Begin.  With  the  income  from  this  and  a 
tax  voted  by  most  of  the  counties  public  schools  were  begun 
in  1840.  In  1852  Calvin  H.  Wiley  was  elected  superintend- 
ent of  public  instruction,  which  ojfice  he  held  till  1865.  The 
schools  grew  from  777  in  1840  to  4,369  in  1860.  The  number 
of  all  students  in  colleges,  academies  and  primary  schools 
increased  from  18,681  in  1840  to  177,400  in  1860.  This  ap- 
plies to  the  entire  State. 

Loss  OF  THE  Literary  Fund.  The  State  kept  the  literary 
fimd  intact  during  the  entire  period  of  the  Civil  War,  keep- 
ing the  schools  open  and  conducting  them  with  such  books 
as  could  be  provided.  It  needed  the  literary  fund  for  the 
soldiers  in  the  field,  but  it  would  not  touch  a  penny  except 
to  educate  its  children.  But  this  fund  was  held  by  the  banks 
of  the  State,  and  when  the  Reconstruction  legislature  voted 
not  to  pay  the  Confederate  debt,  the  banks  were  ruined,  for 
the  State  owed  them  large  sums.  Thus  one  million  dollars  of 
the  fund  was  lost. 

(420) 


SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  421 

The  Educational  Governor.  Gov.  Aycock  did  much  for 
education  during  his  term  from  1900  to  lUO-1.  Uural  hl)niries 
were  started  and  a  loan  fund  provided. 

Pioneer  Teachers  and  Preachers.  In  1778  or  1779 
Samuel  Doak,  who  was  educated  at  Princeton  College,  N.  J., 
came  to  Washington  county  and  soon  after  his  arrival  opened 
a  good  school  in  a  log  cabin  on  his  own  farm.  This  is  said  to 
have  been  the  first  real  institution  of  learning  in  the  ^lissis- 
sippi  valley.  In  1788  Doak's  school  was  incorporated  by 
North  Carolina  as  INIartin  Academy.  In  1795  the  territorial 
legislature  incorporated  Martin  Academy  as  Washington  Col- 
lege, located  at  Salem,  and  Doak  was  made  its  president. ' 
In  1785  the  legislature  of  North  Carolina  incorporated  Da- 
vidson Academy,  near  Nashville. 

The  First  Schoolmaster  of  Buncombe.  Soon  after  the 
Swannanoa  settlement  was  established  in  1782,  a  school  was 
started  in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  the  Presbyte- 
rians. "  Robert  Henry  taught  the  first  school  in  North  Caro- 
lina west  of  the  Blue  Ridgg."  ^ 

Old-Field  Schools.  Col.  J.  M.  Ray  gives  the  following 
description  of  these  antiquated  methods  of  teaching  the  young 
idea  how  not  to  shoot  :  In  lieu  of  kindergarten,  graded  and 
normal  schools  "was  the  Old-Field  school,  of  which  there 
were  generally  only  one  or  two  in  a  county,  and  they  were 
in  session  only  when  it  was  not  'crop-time.'  They  were  at- 
tended by  little  and  big,  old  and  young,  sometimes  by  as 
many  as  a  hundred,  and  all  jammed  into  one  room — a  log- 
cabin  with  a  fire-place  at  each  end — puncheon  floor,  slab 
benches,  and  no  windows,  except  an  opening  made  in  the 
wall  by  cutting  out  a  section  of  one  of  the  logs,  here  and  there. 
The  pedagogue  in  charge  (and  no  matter  how  large  the  school 
there  was  but  one)  prided  himself  upon  his  knowledge  of  and 
efficiency  in  teaching  the  'three  R's' — readin',  'ritin'  and  'rith- 
metic — and  upon  his  ability  to  use  effectively  the  rod,  of  which 
a  good  supply  was  always  kept  in  stock.  He  must  know,  too, 
how  to  make  a  quill  pen  from  the  wing-feather  of  goose  or 
turkey,  steel  and  gold  pens  not  having  come  into  general  use. 
The  ink  used  was  made  from  'ink-balls' — sometimes  from 
poke-berries — and  was  kept  in  little  slim  vials  partly  filled 
with  cotton.  These  vials  not  having  base  enough  to  stand 
alone,  were  suspended  on  nails  near  the  WTiter.     The  schools 


422        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

were  paid  for  from  a  public  fund,  the  teacher  boarding  with 
the  scholars.  The  common  plan  was  for  all  to  study  aloud, 
and  this  was  universally  so  when  getting  the  spelling  lesson, 
which  was  the  concluding  exercise  and  most  exciting  part  of 
the  inside  program.  Two  of  the  good  spellers  of  the  school 
were  appointed  by  the  teacher  as  captains,  and  they  made 
selections  alternately  from  the  scholars  for  their  respective 
sides  in  the  spelling  match.  The  first  choice  was  determined 
by  spitting  on  a  chip  and  tossing  it  up,  the  captain  tossing  it 
asking  the  other  'Wet  or  dry?'  and  the  other  stating  his  choice. 
If  the  chip  fell  with  the  side  up  as  designated,  he  had  'first 
pick'  of  the  spellers,  and  of  course  selected  the  one  thought 
best.  If  he  lost,  his  opponent  had  first  pick.  Another  plan 
was  'Cross  or  pile?'  when  a  knife  was  used  the  same  way,  the 
side  of  the  handle  with  the  ornament  being  the  cross.  Some 
of  these  old  pedagogues  were  very  rigid  in  discipline — almost 
tyrants — a  daj^  without  several  floggings  being  unusual.  They 
sometimes  resorted  to  queer  plans  to  catch  up  with  mischie- 
vous scholars;  one  I  distinctly  remember — it  is  not  necessary  to 
say  why  I  so  distinctly  remember  it — was  to  put  the  school 
on  its  behavior  and  leave  the  building,  cut  around  to  some 
crack  or  opening  and  watch  inside  movements.  This  watch- 
ing generally  resulted  in  something. 

Old  School  Games.  "The  outside  sports  made  bearable 
all  inside  oppression,  however.  'Base,'  'cat,'  'bull-pen,'  and 
'marbles,'  were  the  leading  popular  games,  and  were  entered 
into  with  a  zest  and  enthusiasm  unkno\\Ti  in  these  times.  The 
sensational  occurrence  of  the  session  was,  however,  the  chase 
given  some  party  who,  in  passing,  should  holler  'school  but- 
ter!' But  such  party  always  took  the  precaution  to  be  at  a 
safe  distance  and  to  have  a  good  start,  and  stood  not  upon 
the  order  of  his  going,  but  went  for  all  that  was  in  him;  for 
to  be  taken  was  to  be  roughly  handled — soused  in  some  creek, 
pond  or  mud-hole.  The  pursuers  w'ere  eager  and  determined, 
sometimes  following  for  miles  and  miles,  and  having  but  small 
fear  of  being  punished  for  neglect  of  studies.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  offence  was  of  so  high  an  order  (and  I  never  under- 
stood just  why)  that  sometimes  the  teacher  would  join  in  the 
race."^ 

A  Primitive  Spelling  Book.  Col.  Allen  T.  Davidson 
gives  this  picture  of  a  time  earlier  than  any  Col.  Ray  can 


SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  423 

remember:  "  The  first  schoolmaster  I  remember  (on  Jona- 
than's creek)  was  an  okl  man  l^y  the  name  of  Hayes.  He 
was  a  good  old  man,  and  had  a  nice  family,  and  had  come  to 
that  back-country  to  'learn'  the  young  idea  how  to  shoot. 
I  was  about  six  years  old  (1825).  We  could  not  then  get 
spelling-books  reatlily.  I  had  none,  and  was  more  inclined 
to  fun  than  study.  The  old  man  or  his  daughters  dressed 
a  board  as  broad  as  a  shingle,  printed  the  alphabet  on  it,  bored 
a  hole  through  the  top,  put  a  string  in  it,  tied  it  around  my 
neck  ami  told  me  to  get  my  lesson.  I  did  not  make  much 
progress ;  but  was  greatly  indulged  by  the  old  man,  and  '  went 
out '  without  the  '  stick, '  which  was  the  passport  for  the 
others.  The  old  man  wore  a  pair  of  black  steel-rim  specta- 
cles, with  the  largest  eyes  I  ever  saw,  and  was  a  great  smoker. 
There  were  no  matches  in  those  days,  and  no  way  to  get  fire 
except  by  punk  and  steel;  hence,  he  had  to  keep  fire  covered  up 
in  the  ashes  in  the  fire-place  to  light  his  pipe.  .  .  .  When 
I  would  bring  in  the  sticks  with  which  to  replenish  the  fire, 
I  would  usually  bring  in  two  or  three  buckeyes,  which  I  slipped 
into  the  ashes  as  I  covered  the  wood.  The  wood  would  smolder 
to  a  coal  and  the  buckeyes  would  get  hot,  but  they  would  not 
explode  until  the  air  reached  them,  when  they  would  explode 
like  the  report  of  a  musket,  scattering  the  hulls,  ashes  and 
embers  all  over  the  house,  in  the  old  man's  face  and  against 
his  spectacles.  This  always  happened  whenever  he  uncov- 
ered the  coals  to  light  his  pipe.  The  good  old  man  never 
did  discover  the  cause  of  the  explosions.  He  has  long  since 
gone  to  his  reward,  and  I  remember  him  with  tenderest  affec- 
tion. "^ 

The  Blab  School.  At  the  earliest  period  of  the  most 
isolated  schools,  there  were  but  few  books,  and  spelling 
was  usually  taught  and  learned  by  a  sort  of  chant  or  sing- 
song, in  which  all,  teacher  and  scholars,  joined.  Young  and 
old  joined  in  this  exercise,  and  children  often  learned  to  spell 
who  did  not  readily  distinguish  the  letters  of  the  alphabet. 
These  were  often  chalked  or  written  with  charcoal  on  boards 
against  the  walls. 

Newton  Academy.  From  1797  to  1814  the  Rev.  George 
Newton  taught  a  classical  school  at  this  place  [Newton  Acad- 
emy] which  was  famous  throughout  several  States. ''  Mr. 
Newton  was  a  Presbyterian  minister,  reported  to  the  Synod 


424        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

at  Bethel  church,  South  Carolma,  October  18,  1798,  as  hav- 
ing been  received  by  ordination  by  the  Presb>i:ery  of  Con- 
cord (P'oote's  Sketches  on  North  Carolina,  297).  He  lived 
on  Swannanoa  until  1814,  when  he  removed  to  Bedford  county, 
Tennessee.  There  for  many  years  he  was  principal  of  Dick- 
son Academy  and  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  Shel- 
byville,  and  there  he  died  about  1841.''  "At  that  time  there 
was  a  building  which  had  been  used  for  church  and  school 
purposes,  kno^^^l  as  Union  Hill  Academy.  The  house,  which 
was  a  log  one,  was  removed  and  in  1809  a  brick  house  took 
its  place.  In  the  same  year  its  name  was  changed  to  that  of 
Newton  Academy."^  Here  for  many  years  the  people 
resorted  to  preaching  and  sent  their  children  to  school,  and 
buried  their  dead.  In  1857  or  1858  the  brick  building  between 
the  present  academy  and  the  grave  yard  was  removed  and  the 
brick  academy  now  there  was  erected.  (See  Clayton  v.  Trus- 
tees, 95  N.  C,  298.) 

Dr.  Erastus  Rowley.  "The  old  Newton  Academy  was 
the  only  institution  in  the  county  which,  up  to  1840,  had 
ever  been  dignified  with  as  big  a  name  as  that  of  Academy. 
This  was  a  very  old  structure  when  I  first  entered  it  in  1844. 
Dr.  Erastus  Rowley  taught  here  that  year.  The  house  was 
a  very  long  one  and  rather  wide — one  story,  divided  into  two 
rooms — one  very  long  room  and  one  small  one.  It  was  built 
of  brick  and  stood  on  the  top  of  the  knoll  some  distance  above 
where  the  present  one  stands.  Many  of  the  older  men  of 
this  section  received  their  education  at  this  widely  known 
institution  and  its  fame  has  always  been  almost  co-extensive 
with  that  of  Asheville. "  ' 

Dr.  Samuel  Dickson,  "In  1835  Dr.  Samuel  Dickson, 
a  Presbyterian  minister,  established  here  a  seminary  for 
young  ladies,  which  was  most  successfully  carried  on  for  many 
years.  It  was  a  school  which  even  in  this  day  of  improved 
educational  methods  would  stand  in  the  highest  rank.  Miss 
Marguerite  Smith  of  Rhode  Island  also  taught  in  this  building  at 
the  same  time.  At  it  were  educated  all  the  girls  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  country.  Dr.  Dickson  lived  and  carried  on  this 
school  in  the  first  brick  house  put  up  in  Asheville.  It  was  a 
handsome  colonial  residence,  knowai  afterwards  as  the  'Pul- 
liam  place,'  on  South  Main  street.  The  first  woman  who 
ever  became  a  regular  practitioner  of  medicine  in  America 
was  a  member  of  this  school,  Dr.  Elizabeth  Blackwell. "  ^ " 


SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  425 

Colonel  Stephen  Lee,  Soldier  and  Schoolmaster. 
"Dr.  Erastus  Kowloy  also  taught  the  nuilo  school  at  the  old 
Newton  Academy  for  quite  a  while.  He  was  a  'Yankee' 
but  a  most  excellent  teacher,  as  well  as  a  fine  preacher.  Col. 
Stephen  Lee,  about  this  time,  established  a  school  for  boys 
on  the  Swannanoa  four  miles  from  Asheville,  which  had  a 
wide  reputation  and  he  did  good  in  all  this  mountain  section. 
It  may  be  said  without  intended  disparagement  to  others 
that  Col.  Lee's  equal  as  a  teacher  has  scarcely  been  found 
in  this  country;  his  memory  lingers  with  and  is  blessed  by 
many  of  the  'old  boys'  of  today. 

"Col.  Lee's  school  for  boys  was  far  famed  and  many  of  the 
best  citizens  of  this  country  and  South  Carolina  remembered 
with  gratitude,  not  only  the  drilling  in  Latin  and  Greek  re- 
ceived from  this  most  successful  educator,  but  also  the  les- 
sons in  high  toned  honor  and  manhood  imparted  by  this 
knight  'without  fear  and  without  reproach.'  Col.  Lee  came 
from  South  Carolina  and  opened  his  school  first  in  a  large 
brick  house  built  by  himself  on  Swannanoa,  knowTi  as  'The 
Lodge' — afterwards  famous  as  the  hospitable  summer  resi- 
dence of  Mr.  William  Patton.  Colonel  Lee  afterwards  moved 
to  Chuim's  Cove,  where  he  taught  until,  at  the  call  of  his 
country,  he  and  his  sons  and  his  pupils  enlisted  in  the  cause 
which  they  believed  to  be  right.  He  was  a  graduate  of  West 
Point, and  distantly  related  to  Gen.  R.  E.  Lee. "^^ 

Col.  Stephen  Lee,  son  of  Judge  Thomas  Lee  of  Charleston, 
S.  C,  was  born  in  Charleston,  June  7,  1801,  was  educated  at 
West  Point  and  for  some  years  after  taught  in  the  Charles- 
ton College.  In  September,  1825,  he  was  married  to  his 
cousin,  Caroline  Lee,  also  of  Charleston;  they  had  fifteen  chil- 
dren, nine  boys  and  six  girls.  Some  years  after  he  was  married 
he  moved  to  Spartanburg,  S.  C,  where  he  lived  only  a  few 
years,  moving  with  his  family  to  Buncombe  county,  N.  C. 
In  Chunn's  Cove  he  started  his  school  for  boys,  which  he 
kept  up  as  long  as  he  lived,  except  for  two  or  three  years  in 
the  sixties,  a  part  of  which  time  he  was  in  command  of  the 
16th  N.  C.  Regiment,  serving  his  country  in  West  Virginia 
and  the  rest  of  the  time  drilling  new  recruits  and  preparing  them 
for  service.  Besides  serving  himself,  he  sent  eight  boys  into 
the  Confederate  army,  four  of  whom  gave  their  lives  to  the 
cause.     At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned  to  his  school  du- 


426        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ties  and  prepared  many  young  men  for  their  life  work.     He 
died  in  1879,  and  is  buried  in  the  Asheville  cemetery. 

Mrs.  Morrison  and  Miss  Cousins'  School.  Another 
school  now  long  passed  away,  and  existing  only  in  the  tender 
memories  of  its  pupils,  was  taught  for  girls  by  Mrs.  Morrison 
and  Miss  Cousins,  on  Haywood  street,  the  present  residence 
of  Dr.  H.  H.  Briggs. 

Sand  Hill  School.  Captain  Charles  Moore,  son  of  Cap- 
tain Wm.  Moore,  was  a  man  of  ability  and  learning,  a  strict 
Presbyterian  and  a  most  useful  citizen,  who  early  realized  the 
importance  of  education  to  a  people  so  isolated  as  were  the 
men  of  his  time.  Consequently,  early  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury he  erected  a  small  frame  building  on  his  farm,  since 
famous  as  Sand  Hill  School.  It  was  a  school  house  and 
church  for  ministers  sent  out  by  the  Mecklenburg  Presby- 
tery, and  later  became  the  most  useful  institution  of  learn- 
ing west  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  to  which  boys  from  all  the  sur- 
rounding counties  came  as  long  as  Captain  Moore  lived. 
Among  them  were  the  late  James  L.  Henry,  Superior  court 
judge;  J.  C.  L.  Gudger,  Superior  court  judge;  the  late  Riley 
H.  Cannon,  Superior  court  judge,  and  Judge  George  A.  Jones 
of  ]\Iacon,  who  held  the  position  of  judge  by  appointment  for 
nearly  two  years.  Among  those  living,  are  Captain  James  M. 
Gudger,  Sr.,  sohcitor;  J.  M.  Gudger,  Jr.,  member  of  Congress; 
H.  A.  Gudger,  chief  justice  of  the  Panama  Canal  Zone;  Supe- 
rior Court  Judge  Geo.  A.  Shuford,  Judge  Charles  A.  jNIoore, 
the  late  Hirschel  S.  Harkins,  former  internal  revenue  collector 
for  this  district;  the  late  Fred  Moore,  Superior  court  judge; 
the  late  James  Cooper,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Murphy;  Hon. 
W.  G.  Candler,  member  of  the  legislature;  Thomas  J.  Candler, 
Dr.  James  Candler,  and  Dr.  David  M.  Gudger.  Captain 
Charles  Moore  is  said  to  have  been  largely  instrumental  in 
erecting  the  first  Presbyterian  church  in  Asheville.  He  in- 
sisted on  employing  only  the  most  competent  teachers  for 
Sand  Hill  School,  among  them  being  Prof.  Hood  and  W.  H. 
Graves,  both  highly  educated  teachers.  He  died  about  the 
close  of  the  Civil  War.  Professor  S.  F.  Venable,  a  graduate 
of  the  University  of  Virginia,  also  taught  at  Sand  Hill.     . 

Another  Early  School.  Bishop  Asbury  records  the  fact 
that  in  September,  1806,  he  and  Moses  Lawrence  lost  their 
way  in  Buncombe  county  when  within  a  mile  of  Killion's 


SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  427 

on  Beaverdain  creek,  and  spent  tlie  night  in  a  school  house, 
without  a  fire.  The  floor  of  this  school  room  was  of  dirt,  on 
which  Moses  slept,  while  the  Bishop  had  a  "bed  wherever  I 
could  find  a  l)ench. "  This  was  not  Newton  Academy,  for 
he  had  already  recorded  the  fact  that  he  knew  the  Rev. 
Ceorge  Newton  in  November,  1800.  Besides,  Newton  Acad- 
emy was  more  than  three  miles  from  Killion's.  Just  where 
this  school  house  was  seems  to  have  escaped  the  knowledge 
of  all  our  local  historians. 

Silas  McDowell.  He  was  born  in  York  District,  S.  C, 
in  1795,  and  for  three  sessions  was  a  student  at  Newton 
Academy,  near  Asheville.  He  was  apprenticed  to  learn  the 
tailor's  trade  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  worked  as  such  at 
Morganton  and  Asheville.  He  married  a  niece  of  Governor 
Swain,  and  moved  to  Macon  county  in  1830,  where  for  sixteen 
years  he  was  clerk  of  Superior  court.  He  was  a  practical 
mineralogist  and  geologist,  botanist  and  a  scientist  of  original 
views.  His  descriptions  of  mountain  peaks  attracted  much 
attention;  but  his  "Theory  of  the  Thermal  Zone"  gave  him 
great  reputation  and  was  published  in  the  Agricultural  Re- 
ports of  the  United  States.  He  died  in  Macon  county, 
July  14,  1879. 

A  Benevolent  "Squeers. "^^  A  most  unique  character 
among  the  teachers  of  that  day  was  Robert  Woods  or  "Uncle 
Baldy,"  as  he  was  generally  called,  for  his  head  was  bald  as  a 
door  knob  with  the  exception  of  a  light  fringe  at  the  base  of 
his  cranium.  Although  a  finished  classical  scholar  and  per- 
fect in  mathematics  as  well  as  all  the  higher  branches  taught 
in  that  day,  he  would  not  teach  in  the  higher  schools,  but 
preferred  to  labor  in  what  was  then  known  as  the  "old  field," 
where  there  was  seldom  anything  taught  but  the  elementary 
branches — such  as  spelling,  reading,  writing  "ciphering." 
Occasionally  he  would  have  a  boy  who  wanted  to  take  a  little 
Latin  or  Greek,  or  the  higher  mathematics,  which  he  was 
thoroughly  competent  to  teach.  He  was  singular  and  very 
economical  in  his  notions  of  dress.  He  made  one  suit  last 
him  for  many  years.  I  can  see  him  now  in  imagination,  with 
a  long  tail  blue  jeans  coat  that  came  down  to  his  knees  and 
which  had  seen  service  so  long  that  the  threads  of  white  fill- 
ing were  showing  plainly.  The  collar  was  large  and  when 
turned  up  came  nearly  to  the  top  of  his  head.     His  pants 


428        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

were  of  heavy  "linsey  woolsey"  of  deep  brown  color  and  very 
baggy.  His  vest  was  of  the  same  material  and  buttoned  up 
to  his  chin,  with  a  good  flap  at  the  top,  his  shirts  were  of  heavy 
red  or  purple  flannel,  his  shoes  were  of  a  style  of  heavy  home 
made  comfortable  brogan  that  were  very  generally  worn  in 
that  day.  This  was  his  dress  and  the  only  one  I  ever  saw 
him  wear.  When  he  was  not  hearing  recitations  he  constantly 
walked  the  floor  of  the  school  room  from  end  to  end  with  a 
swinging  walk  with  his  hands  crossed  upon  his  back  and  in 
one  of  them  a  six  foot  birch  "tidivator, "  and  when  he  would 
catch  a  boy  with  his  eyes  wandering  or  at  meanness  he  would 
give  him  a  keen  rap  across  the  shoulders  and  say  in  a  savage 
tone,  "mind  your  book."  In  the  summer  time  when  the 
flies  were  bad  he  would  tie  a  large  red  bandanna  handkerchief 
over  his  head  which  he  could  arrange  something  after  the  fash- 
ion of  a  woman's  sunbonnet  and  thus  he  could  save  fighting 
the  flies,  but  with  all  his  queer  ways  and  habits  he  was  a  most 
excellent,  useful  and  successful  teacher  and  a  good  old  gen- 
tleman. For  many  years  he  taught  acceptably  in  various 
parts  of  this  county. 

First  School  House  in  Ashe.  The  first  school  house  in 
Jefferson  was  of  logs  and  stood  on  a  branch  in  the  eastern  end 
of  Jefferson  in  a  lot  owned  by  Felix  Barr,  just  left  of  the  black- 
smith shop.  He  removed  it  in  1873  or  1874.  A  fine  spring 
is  near  the  former  site. 

BuRNSviLLE  Academy.  In  1851  Rev.  Stephen  B.  Adams, 
now  deceased,  of  the  Methodist  Church,  established  the  Burns- 
ville  Academy  and  taught  there  several  years.  He  was  the 
father  of  Judge  Joseph  S.  Adams,  also  now  deceased.  Out 
of  this  grew 

Mars  Hill  College,  which  was  established  by  the  most 
prominent  members  of  the  Baptist  denomination  in  1857, 
after  realizing  the  necessity  for  such  a  college.  Thomas  Ray, 
John  Radford,  E.  D.  Carter,  Daniel  Carter,  Stephen  Ammons, 
Shepard  Deaver,  Rev.  J.  W.  Anderson  and  Rev.  Humphrey 
Deweese  were  prominent  in  establishing  this  institution. 
During  part  of  the  Civil  War  the  buildings  were  used  by  the 
soldiers,  but  after  the  close  of  that  struggle  the  buildings  were 
repaired  and  others  added.  It  has  done  and  still  is  doing 
great  good. 

Weaverville    College   was   established    by   the    Metho- 


SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  429 

(list  Church,  South,  about  the  year  1856.  It  is  situated  on  land 
where  formerly  camp  meetings  were  hekl.  It  has  been  greatly 
enlarged  and  imjiroved  of  late  years.  It  is  co-educational. 
It  has  done  excellent  work  in  the  past  and  continues  to  do  the 
same  iu)w. 

AsHEviLLE  ]\Iale  Academy.  In  1847-48  the  citizens  of 
Asheville  erected  a  brick  l)uilding  on  the  north  side  of 
what  is  now  College  street  about  a  hundred  yards  east 
of  Oak.  It  stood  till  August,  1912,  when  it  was  removed. 
In  it  Prof.  James  H.  Norwood  taught  till  about  1850,  when 
he  removed  to  Waynesville,  where  he  remained  till  shortly 
before  the  Civil  War,  when,  having  been  appointed  Indian 
agent  in  the  Northwest,  he  removed  there  and  was  afterwards 
killed  by  the  Indians.  During  part  of  the  time  he  taught  at 
this  academy  Col.  Stephen  Lee  also  taught  there,  but  soon 
removed  to  Chunn's  cove. 

Asheville  Female  College.  About  1850  or  1851  this 
college  was  established  on  the  land  now  bounded  on  the  north 
by  Woodfin,  on  the  east  by  Locust,  on  the  south  by  College  and 
on  the  west  by  Oak  streets.  Part  of  it  is  used  as  a  hotel  and 
the  remainder  is  now  the  high  school's  property.  At  first 
it  was  Holston  Conference  Female  College,  but  was  afterwards 
known  as  the  Asheville  Female  College,  and  subsequently  as 
the  Asheville  College  for  Women.  It  prospered  and  had  a 
large  patronage  from  the  start  under  the  presidency  of  Dr. 
John  M.  Carlisle,  Dr.  Anson  W.  Cummings,  Dr.  James  S. 
Kennedy,  Dr.  R.  N.  Price,  Dr.  James  Atkins,  Mr.  Archibald 
Jones. 

Asheville  School  for  Girls.  This  was  begun  in  1911, 
with  Miss  Ford  as  principal,  assisted  by  several  competent 
teachers.  It  occupies  the  handsome  and  commodious  resi- 
dence built  by  Col.  N.  W.  Woodfin  at  the  corner  of  North 
Main  and  Woodfin  streets,  Asheville,  and  enlarged  by  the  late 
Dr.  J.  H.  Burroughs. 

Sulphur  Springs  School.  William  Hawkins  taught  in 
the  school  house  on  the  hill  above  Sulphur  Springs  from 
1838  till  long  after  1845.  A  school  had  been  maintained  at 
that  place  by  Robert  Henry's  influence  and  largely  at  his  ex- 
pense since  1836.  The  grave  yard  still  there  is  just  back  of 
the  place  where  the  old  school  house  stood.  The  late  Riley 
Cannon,  the  Jones,  Hawkins  and  Moore  children  attended 
school  there  in  the  old  days. 


430        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Mrs.  Hutsell's  Girls'  School.  Mrs.  Hutsell,  the  wife 
of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hutsell,  a  Methodist  preacher,  taught  a  school 
for  girls  about  four  miles  west  of  Sulphur  Springs  from  1840  to 
1853,  and  took  some  of  the  scholars  to  board  at  her  house. 
Her  husband  and  Francis  Marion  Wells  of  Grassy  Creek, 
Madison  county,  were  brothers-in-law. 

"Order  of  the  Holy  Cross"  at  Valle  Crucis.  ^'  In 
1840  a  gentleman  from  New  York,  in  search  of  rare  wild  flow- 
ers, wandered  into  Valle  Crucis.  He  called  this  beautiful 
vale  to  the  attention  of  Bishop  Levi  S.  Ives  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  who,  on  July  20,  1842,  held  services  there 
and  promised  to  send  a  missionary.  In  December,  1842, 
Rev.  Henry  H.  Prout  arrived  and  began  work  in  the  Lower 
Settlement,  near  the  Tennessee  line.  In  August,  1843,  Bishop 
Ives  returned  and  purchased  125  acres  of  land  which  was 
subsequently  increased  to  2,000  acres.  His  first  intention 
was  to  "make  this  valley  an  important  center  of  work  for  the 
entire  diocese,  to  include  a  missionary  station,  a  training 
school  for  the  ministry,  and  a  classical  and  agricultural  school 
for  boys."  The  necessary  buildings  having  been  constructed 
in  1844,  school  was  opened  early  in  1845,  with  thirty  boys 
which  number  increased  to  fifty  during  that  summer.  Rev. 
Mr.  Thurston  was  at  the  head  of  the  mission  and  of  the  school. 
There  were  seven  candidates  for  the  ministry,  several  of  whom 
were  assistant  teachers.  Upon  the  death  of  Mr.  Thurston 
the  Rev.  Jarvis  Buxton,  then  a  candidate  for  holy  orders, 
took  charge  of  the  school  and  Mr.  Prout  carried  on  the  mis- 
sionary work.  But  Dr.  Buxton  removed  to  Asheville  in  1847, 
where  he  became  rector  of  Trinity  church,  resigning  that  posi- 
tion in  March,  1890.  This  withdrawal  from  Valle  Crucis 
was  in  consequence  of  the  introduction  into  the  mission  of 
Valle  Crucis  by  Bishop  Ives,  in  June  1847,  of  the  "Order  of 
the  Holy  Cross,"  planned  by  himself  and  which  he  intended, 
it  was  said,  to  develop  into  a  monastic  institution.  The 
Bishop  was  the  General  of  the  Order,  the  members  of  which 
were  divided  into  three  classes:  those  in  the  abbey  at  Valle 
Crucis  only  taking  the  mediaeval  vows  of  chastity,  poverty 
and  obedience;  others  taking  lighter  vows;  and  some  taking 
Hghter  vows  still. 

Both  the  clergy  and  laity  might  belong  to  either  class. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  French  was  appointed  Superior,  Mr.  Buxton 


SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  431 

having   doclincHl    the   appointment.     Many   divinity   students 
became  eonnectetl  with  the  order,  but  none  of  them  alian- 
doned    the   church.     The   chapel    having   been   ^lestroyed    by 
fire,  the  little  band  rebuilt  it  by  themselves,  locating  it  in  a 
little  grove  at  the  foot  of  a  hill.     Instead  of  bells  a  bugle  was 
used  to  summon  them  to  worship,  and  to  work.     Rev.  Wil- 
liam West  Skyles  of  Hertford  county,  had  joined  the  mission  in 
18-14  as  a  farmer,  and  was  ordained  a  deacon  in  August,  1847.   He 
was  now  called  "Brother  William,"  while  the  Rev.  Mr.  French 
was  addressed  as  "Father  William."     All  were  required  to 
work  the  farm  two  hours  every  day.     But  reports  of  the  new 
order  had  spread  through   the  diocese,   funds   had   failed  to 
arrive,  but  the  committee  on  the  State  of  the  church  at  the 
convention  held  at  Wilmington  in  1848,  favored  the  mission, 
saying  that  its  importance  "is  immense  as  the  nursery  of  a 
future  ministry  because  of  its  retirement,     ...      its  hardy 
and  useful  discipline  and  great  economy. "     At  the  convention 
held  at  Salisbury  in  May,  1849,  Bishop  Ives  gave  assurance 
that  "at  this  religious  house  no  doctrine  will  be  taught  or 
practice  allowed"  not  in  accord  with  the  principles  and  usages 
of  the   church,    "the   property  of  the   establishment  having 
been  secured  to  the  church  for  the  use  of  the  mission  on  the 
specified   conditions."     At  a  later  day  the  Bishop  declared 
that  from  the  date  of  the  convention  at  Salisbury  the  order 
had  been  dissolved.     Its  regular  existence,  therefore,  scarcely 
covered  two  years.     The  committee  on  the  state  of  the  church 
having  reported  in  1849  that  they  had  assurances  on  which 
they  could  rely  that  "no  society  whose  character,  rules  and 
practices  are  at  variance  with  the  spirit  if  not  with  the  laws 
of  this  church  is  at  present  in  existence  in  this  diocese,"   the 
convention    ordered    1,000   copies   of   the   report   distributed 
throughout  the  diocese.     In  July,  1849,  Bishop  Ives  visited 
Valle  Crucis,  however,  and  addressed  a  pastoral  letter  to  the 
diocese  which  was  considered  a  defiance  and  a  partial  retrac- 
tion of  the  assurances  he  had  given  the  convention  during 
the    previous    May.     Consequently,    funds    for    the    mission 
almost  entirely  ceased,  and  some  of  the  students  sought  work 
elsewhere.     Mr.  French  left  the  mission  in  the  winter  of  1850 
and  Bishop  Ives  appointed  the  Rev.  George  Wetmore  to  take 
charge  of  Valle  Crucis.     At  the  convention  of  18.50,  held  at 
Elizabeth  City  in  May,  Bishop  Ives  alluded  to  his  assurances 


432        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

of  1849,  in  which  he  had  denied  private  confession,  absolution 
and  Christ's  real  presence  in  the  Eucharist,  etc.,  and  still 
claimed  that  there  had  been  no  heresy  or  schism.  A  committee 
in  1851  investigated  Valle  Crucis  and  reported  that  the  Bish- 
op's explanation  was  satisfactor3\ 

Bishop  Ives  visited  Valle  Crucis  in  the  summer  of  1852 
and  consecrated  Easter  chapel  above  Shull's  Mills.  In  Sep- 
tember, 1852,  he  asked  for  SI, 000  and  six  months'  leave 
of  absence.  He  sailed  for  Europe  and  on  the  22d  of  December, 
1852,  he  resigned  as  bishop  and  declared  his  "intention  to 
make  his  submission  to  the  church  of  Rome. "  He  had  been 
bishop  over  twenty  years.  Dr.  Thomas  Atkinson,  who  had 
been  rector  of  Grace  church,  Baltimore,  was  elected  to  suc- 
ceed him  May  22,  1853.  The  title  of  the  Valle  Crucis  property 
was  never  in  the  Episcopal  church.  It  was  sold  by  Dr.  Ives' 
legal  representatives  to  Robert  Miller  who  worked  the  mis- 
sion grounds  as  a  farm. 

The  little  chapel  which  Rev.  Mr.  Skiles  had  succeeded  in 
having  built  on  Lower  Watauga  at  a  cost  of  $700,  was 
consecrated  by  Bishop  Atkinson  August  22,  1862.  Mr. 
Skiles,  who  had  done  many  deeds  of  charity  and  love,  died  at  the 
home  of  Col.  J.  B.  Palmer  near  what  is  now  Altamont,  in 
Avery  county,  December  8,  1862.  His  remains  were  interred 
in  the  churchyard  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  December  18, 
1862.  This  chapel  was  removed  in  1882  to  a  spot  higher  up 
the  Watauga  river,  near  St.  Jude  postoffice,  and  in  1889  Mr. 
Skiles'  remains  were  re-interred  in  the  new  churchyard  under 
the  direction  of  Rev.  George  Bell  of  Asheville. 

The  Episcopal  church  has  purchased  a  large  part  of  the 
original  mission  property  and  now  maintains  a  flourishing 
school  for  girls  there.  The  buildings  are  large,  handsome 
and  modern,  the  orchards  and  farms  are  well  cultivated  and 
the  work  accomplished  is  uplifting  and  enduring.  The  prin- 
cipal credit  for  this  work  is  due  Right  Reverend  Junius  M. 
Horner,  Bishop  of  Asheville,  who  since  his  consecration  in 
1900  has  been  untiring  in  building  up  at  this  favored  spot  a 
useful  and  elevating  school  for  girls.  An  investigation  of 
this  work  and  the  success  which  is  already  evident  will  con- 
vince the  most  skeptical  of  its  value  and  importance. 

Valle  Crucis  School  for  Girls.  "  The  school  property 
consists  of  a  farm  of  500  acres,  woodlands,  apple  orchards, 


SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  433 

dairy  farm,  vcgetahlo  garcU'ii  and  poultry  yard.  It  is  in 
Watauga  county.  There  are  two  fine  buildings,  Auxiliary 
Hall  and  Auchnuity  Hall.  Auxiliary  Hall  was  built  with 
that  portion  of  money  given  the  Bishop  of  Asheville,  Rt.  Rev. 
Junius  yi.  Horner,  from  the  united  ofl'erings  of  1901,  added 
to  other  smaller  gifts.  It  is  a  frame  building  of  handsome 
proportions,  and  contains  the  assembly  hall  for  the  school 
and  six  class  rooms  on  the  first  floor;  the  dining  room  and 
kitchen  on  the  second  floor;  and  a  dormitory  for  two  teachers 
and  twelve  girls,  on  the  third  floor,  with  linen  closets  and  bath 
rooms  adjoining. 

"Auchmuty  Hall  is  the  regular  dormitory  building  for  the 
school.  It  is  built  of  concrete  blocks,  and  has  thirty  rooms 
with  capacity  for  six  teachers  and  sixty  girls.  The  ground 
floor  has  office  for  the  principal,  a  living  room,  and  a  prayer 
room,  where  daily  morning  and  evening  prayers  are  said.  This 
building  was  put  up  at  a  cost  of  $15,000,  the  gift  of  friends 
personally  interested  in  the  school  and  missionary  work. 
These  buildings  are  well  designed  for  school  purposes  and  those 
in  authority  are  diligent  in  carrying  out  the  deliberately 
planned  policy  of  the  school,  viz. :  that  of  making  this  a  model 
school  industry,  that  shall  be  sufficiently  economic  to  be  self- 
supporting  after  the  equipment  of  $50,000  is  completed 
and  an  endo\\'ment  of  $50,000  is  added  to  insure  the  sal- 
aries of  the  necessarj^  teachers  in  the  school.  It  is  the  policy 
of  the  Bishop  of  Asheville  to  have  here  an  industrial  school 
which  will  educate  women,  home  makers,  so  that  the  growing 
generation  of  men  and  women  from  the  Appalachian  mountains 
shall  be  the  type  known  as  'faithful  unto  death.' 

"  Half  a  century  ago  a  school  for  boys  was  opened  at  Valle 
Crucis  by  Bishop  Ives  who  named  the  place  because  of  the 
natural  formation  of  the  valleys,  Valle  Crucis,  or  the  Vale  of 
the  Cross. 

"  The  property  of  the  school,  however,  was  lost  to  the  church 
until  a  few  years  ago  when  sufficient  interest  in  the  mountain 
region  was  awakened  to  enable  the  church  to  buy  back  the 
best  portions  of  the  old  school  farm  and  commence  the  erec- 
tion of  the  present  industrial  school." 

Skyland  Institute  at  Blowing  Rock  was  established  about 
twenty-five  years  ago  (1891)  by  Miss  E.  C.  Prudden,  and  is 
supported  by  the  American  Missionary  Association.  It  is  a 
girls'  school  with  industrial  training. 

W.  N.  C— 28 


434        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Mast  Seminary.  This  is  at  Mast  postoffice  on  Cove  creek, 
Watauga,  and  is  the  gift  of  Mr.  N.  L.  Mast  to  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church.  It  is  only  a  little  over  two  years  old,  but  will 
flourish.     Both  sexes  taught. 

Watauga  Academy.  This  was  established  in  the  summer 
of  1899  by  Messers  D.  D.  and  B.  B.  Daugherty  at  Boone, 
their  childhood  home.  They  are  brothers.  ^  *  The  Dougherty 
family,  both  men  and  women,  not  only  in  Ashe  and  Watauga, 
but  in  Johnson  county,  Tenn.,  also,  have  for  years  been  zeal- 
ous in  the  work  of  education,  religion  and  the  uplift  of  their 
States.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  Appalachian  Training 
School. 

Cove  Creek  Academy.  Twenty  years  ago  (1893)  this 
useful  and  successful  school  in  the  western  part  of  Watauga 
county,  was  presided  over  by  Mr.  Julius  C.  Martin,  now  a 
distinguished  lawyer  of  Asheville.  It  flourished  under  his 
management  as  principal,  and  has  continued  on  the  road  to 
success. 

Asheville  Free  Kindergarten.  Miss  Sara  Garrison  was 
a  teacher  in  1889  in  a  kindergarten  school  in  the  factory 
district.  In  the  same  year  an  association  was  formed  and 
two  kindergartens  established  and  placed  in  charge  of  Miss 
Garrison  and  IVIiss  Slack  of  Baltimore.  They  were  so  suc- 
cessful that  a  training  school  was  established  for  fitting  women 
to  teach  such  schools,  and  Mrs.  Orpha  Quale  of  Indian- 
apolis taught  a  class  of  eight  young  ladies.  Four  kindergar- 
tens were  in  operation.  Mr.  George  W.  Pack  having  donated 
a  school  building  necessitated  the  incorporation  of  the  asso- 
ciation in  1892.  He  met  most  of  the  expenses  of  one  of  the 
teachers  who  worked  at  half  rates  rather  than  have  the  school 
suspend.  In  1894  only  two  kindergartens  were  in  operation 
and  Mr.  George  W.  Vanderbilt  opened  another  for  colored 
children  in  the  Young  Men's  Institute  at  his  own  expense. 
A  New  England  lady  secured  $200  from  friends  in  Boston 
and  the  Asheville  board  of  aldermen  gave  $150  for  a  kinder- 
garten to  be  re-estabhshed  in  the  factory  district.  The  public 
kindergartens  were  suspended  for  want  of  funds  in  the  year 
1912,  but  arrangements  have  been  made  to  re-open  them. 

BuRNSviLLE  Baptist  College.  About  the  time  the 
Presbyterians  established  their  college  at  Burnsville  the  Bap- 
tists erected  a  large  and  handsome  set  of  college  buildings, 
which  have  done  a  great  work  ever  since. 


SCMOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  435 

Bingham  School  was  founded  in  1793,  at  Mebaneville, 
N.  C,  by  Rev.  Wni.  Bingham,  who  was  succeeded  by  the  late 
W.  J.  Bingliam,  and  he  by  the  late  Col.  Wm.  Bingham.  After 
the  death  of  the  last  named,  in  1873,  Major  Robert  Bingham 
became  superintendent.  The  military  feature,  introduced 
during  the  Civil  War,  has  been  retained.  This  school  was 
removed  to  Ashevillo  under  Col.  Robert  Bingham's  super- 
intendence in  the  fall  of  1891;  though  the  original  Bingham 
School,  as  it  is  claimed,  continues  to  flourish  at  Mebaneville. 
Both  schools  are  doing  well. 

Rural  Libraries.  Small  but  carefully  chosen  libraries 
have  been  placed  in  our  country  schools.  This  means  that 
six  hundred  thousand  country  children  have  such  opportun- 
ities of  enriching  their  lives  by  reading  as  were  never  before 
offered  to  the  young  people  of  North  Carolina. 

Alleghany  Schools.  Sparta  has  had  a  high  school  almost 
from  the  beginning  of  the  town.  Prof.  Brown  having  located 
there  in  1870,  and  with  the  exception  of  short  intervals,  has 
had  charge  of  it  ever  since.  There  are  also  a  good  many 
academy  buildings  at  Whitehead,  Laurel  Springs,  Scott- 
ville,  Piney  Creek,  Elk  Creek  and  Turkey  Knob.  In  1909 
the  Orange  Presbytery  established  a  high  school  at  Glade 
Valley,  there  being  four  buildings,  all  steam-heated  and  mod- 
ernly  equipped. 

Baptist  ^Mountain  Missions  and  Schools.  Mr.  A.  E. 
Brown  has  furnished  a  list  of  schools  which  are  maintained 
by  the  Home  Mission  Board  of  the  Southern  Baptist  Church. 
A  tract  gives  the  following  information: 

"  Some  Mountain  Mission  School  work  in  this  region  is  being  done  by 
Northern  Methodists,  the  CongregationaHsts,  the  Disciples  and  the 
Southern  Presbyterians.  Aside  from  the  work  done  by  Southern  Bap- 
tists, however,  the  Northern  Presbyterians  are  doing  the  largest  Moun- 
tain Mission  School  work  in  the  South.  Here  and  there  in  the  moun- 
tain region  Baptists  have  tried  to  operate  schools  all  along  during  the 
past,  but  not  until  the  Home  Mission  Board  put  the  denomination  be- 
hind the  educational  efforts  in  the  mountains  was  there  any  perma- 
nency in  the  work.  The  people  have  responded  nobly  to  the  leadership 
and  backing  furnished  by  the  Home  Board.  Southern  Baptists  are 
probably  better  equipped  for  this  work  than  any  other  denomination. 
This  is  ground  on  which  to  base  a  deepened  sense  of  responsibility  and 
not  ground  for  any  unworthy  pride. 

"  To  sum  up  :  There  are  more  white  people  per  square  mile  in  the 
mountains  than  in  any  region  of  equal  size  in  the  South.     The  isolation 


436        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

of  the  mountains  is  for  lack  of  means  for  inter-communication,  and  not 
for  lack  of  people. 

"  There  are  more  native  born  American  whites  ready  to  be  trained  and 
to  profit  by  training  in  this  district  than  in  any  other." 

The  schools  in  the  mountains  of  North  Carolina  follow: 

"  Mars  Hill  College,  Mars  Hill.  Five  buildings,  nine  teachers,  360  stu- 
dents; territory,  Madison  county  and  part  of  Buncombe;  draws  students 
from  every  section  of  the  South. 

"  Yancey  Institute,  Burnsville.  Four  buildings,  five  teachers,  261  stu- 
dents; territory,  Yancey  county. 

"  Mitchell  Institute,  Bakersville.  Two  buildings  (with  the  third  to  be 
erected  in  the  near  future),  four  teachers,  140  students;  territory,  Mitchell 
and  Avery  counties. 

"  Fruitland  Institute,  Hendersonville.  Four  buildings,  seven  teachers, 
221  students;  territory,  Hendersonville,  Transj^lvania  and  Polk  counties. 

"  Round  Hill  Academy,  Union  Mills.  Three  buildings,  six  teachers, 
169  students;  territory,  Rutherford  and  McDowell  counties. 

"  Haywood  Institute,  Clyde,  N.  C.  Two  buildings,  four  teachers,  80 
students;  territory,  Haywood  county. 

"  Sylva  Institute,  Sylva.  Four  buildings,  three  teachers,  87  students; 
territory,  Jackson  and  Macon  counties. 

"  Murphy  Institute,  Murphy.  Three  buildings,  three  teachers,  96  stu- 
dents; territory,  Cherokee  and  Clay  counties,  N.  C,  and  Polk  county, 
Tennessee." 

John  O.  Hicks,  Pedagogue.  ^  ^  John  0.  Hicks,  originally 
from  Tennessee,  built  a  school  at  Hayesville  just  at  the  close 
of  the  Civil  War  that  has  been  a  noted  high-school  ever  since. 
Hicks,  after  some  thirty  years  of  successful  teaching,  turned 
the  school  over  to  N.  A.  Fessenden  of  Boston,  Mass.,  and 
went  to  Walhalla,  South  Carolina,  and  after  a  few  years 
teaching  at  that  place  moved  to  Texas,  where  he  died  in  1910. 

The  same  school  that  John  0.  Hicks  organized  and  built 
up  at  Hayesville  is  still  in  operation  with  an  enrollment  of 
over  two  hundred.  The  influence  that  has  gone  out  from  this 
school  has  permeated  the  whole  county  until  the  public  schools 
of  the  county  are  unsurpassed.  From  this  school  have  gone 
out  hundreds  of  men  and  women  who  are  prominent  over  the 
United  States.  Among  them  are  the  Revs.  Ferd.  McConnell, 
Geo.  W.  Truett  and  T.  F.  Marr;  the  Doctors  W.  S.,  M.  H., 
and  W.  E.  Sanderson  of  Texas  and  Oklahoma ;  lawyers, 
O.  L.  Anderson,  J.  H.  and  Luther  Truett  and  the  lamented 
Judge  Fred  Moore. 

Appalachian  Training  School  was  incorporated  in 
1903,  succeeding  the  private  school  of  Professors  B.  B.  and 


SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  437 


D.  I).  Dougherty,  ;it  Boone.  It  began  in  1899  when  SI, 500 
was  appropriatetl  on  condition  that  an  equal  sum  should 
be  providetl  from  private  sources.  In  addition,  §2,000  per 
annum  was  appropriated  for  maintenance.  With  the  first 
S3, 000  appropriated  the  present  brick  administration  build- 
ing was  started.  Other  appropriations  followed  and  other 
buildings  were  erectetl  until  in  1911  the  maintenance  fund  was 
increased  to  S10,000  per  annum  for  all  succeeding  years. 
There  have  been  contributions  from  people  in  every  State 
east  of  the  Mississippi  river  except  from  New  England.  There 
are  now  500  acres  of  valuable  land,  six  large  buildings,  farm 
houses  and  barns,  two  dormitories  and  a  mess  hall.  There 
are  three  sessions  annually  of  four  and  a  half  months  in  the 
fall  and  spring,  and  two  and  a  half  months  in  summer.  Aver- 
age attendance  is  200,  while  over  400  were  taught  in  1911. 
There  is  a  full  faculty.  Board  for  women  is  S6.50  and  for  boys 
$7.50  per  month.  In  1913  the  legislature  appropriated 
$15,000  to  erect  a  brick  dormitory  for  girls  capable  of  holding 
200  students.     It  is  in  course  of  erection. 

A  Camp  School.  There  is  a  summer  camp  which  comes 
to  Bryson  City  every  summer,  and  is  situated  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Tuckaseegee  river  about  half  a  mile  below  the 
to^vn.  It  is  composed  of  boys  from  various  colleges  who  thus 
pursue  their  studies  through  the  summer.  They  live  in  tents, 
but  the  kitchen  and  mess  hall  are  of  wood.  The  professors 
have  their  families  with  them  and  live  in  the  same  camps. 

Solitude,  or  Ashland.  Toward  the  close  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  Professor  F.  M.  Wautenpaugh  of  Omaha, 
Neb.,  succeeded  in  having  a  large  and  convenient  building 
erected  on  a  high  hill  overlooking  Solitude,  and  for  four  or 
five  years  conducted  a  business  college  and  high  school  most 
satisfactorily.  But  the  stockholders  grew  impatient  for  a 
dividend  on  the  money  they  had  invested  in  the  enterprise 
and  the  school  closed.  It  is  now  o\vned  by  a  religious  society 
popularly  kno\\Ti  as  the  Holiness  People.  A  religious  paper, 
called  The  Sword  of  the  Lord,  is  published  monthly  at  Solitude 
by  Rev.  E.  L.  Stewart.  There  is  also  a  public  school  house, 
neat  and  attractive,  which  is  attended  by  about  140  children. 

Baptist  High  School,  Murphy.  The  Baptist  high  school 
occupying  the  site  of  the  former  residence  of  the  late  Ben 
Posey,  Esq.,  a  distinguished  lawyer,  was  built  in  1906-7,  and 


438        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

afterwards  enlarged.  There  are  dormitories  and  other  build- 
ings. It  is  in  the  southern  part  of  towTi,  about  half  a  mile 
from  the  court  house. 

The  Murphy  Graded  School.  The  Murphy  graded 
school  cost  S30,000  and  stands  on  Valley  River  avenue 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  to-wm,  midway  between  Murphy  and 
East  Murphy.  It  is  built  after  the  colonial  style  and  overlooks 
Valley  river  from  its  site  on  a  splendid  elevation.  It  has 
twelve  class  rooms,  a  library,  an  auditorium,  a  principal's 
office,  closets,  electric  lights  and  water.  It  was  built  in  1909 
and  is  a  credit  to  the  community. 

CuLLOWHEE  Normal  and  Industrial  School.  "  In 
1888,  a  number,  of  the  leading  citizens  of  Cullowhee,  desirous 
of  a  better  school  than  the  ordinary  public  school  of  that  day, 
organized  themselves  into  a  board  of  trustees  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  what  was  to  be  known  as  the  Cullowhee  High 
School.  They  procured  the  services  of  Prof.  Robert  L.  Mad- 
ison as  principal,  and  under  his  leadership  and  supervision 
the  school  began  to  flourish  and  make  rapid  progress.  In  1893, 
the  institution  was  recognized  by  the  State,  and  through  the 
efforts  of  Hon.  Walter  E.  Moore,  representative  from  Jack- 
son, an  appropriation  was  secured  for  the  purpose  of  establish- 
ing a  Normal  department  of  the  school  for  the  training  of 
teachers.  At  the  session  of  the  General  Assembly,  in  1905, 
through  the  efforts  of  Hon.  Fehx  E.  Alley,  representative 
from  Jackson,  the  appropriations  were  still  further  increased 
and  the  name  of  the  school  was  changed  to  Cullowhee  Normal 
and  Industrial  School,  the  institution  then  becoming  a  State 
school  for  the  training  of  teachers. 

"The  State  has  recently  erected  a  large  and  commodious 
home  for  young  ladies.  The  building  was  designed  by  a  com- 
petent architect,  is  well  furnished,  and  is  equipped  with  water 
works,  steam  heat  and  electric  lights.  The  administration 
building  is  furnished  with  patent  desks  and  chairs,  is  lighted 
by  electricity  and  heated  by  steam.  The  handsome  audi- 
torium is  seated  uath  opera  chairs  and  will  accommodate  six 
hundred  persons.  The  institution  has  a  newly  installed 
sewerage  system  and  is  supplied  with  an  abundance  of  pure 
water  from  distant  mountain  springs.  The  electric  light  and 
steam  heating  plants  are  both  located  on  the  school  grounds 
and  owned  and  operated  by  the  institution. 


SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  439 

**  The  supreme  purpose  of  the  school  is  the  development  and 
training  of  teachers.  It  proposes  not  only  to  give  the  student 
training  in  the  funtlanientul  and  cultural  branches  of  study, 
but  so  to  train  him  or  her  as  to  prepare  them  to  teach. " 

Mission  Work  of  Northern  Presbyterians.  In  the 
summer  of  1884  Dr.  Thomas  Lawrence  was  a  guest  of  Rev. 
L.  M.  Pease,  originally  of  New  York  city,  who,  with  his  wife,  had 
fountlcd  the  famous  Five  Points  mission  in  New  York  city,  but 
who  had  removed  to  Asheville  in  the  seventies,  and  had  started 
and  was  then  conducting  a  school  for  girls.  On  a  drive  into  the 
country  Dr.  Lawrence  was  impressed  with  the  fine  looks  and  intel- 
ligence of  some  boys  he  saw  at  a  school,  and  Mr.  Pease  offered 
to  devote  all  his  landed  property  near  Asheville  for  a  training 
school  for  girls  of  the  vicinage.  At  that  time  the  Home 
Mission  Board  was  seeking  a  location  for  some  such  training 
school.  The  result  of  this  conversation  was  the  transfer  of  this 
property  to  the  Home  Mission  Board.  The  late  Mrs.  D.  Stuart 
Dodge  was  active  and  influential  in  effecting  this.  The  terms 
were  satisfactory  to  all  concerned, and  a  life  armuity  from  the  pri- 
vate purse  of  the  Rev.  D.  Stuart  Dodge,  D.  D.,  of  New  York, 
having  been  secured  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pease,  the  Home  Industrial 
school  was  soon  thereafter  organized,  in  1887,  with  Mr.  Pease 
as  superintendent  and  JMiss  Florence  Stephenson  as  principal, 
a  position  she  still  holds.  The  success  of  this  school  encour- 
aged the  evangelization  of  the  mountain  region  and  the  Nor- 
mal and  Collegiate  Institute  was  opened  in  September,  1892, 
with  Dr.  Lawrence  as  president  and  Mrs.  Lawrence  as  prin- 
cipal, with  a  faculty  of  fourteen  expert  teachers  and  officers, 
on  part  of  the  Pease  property.  Dr.  Lawrence  retired  when 
he  reached  seventy-five  years  of  age  in  1907,  and  Prof.  E.  P. 
Childs  succeeded  him.  Thereafter  five  other  boarding  schools 
have  been  established  in  this  section,  it  being  the  policy  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  to  hand  these  flourishing  schools  to  their 
respective  conununities  just  as  soon  as  they  are  able  to  assume 
the  expense  and  responsibility  of  their  support  and  manage- 
ment. Of  the  twenty-two  elementary  day  schools  planted 
during  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  in  the  more  sequestered 
and  needy  communities  seven  have  been  successfully  trans- 
ferred to  local  public  school  authorities.  The  remaining 
fifteen  are  still  doing  good  work;  while  in  four  other  centers 
additional   social,    kindergarten   and   Sabbath  school  work  is 


440        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

being  done  under  the  management  of  the  board.  Miss  Flor- 
ence Stephenson,  Miss  Mary  Johns,  Miss  Julia  Phillips,  Miss 
Frances  Goodrich,  Dr.  J.  P.  Roger,  a  Christian  physician,  have 
done  a  great  work  for  our  people  and  their  names  are  house- 
hold words  in  many  a  mountain  cabin.  Dr.  G.  S.  Basker- 
ville  made  a  success  of  the  farm  school  on  the  Swannanoa 
river,  after  the  school  had  been  organized  by  Prof.  Samuel 
Jeffries,  a  graduate  of  the  agricultural  department  of  Cornell 
University,  in  1893.  Dr.  J.  P.  Roger  is  in  charge  of  the  farm 
school  now. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  schools  and  churches  estab- 
lished in  Western  North  Carolina,  exclusive  of  those  established 
elsewhere  in  the  South: 

Normal  and  Collegiate  Institute,  1902.  Prof.  E.  P.  Childs, 
president.  Miss  Mary  F.  Hickok,  principal.  Fifteen  teach- 
ers and  officers.     Average  enrollment,  304. 

Home  Industrial  School  (preparatory  to  the  Normal  and 
Collegiate  Institue),  1887.  Miss  Florence  Stephenson, 
principal.  Teachers  and  ofl&cers,  ten.  Average  enrollment, 
140. 

Pease  Home  (for  little  girls),  1908.  Miss  Edith  P.  Thorpe, 
matron.  Adjunct  to  Home  Industrial  School,  and  furnishing 
school  of  practice  for  Normal  and  Collegiate  Institute. 

These  three  boarding  schools  for  girls  occupy,  with  the 
chapel,  manse,  and  superintendent's  home,  the  beautiful 
suburb  of  Asheville,  ceded  by  ^Ir.  Pease.  The  whole  plant 
is  valued  at  S200,000. 

Farm  School,  nine  miles  from  Asheville,  on  the  Swamianoa 
river,  1895,  J.  P.  Rogers,  superintendent.  Sixteen  teachers 
and  officers.  Spacious  school  and  farm  buildings  and  650 
acres  of  fertile  land. 

These  four  flourishing  boarding  schools  form  the  Asheville 
group.  Their  success  has  been  largely  possible  through  the 
wise  counsel  and  constant  beneficence  of  Dr.  D.  Stuart  Dodge, 
New  York  City,  who  inherits  a  name  which  has,  for  three 
generations,  been  synonymous  with  philanthropy. 

Bell  Institute,  Walnut,  IMadison  county,  1908.  Miss  Mar- 
garet E.  Griffith,  principal.  Five  teachers  and  officers. 
Average  attendance,  284;  65  boarders.  Value  of  school  prop- 
erty, $12,000. 

Dorland    Institute,    Hot   Springs,    Madison    county,    1887. 


SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  441 

Establislu^l  by  tlio  late  Dv.  Jjuke  Dorliuul,  in  liis  okl  age, 
after  a  long  life  of  eminent  usefulness  in  other  fields.  Miss 
Julia  E.  Phillips,  principal.  Eleven  teachers  and  officers. 
The  plant  is  valued  at  840,000,  and  provides  school  room  and 
dormitory  accommodations  for  70  girls,  farm  and  home  for 
30  boys,  having,  in  addition,  an  attendance  of  GO  day  pupils. 

Stanly  McCormick  Academy,  Burnsvillc,  Yancey  county. 
Prof.  Lowrie  Corry,  principal.  Seven  teachers  and  officers. 
Six  buildings,  including  school  building,  principal's  home, 
separate  dormitories  for  boys  and  girls.  Average  attendance, 
20G;  50  boarders.  Building  and  grounds  valued  at  $46,000. 
This  prosperous  academy  has  a  magnificent  patron  in  Miss 
Nettie  McCormick,  Chicago,  111. 

Besides  the  schools  of  higher  grade,  above  mentioned,  a 
successful  academy  was  maintained  more  than  ten  years  at 
Marshall,  which  prepared  for  and  subsequently  gave  place 
to  the  excellent  graded  school  now  being  maintained  by  the 
public  authorities. 

In  addition  to  these  boarding  schools,  21  elementary  day 
schools  were  meanwhile  being  planted  in  the  remotest  and  most 
inaccessible  regions,  under  carefully  trained  Christian  teachers — 
fourteen  in  ^Madison,  four  in  Buncombe,  and  three  in  Yan- 
cey county,  tvith  an  average  attendance  of  1,200  pupils,  under 
41  teachers.  The  moneys  invested  in  school  buildings  and 
teachers'  homes,  the  people  contributing  as  they  were  able, 
would  aggregate  830,000. 

In  accordance  with  their  policy,  as  already  remarked,  the 
board,  in  the  more  recent  years,  has  been  gradually  retiring 
from  these  fields  as  the  local  authorities  became  able  and 
willing  to  take  over  the  work.  The  value  of  properties 
in  buildings  and  lands,  held  for  educational  purposes,  including 
the  seven  boarding  and  21  day  schools,  aggregates  $400,000, 
not  to  make  mention  of  the  salaries  of,  on  an  average,  more 
than  100  efficiently  trained  teachers  necessarily  employed. 

Col.  Robert  Bingham,  one  of  the  most  experienced  and 
eminent  educators  of  the  commonwealth,  in  an  article  pub- 
lished in  the  North  American  Review,  refers  to  the  prudence 
and  wisdom  which  has  characterized  the  administration  of 
this  mission  school  work,  and  says,  in  substance:  "Of  all  the 
moneys  donated  by  northern  philanthropists  for  the  better- 
ment of  education  in  the  South,  those  contributed  by  the 


442        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Northern   Presbyterian    Church    has    been    most   judiciously 
and  wisely  expended." 

The  list  of  the  organized  churches  is  as  follows:  Oakland 
Heights,  Asheville,  Buncombe  county;  College  Hill,  Riceville, 
Buncombe  county;  Reems  Creek,  Reems  Creek,  Buncombe 
county;  Brittain's  Cove,  Brittain's  Cove,  Buncombe  county; 
Jupiter,  Jupiter,  Buncombe  county;  Cooper's  Memorial, 
Marshall,  Madison  county;  Barnard,  Barnard,  Madison 
county;  Allanstand,  Allanstand,  Madison  county;  Big  Laurel, 
Big  Laurel,  Madison  county;  Borland  Memorial,  Hot  Springs, 
Madison  county;  Burnsville,  Burnsville,  Yancey  county. 

Southern  Presbyterian  Church  Schools.  ^  ^  Glade 
Valley  School,  near  Sparta;  organized  1910;  boarding  and 
day  school  for  boys  and  girls;  buildings  and  furnishings  worth 
$20,000.  Five  teachers  in  regular  service;  130  students; 
full  academic  course;  board  and  tuition  per  month,  $10. 

Lees-McRae  Institute,  at  Banner  Elk;  established  1901; 
boarding  and  day  school  for  girls;  industrial,  there  being  no 
servants.  Buildings,  furnishings  and  farm  worth  $25,000. 
Eight  teachers;  165  students;  usual  academic  course  with 
manual  training.     Tuition  and  board  per  month,  $8. 

Lees-McRae  Institute  at  Plumtree;  organized  1902;  board- 
ing and  day  school  for  boys;  industrial,  large  fann  connected 
with  school;  buildings,  farm,  furnishings,  stock,  etc.,  worth 
$22,000.  Five  teachers  and  about  110  students.  Course 
prepares  for  freshman  class  in  good  college.  Board  and  tui- 
tion, $8,  many  of  the  students  making  as  much  by  their  oa\ti 
labor. 

Mission  Industrial  School,  near  Franklin;  organized  1911; 
boarding  and  day  school  for  girls;  industrial,  no  servants. 
Buildings  and  furnishings  worth  $10,000.  Five  teachers 
and  75  students.  Course  same  as  that  of  best  high  schools. 
Board  and  tuition,  $8  per  month. 

The  Maxwell  Home  and  School,  near  Franklin;  organized 
1911,  for  homeless  boys  who  are  destitute.  Manual  train- 
ing, chiefly,  the  farm  containing  500  acres.  Buildings,  fur- 
nishings and  farm,  worth  $15,000.  Three  teachers,  capacity 
for  30  boys  at  present.  With  $50  to  get  a  start,  a  boy  can 
make  his  own  way  here. 

Mountain  Orphanage.  At  Balfour,  established  in  1905 
by  Home  Mission  Committee  of  Asheville  Presbytery.     Mr. 


SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  443 

and  Mrs.  A.  H.  Temple  have  charge  of  10  children.  Property 
worth  So.OOO. 

Colored  People's  Schools.'^  "Very  soon  after  the  war 
the  importance  of  the  education  of  the  colored  people,  now 
citizens  and  voters,  was  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  the 
thinking  people  of  this  section.  The  first  effort  in  this  direc- 
tion was  the  parochial  school  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  which  was  opened  in  1870,  and  was  taught  by  Miss 
A.  L.  Chapman  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.  After  two  years  she 
was  succeedeil  by  Rev.  Mr.  Berry,  who  was  both  pastor  and 
teacher.  This  double  office  has  been  filled  without  inter- 
ruption by  educated  and  influential  colored  men  up  to  the 
present  time,  and  many  heads  of  families  look  back  with 
gratitude  to  the  Uttle  room  on  South  Main  street,  and  the 
parochial  school  building  on  Valley  street,  where  the  rudi- 
ments of  an  education  were  obtained,  and  foundations  of 
character  laid,  which  have  been  a  blessing  to  them  and  their 
households. 

"In  1885  Rev.  L.  M.  Pease,  recognizing  the  importance 
of  hand,  as  well  as  head  and  heart  training,  erected  a  building 
for  an  Industrial  school  on  College  street,  and  opened  it  the 
same  autumn  with  three  thoroughly  educated  colored  teachers. 
At  the  close  of  the  school  year,  being  financially  unable  to 
continue  it,  he  deeded  the  property  to  the  Woman's  Board  of 
Home  Missions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which 
continued  the  work  under  the  superintendence  of  Rev.  Newell 
Albright,  whose  health  was  such  as  to  require  a  residence  in 
this  climate.  When  Mr.  Albright  resigned  after  one  year, 
the  school  was  thoroughly  organized  and  established  and  has 
continued  to  do  excellent  work  under  the  superintendence 
of  Miss  A.  B.  Dole,  who,  by  her  judicious  management  of  the 
race  question,  and  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  colored 
people,  has  made  many  friends  among  both  races. 

"Rev.  C.  E.  Dusenberry  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  has  a 
parochial  school  on  Eagle  street,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
Holston  Presbytery,  where  industrial  work  is  taught  to  some 
extent,  and  a  kitchen  garden  conducted.  The  purpose  of 
this  is  to  teach  correct  methods  of  housekeeping,  such  as  mak- 
ing fires,  washing  dishes,  setting  and  waiting  on  tables,  laun- 
dry and  chamber  work. 

"In  the  Victoria  suburb  a  combined  chapel  and  school  house 


444        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

was  erected  five  years  ago  by  a  donation  from  Mr.  Taylor 
of  Cleveland,  O.,  where  a  flourishing  day  school  has  greatly 
benefited  the  population.  Mrs.  W.  J.  Erdman  was  the  pro- 
jector and  manager  of  this  school  till  her  removal  to  Phila- 
delphia one  year  ago.  The  teacher's  salary  is  paid  by  the 
Freedman's  Board  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  by  which  they 
are  also  appointed. 

"In  1892,  Mr.  Stevens,  the  principal  of  the  public  school 
for  colored  pupils,  was  greatly  impressed  with  the  necessity 
of  an  institution  for  colored  young  men  on  the  plan  of  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.  He  set  about  devising  plans  for  the  erection 
of  a  building  for  this  purpose,  and  made  a  journey  during 
vacation  to  Bar  Harbor,  Me.,  for  the  purpose  of  soliciting 
aid  from  Mr.  George  Vanderbilt.  In  this  he  was  successful, 
and  Mr.  Charles  McNamee  was  commissioned  to  erect  a  struc- 
ture, suitable  for  the  purpose  contemplated,  on  the  corner  of 
Eagle  and  Market  streets.  It  is  a  fine,  substantial  building 
with  a  tiled  roof.  There  are  stores  and  offices  on  the  first 
floor  and  a  large  lecture  hall.  On  the  second  floor  is  a  library 
and  reading  room,  a  parlor  and  school  room  and  the  office 
of  the  superintendent.  This  was  occupied  by  Mr.  Stevens 
for  one  year,  and  the  following  one  by  Mr.  John  Love,  an 
Asheville  boy,  who  was  graduated  at  Oberlin,  0.,  and  resigned 
one  year  ago  to  take  work  in  Washington,  D.  C.  The  present 
incumbent  is  B.  H.  Baker,  a  graduate  of  Howard  University. 

"The  lecture  hall  has  been  in  demand  for  lectures,  con- 
certs, exhibitions  and  entertainments,  and  on  Sunday  after- 
noons for  a  song  service  with  a  large  attendance.  There 
is  a  religious  service  one  night  in  the  week,  a  night  school  for 
boys  and  a  kindergarten  eight  months  in  the  year. " 

Charles  McNamee,  Esq.,  for  many  years  the  attorney  and 
adviser  of  Mr.  George  W.  Vanderbilt,  who  erected  the  Young 
Men's  Institute  at  the  corner  of  Eagle  and  Spruce  streets, 
Asheville,  for  the  use  of  colored  people,  about  the  year  1893, 
in  a  letter  dated  October  24,  1895,  says  that  he  is  the  trustee 
of  the  property  and  that  "It  was  the  original  intention  that 
the  income  of  the  building  over  and  above  the  running  expenses 
should  be  devoted  to  paying  Mr.  Vanderbilt  back  the  prin- 
cipal and  interest  of  the  cost  of  the  building  and  ground." 
The  foregoing  references  are  to  times  prior  to  November,  1895. 

Mrs.  Hetty  Martin.     This  good  lady  was  the  wife  of  the 


SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  445 


late  GoiKTul  Jaiuos  Green  Martin.  They  c-une  to  Asheville 
during  the  Civil  War,  after  which  they  faced  poverty  with 
brave  hearts,  Mrs.  Martin  was  the  daughter  of  the  ate 
Charles  King,  prcsiilent  of  Columbia  College,  New  York, 
grandilaughter  of  Rufus  King,  first  American  minister  to 
the  Court  of  St.  James,  and  a  sister  of  General  Rufus 
King  of  the  United  States  army.  Notwithstanding  her 
northern  birth  and  ancestry,  Mrs.  Martin's  fidelity  to 
the  South  was  unquestioned.  Recognizing  the  fact  that 
if  left  to  their  own  resources  the  newly  enfranchised 
negro  race  of  the  South  must  necessarily  retrograde,  Mrs. 
]\Iartin  soon  after  the  Civil  War  exerted  herself  to  advance 
their  educational  and  religious  training.  It  was  through  her  in- 
fluence that  St.  Mathias  Episcopal  church  was  organized 
and  for  years  supported  by  the  aid  of  white  people.  She 
also  assisted  in  the  erection  and  furnishing  of  the  fine  new 
church  that  crowns  one  of  the  hill-tops  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Asheville,  and  in  which  so  manj'  reputable  and  self-respecting 
colored  men,  women  and  children  have  received  spiritual 
guidance.  Her  influence  for  good  in  this  community  is 
incalculable. 

^Iiss  Anna  Woodfin.  This  good  woman  is  a  daughter 
of  Col.  N.  W.  Woodfin,  and  although  a  confirmed  invalid  for 
many  years,  she  has,  nevertheless,  exerted  a  wonderful  in- 
fluence for  good  in  this  community.  In  1884  she  was  largely 
instrumental  in  organizing  the  Flower  Mission,  of  which  she 
is  still  an  honored  member.  This  was  intended  to  be  "an 
auxiliary  to  the  State  branch  of  that  department  of  the  Na- 
tional Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union,  with  the  object 
of  carrying  flowers  to  the  homes  of  the  sick  and  destitute, 
to  prison  cells,  to  hospitals  and  almshouses."  Bible  texts 
and  songs  and  readings  often  went  with  the  flowers.  Its  work 
revealed  the  need  of  a  hospital  and,  as  the  society  was  inter- 
denominational, the  cooperation  of  all  the  churches  was 
secured,  and  soon  the  Mission  Hospital  was  opened  in  1885. 
The  Associated  Charities  is  also  an  outgrowth  of  this  grand 
scheme. 

Donation  of  a  Library.  About  1905  Professor  Charles 
Hallet  Wing,  of  Brighton,  Mass.,  donated  to  the  county  of 
Mitchell  on  certain  conditions  a  large  and  well-arranged 
library  building  and  15,000  selected  and  valuable  books,  a 
book-bindery,  etc.,  all  situated  at  Ledger,  on  the  road  from 


446        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Marion  to  Bakersville,  where  Professor  Wing  lived  several 
years  and  gave  the  people  in  the  neighborhood  the  free  use 
of  his  library,  besides  binding  without  charge  any  pamphlets 
or  books  in  need  of  such  treatment. 

Professor  Charles  Hallet  Wing.  Of  this  public-spir- 
ited gentleman  we  read  (Carolina  Mountains,  p.  326)  that 
"after  many  years  of  notable  service  as  professor  of  chem- 
istry in  the  Boston  Institute  of  Technology"  he  came  to 
Ledger,  Mitchell  county,  N.  C,  "before  there  had  been  any 
change  in  the  customs  of  the  country,  to  escape  the  turmoil 
of  the  outer  world.  Professor  Wing  vehemently  disclaimed 
any  share  in  changing  —  he  would  not  call  it  '  improving ' — 
the  life  of  the  people,  but  he  made  his  charming  log  house, 
his  barn  and  outbuildings,  also  his  fences  with  their  help." 
He  also  built  a  school  house  and  library  building,  provided 
two  teachers,  and  himself  "conducted  a  manual  training 
department."  There  were  250  applicants  for  admission  to 
his  school  the  first  year  it  was  opened,  ranging  from  six  to 
forty  years  in  age.  This  school  was  successfully  conducted 
"without  the  infliction  of  any  sort  of  punishment."  Fifteen 
thousand  books  were  sent  there  by  friends  of  Prof.  Wing, 
and  the  library  was  kept  by  a  native  youth  who  was  taught 
to  rebind  books,  "as  some  of  the  most  used  books  were  those 
that  had  been  discarded  by  the  Boston  Pubhc  Library."  Small 
traveling  libraries  of  seventy-five  volumes  each  were  sent 
around  the  country  and  loaned.  "The  library  was  free, 
with  rules,  but  no  fines,  and  it  is  illustrative  of  the  quality  of 
the  people  that  the  rules  were  not  broken  and  that  at  the  end 
of  the  first  year  not  a  book  was  missing,  none  had  been  kept 
out  overtime,  while  less  than  six  per  cent  of  those  taken  out 
had  been  fiction"  (p.  327). 

George  W.  Pack.  Elsewhere  has  been  mentioned  the 
donation  by  this  gentleman  of  a  valuable  library  building 
to  the  city  of  Asheville,  and  his  aid  to  the  free  kindergartens 
of  that  city. 

Brevard  Institute.  This  school  for  training  girls  and 
boys  in  the  practical  things  of  life  is  situated  near  Brevard, 
and  was  started  in  1895.  "Besides  the  ordinary  academic 
subjects  and  special  religious  training  the  pupils  are  taught 
'a  dread  of  debt,  promptness  in  attending  to  business  obli- 
gations of  every  sort,  a  love  for  thoroughness  and  accuracy 


SCHOOLS  AND  COLLEGES  447 

in  doing  work  of  every  sort,  self-control  in  the  expenditure 
of  money,  anil  a  knowledge  of  simple  business  transactions.'" 
There  is  also  a  business  course,  a  department  of  music  and  one 
of  domestic  art.     (Carolina  Mountains,  pp.  225-226.) 

Allenstand  Cottage  Industries.  This  is  a  form  of 
settlement  work  which  began,  "long  before  the  present  wave 
of  prosperity  had  drawn  near  the  mountains,"  in  the  north- 
western portion  of  Buncombe  county  "away  up  on  Little 
Laurel,  near  the  Tennessee  line  .  .  .  and  close  under 
the  wild  Bald  mountains."  It  was  "formerly  a  stopping 
place  or  'stand'  for  drovers  who  stopped  over  night  with 
their  cattle,  sheep,  horses  and  swine"  on  their  way  from 
Tennessee  to  South  Carolina.  Here  old-fashioned  spinning, 
weaving  and  dyeing  were  revived  and  are  being  taught. 
(Carolina  Mountains,  pp.  226-228.) 

BiLTMORE  Industries.  From  the  same  work  (p.  231) 
we  read  that  wood-carving  is  taught  and  practiced  at  Biltmore, 
as  well  as  old-fashioned  spinning,  weaving  and  dyeing,  and 
also  embroidery,  some  of  the  graduates  in  wood-carving 
carving  chairs  for  the  great  establishment  of  Tiffany  of 
New  York,  and  more  than  one  hundred  of  the  pupils  are 
earning  a  livelihood  by  the  wood-carving  craft. 

Scotch  Blood  Answers  First  Cry  to  Battle.  From 
the  Carolina  Mountains  (p.  149)  we  learn  that  although  the 
men  of  these  mountains  had  remained  for  years  without  an 
ideal  and  were  without  opportunity  to  display  their  natural 
ability  and  trustworthiness  of  character,  nevertheless,  when 
George  W.  Vanderbilt  began  his  operations  at  Biltmore  he 
employed  these  very  men  and  kept  them  under  an  almost 
iron  discipline.  He  found  "the  Scotch  blood  at  the  first 
call  to  battle  ready,"  and  now  "all  the  directors  of  the  great 
estate,  excepting  a  few  of  the  highest  officials,  are  drawn 
from  the  ranks  of  the  people,  who  proved  themselves  so  trust- 
worthy and  capable  that  in  all  these  years  only  three  or  four 
of  Biltmore's  mountaineer  employees  have  had  to  be  dis- 
charged for  inefficiency  or  bad  conduct." 

NOTES. 
'Hill,  p.  375. 
'Ibid..  376. 

Ki.  U.  McCJee'-s,  p.  110. 

•From  ■•Alexander-Davidson  Reunion,"  1911,  by  F.  A.  Sondley,  Esq.,  p.  24. 
•Col.  J.  M.  Ray  in  Lyceum,  p.  19,  December,  1890. 
•Col.  .\llon  T.  Davidson  in  Lyceum,  p.  6,  Januarj-,  1891 
'A^heville  Centenary. 

Note:     Newton  .\eademy  is  on  the  east  side   of   South  Main  Street,  Ashe\iUe,  and 
nearly  opposite  the  Normal  and  Collegiate  Institute. 


448        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


'From  .ludEa  J.  C.  Pritchard's  address  before  Normal  and  Collegiate  Institute,  1907. 
'"Reminiscences"  of  Dr.  J.  S.  T.  Baird,  1905. 
■"Ibid. 
iilbid. 
i2Ibid. 

•'Condensed  from  William  West  Skiles'  "A  Sketch  of  Missionary  Life,"  1842-1S62. 
Edited  by  Susan  Fenimore  Cooper,  N.  Y.,  J.  P.  Pott  &  Co.,  Publishers. 
'*From  facts  furnished  by  Prof.  D.  D.  Dougherty. 
•5By  G.  H.  Ilaigler,  Hayesville.  N.  C. 

'^Information  furnished  by  Hev.  R.  P.  Smith,  superintendent  and  treasurer. 
•'Woman's  Edition,  Asheville  Citizen.     The  references  arc  prior  to  November,  1S95. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
NEWSPAPERS 

Highland  Messenger.  At  some  time  prior  to  1842  the 
late  Joshua  Roberts  and  Rev.  David  R.  McAnally  founded 
the  first  newspaper  ever  printed  in  Asheville,  the  Highland 
Messenger.  John  H.  Christy,  a  practical  printer,  was  asso- 
ciated with  them  in  its  pubhcation.  He  married  Miss  Ann 
Aureha  Roberts  August  23,  1842,  which  must  have  been  after 
the  paper  had  been  started,  she  having  been  a  daughter  of 
Joshua  Roberts.  J.  H.  Christy  subsequently  moved  to  Athens, 
Ga.,  where  he  published  for  many  years  the  weekly  Southern 
Watchman,  and  during  Reconstruction  was  elected  member 
of  Congress  from  the  Athens  district,  but  was  not  allowed  to 
take  his  seat  on  account  of  political  disabilities.  His  son 
is  now  one  of  the  publishers  of  the  Andrews  Sun.  Dr.  David 
R.  McAnally  was  a  Methodist  preacher  and  moved  to  St. 
Louis,  Mo.,  where  he  edited  the  Christian  Advocate.  He 
was  sometimes  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  bishopric 
in  the  Southern  Methodist  Church. 

James  M.  Edney  obtained  control  of  the  Highland  Mes- 
senger and  it  afterwards  became  the  Spectator.  It  was  edited 
by  John  D.  Hyman,  who  moved  to  Asheville  about  1853, 
and  Z.  B.  Vance.  In  it,  in  1857,  Gov.  Vance  published  an 
account  of  the  finding  of  Prof.  Elisha  Mitchell's  body.  ^  Thomas 
Atkin,  of  Knoxville,  established  the  Asheville  News  about 
1848  or  1850  and  it  ran  a  long  time  under  that  name.  The 
late  Major  Marcus  Erwin  as  editor  wrote  brilliantly  for  it. 
This  paper,  although  nominally  independent,  supported 
Major  W.  W.  Rollins  for  the  State  senate  in  1866.  On  the 
day  the  election  returns  had  to  be  made,  Lee  Gash,  of  Hen- 
derson county,  was  27  votes  ahead  of  Major  Rollins,  at  sun- 
down, with  the  votes  of  Mitchell  county  still  not  in.  At 
ten  o'clock  that  night  the  Rev.  Stephen  Collis  arrived  with 
them,  having  been  delayed  by  high  water.  There  were  770 
votes  for  W.  W.  Rollins  and  only  one  vote  for  Mr.  Gash;  but 
thej'  had  arrived  a  few  hours  too  late.  ^ 

The  Asheville  Citizen.  This  paper,  at  first  a  weekly, 
was  established   by   Randolph   Shotwell,  who   came  to  Ashe- 

(449)— W.  N.  C— 29 


450        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ville  from  Rutherford  in  1869.  About  1870  Col.  V.  S.  Lusk 
sent  a  bill  to  the  grand  jury,  while  he  was  solicitor,  against 
certain  men  for  Ku-Kluxing  some  negroes,  and  the  grand  jury 
threw  it  out.  There  then  ensued  some  newspaper  controversy, 
and  the  next  Col.  Lusk  knew  of  it  was  a  blow,  dealt  by  Shot- 
well,  knocking  him  to  his  knees.  While  in  this  position  Lusk 
fired  upward  and  wounded  Shotwell  in  both  legs.  Shotwell 
gave  Lusk  a  Masonic  sign  and  Lusk  fired  no  more.  This 
happened  on  the  public  square  about  1870  or  1871.  Shot- 
well  sold  the  Citizen  to  Natt  Atkinson  and  went  to  Ruther- 
ford, after  having  been  convicted  of  assault  upon  Lusk, 
sentence  having  been  suspended  at  Lusk's  request.  Shotwell 
was  soon  afterwards  convicted  of  Ku-Kluxing  and  sent  to  the 
Albany  penitentiary,  but  was  pardoned  by  Gen.  Grant  upon 
application  of  Col.  Lusk,  who  had  then  been  appointed  United 
States  district  attorney. 

John  P.  Kerr's  Recollections.  In  a  letter  dated  June 
11,  1912,  Col.  John  P.  Kerr,  a  veteran  newspaper  man,  and 
now  private  secretary  to  Gov.  Craig,  wrote  as  follows: 

"The  first  newspaper  published  in  Asheville  within  my  recollection 
was  the  News  and  Farmer.  I  am  sure  that  this  was  the  successor  of  the 
News,  which  had  been  printed  by  Rev.  Thomas  (?)  Atkins,  a  Methodist 
preacher,  subsequent  to  and  perhaps  during  the  war.  R.  M.  Stokes  was 
the  editor  of  the  News  and  Farmer,  as  I  recollect,  in  1868-1869.  The 
printing  office  was  in  the  building  now  known  as  the  'Hub,'  N.  W. 
Pack  Square  and  N.  Main  street.  It  was  up  stairs.  Stokes  subse- 
quently moved  his  paper  to  Union,  S.  C.  The  Pioneer,  a  weekly  Repub- 
lican paper,  was  also  being  published  in  Asheville  in  1868-1869.  I  began 
my  apprenticeship  as  a  printer  on  this  paper.  It  was  at  this  time  edited 
by  A.  H.  Dowell,  with  C.  W.  Eve  as  local  editor.  This  paper  was  founded, 
I  think,  by  A.  H.  Jones  who  represented  this  district  in  Congress  at  this 
time.  The  office  was  on  the  third  story  of  the  Patton  Building,  corner 
S.  Main  and  S.  E.  Pack  Square.  Capt.  Atkinson  printed  a  paper  in  the 
rear  room  on  the  second  story  of  the  same  building  that  the  News  and 
Farmer  occupied,  and  I  set  type  for  him  as  a  printer.  About  1869  or 
1870  the  News  and  Farmer  was  purchased  by  Randolph  Shotwell,  who 
changed  its  name  to  the  Asheville  Citizen.  Between  1870  and  1874  R. 
M.  Furman  took  hold  of  the  Citizen.  His  office  was  in  the  basement 
of  the  same  building,  the  'Hub.' ^  Randolph  A.  Shotwell  was  either 
associated  with  Furman  or  else  he  ran  another  paper  for  a  short  time  in 
Asheville  diu-ing  the  period  above  mentioned.  Thomas  D.  Carter 
started  during  this  same  period  the  Expositor;  which  also  had  its  office 
in  this  same  building  when  it  began,  but  it  was  subsequently  moved  to 
the  Legal  Building,  which  covered  the  site  now  occupied  by  the  big  Gates 
building,  and  I  think  became  the  property  of  Gen.  R.  B.  Vance,  then  a 


NEWSPAPERS  451 


member  of  Congress,  ami  \v;us  edited  by  his  biotlier-in-l;iw,  Maj.  \V.  II. 
Maloiie.  Durinti  this  period  Jordan  Stone  became  associated  with  Furinan 
in  the  Citizen,  as  did  also  Col.  J.  D.  Cameron.  I  feel  sure  that  the  Citizen 
was  a  daily  when  I  returned  to  Aslu>ville  in  1887.  After  an  absence  of 
several  years  Jordan  Stone  sold  his  interest  in  the  paper  about  1S88, 
and  went  to  California.  Subsequently,  perhaps  about  a  year  later,  R. 
M.  Furman  sold  his  interest,  and  Col.  J.  D.  Cameron  ran  the  Citizen 
for  a  few  weeks  or  months  alone.  The  paper  was  then  sold  to  Capt. 
T.  W.  Patton  and  J.  G.  Martin.  Mr.  Martin  soon  sold  his  interest  and 
in  either  1889  or  1890  a  company  was  formed  composed  of  T.  W.  Patton, 
W.  F.  Randolph,  A.  E.  Robinson  and  John  P.  Kerr,  who  took  charge  of 
the  paper.  This  was  continued  for  only  one  year,  after  which  Randolph 
Robinson  and  Kerr  ran  the  paper  until  1889,  with  F.  E.  Robinson  as 
editor.  In  1889  J.  P.  Kerr  sold  his  interest  to  Dr.  W.  G.  Eggleston,  who 
became  the  editor.  Dr.  Eggleston  remained  with  the  paper  for  less  than 
a  year.  After  this  there  were  a  number  of  changes  in  the  ownership  of 
the  paper  which  can  be  more  accurately  ascertained  by  the  files  of  the 
paper  itself.  In  1887  Theodore  Hobgood  was  running  a  daily  paper  in 
Asheville  called  the  Advance.  Its  offices  were  in  the  basement  of  the  old 
Legal  Building.  The  present  Gazette-News  was  the  outgrowth  of  the 
Advance. 

"  I  have  no  definite  recollection  as  to  the  various  steps  in  the  life  of 
the  Gazette-News.  After  the  sale  or  discontinuance  of  the  Advance,  Theo- 
dore Hobgood  and Fitzgerald  began  the  publication  of  a  morn- 
ing newspaper  in  the  Barnard  Building,  or  the  building  which  preceded 
it.  This  ran  only  a  short  time  when  they  sold  it  to  W.  F.  Randolph  and 
John  P.  Kerr,  who  ran  it  only  a  few  weeks.  This  was  about  1888.  The 
Asheville  Register  was  the  name  of  a  Republican  weekly  paper  published 
for  a  number  of  years,  and  founded,  I  believe,  by  R.  M.  Deaver.  R.  B. 
Roberts  was  its  editor  for  some  years." 

The  Asheville  Citizen  Publishing  Company  was  incor- 
porated April  1,  1890,  A.  H.  Fuller,  T.  W.  Patton,  J.  G.  Martin 
and  T.  A.  Jones  being  named  as  incorporators.  It  was  the  influ- 
ence of  this  paper  largely  which  secured  the  election  of  the  late 
Capt.  T.  W.  Patton  as  mayor  on  an  independent  ticket,  in 
May,  1893. 

The  Asheville  Daily  Gazette  was  established  in  March, 
1896.  It  was  incorporated  as  the  Gazette  Publishing  Company 
April  2,  1897,  Fred  A.  Johnson,  J.  M.  Johnson  and  James  E. 
Norton  being  named  as  incorporators.  Mr.  Norton,  who  had 
had  fifteen  years  experience  in  reportorial  and  editorial  posi- 
tions on  the  New  York  Tribune,  Times,  Commercial  Adver- 
tiser and  Brooklyn  Eagle,  continued  in  active  management  of 
the  editorial  and  business  affairs  of  the  paper,  except  for  a  short 


452        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

interval  in  the  fall  of  1898  (?)  when  the  late  Robert  M.  Fur- 
man  had  control  of  the  editorials,  till  1903-04,  when  the  paper 
was  sold  to  the  Evening  News  Publishing  Company.  It  was  then 
converted  into  an  afternoon  paper,  the  Citizen,  which  before  that 
had  been  an  evening  paper,  having  taken  the  field  as  a  morn- 
ing journal.  The  Gazette  was  a  Republican  paper  during 
the  last  three  years  of  its  existence.  Geo.  L.  Hackney  had 
the  two  papers  combined  as  the  Gazette-News,  under  which 
name  it  has  continued  to  flourish. 

Watauga  Democrat.  It  was  started  by  Joseph  Spainhour 
and  the  Democratic  party  prior  to  June  13,  1888.  R.  C.  Riv- 
ers, its  present  owner,  and  D.  D.  Dougherty  took  charge 
July  4,  1889.     Mr.  Rivers  has  been  with  it  since. 

Watauga  Enterprise  and  News.  The  former  ran  in 
Boone  in  1888,  L.  L.  Green  and  Thomas  Bingham  conducting 
it.   The  News  was  begun  in  January,  1913,  *  by  Don.  H.  Phillips. 

Jefferson  Observer.  This  paper  is  a  weekly  Democratic 
paper,  published  at  Jefferson,  xAshe  county,  and  was  established 
about  1901  by  Talbott  W.  Adams,  formerly  of  Edgefield  county, 
S.  C.  He  is  still  in  control  of  it.  A  Republican  paper  was 
started  in  1909  but  failed.  It  was  called  the  Jefferson  Watch- 
man, and  ran  only  three  or  four  months.  In  1910  an  effort 
was  made  to  revive  it  under  the  name  of  the  Industrial-Repub- 
lican Publishing  Company  of  Jefferson,  N.  C,  but  it  failed. 

General  Erastus  Rowley  Hampton.  For  several  years, 
during  1890  and  thereafter.  Gen.  Hampton  published  a  weekly 
paper  in  Jackson  county. 

Franklin  Press.  This  Democratic  weekly  was  con- 
ducted by  the  late  W.  A.  Curtis  at  Franklin,  Macon  county, 
for  a  number  of  years  prior  to  his  death  in  1900.  It  is  still 
flourishing. 

The  Carolina  Baptist  was  the  first  newspaper  printed 
in  Hendersonville.  In  1855  Rev.  James  Blythe,  W.  C.  Berin 
and  J.  M.  Bryan,  as  editors,  started  this  paper,  but  later  Prof. 
W.  A.  G.  Brown  became  its  editor.  A  copy  was  recently 
shown  dated  June  22,  1859. 

Hendersonville  Hustler.  This  newspaper  was  started 
in  Hendersonville  ten  or  a  dozen  years  ago  and  is  still  flour- 
ishing. Now  M.  L.  Shipman,  Commissioner  of  Labor  and 
Printing,  is  its  editor  and  proprietor. 


NEWSPAPERS 


453 


From   the   Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  and 

Printing, 
weekly  newspapers. 


County 


Mitchf'Il. 


Town 


Bakers  ville 


Bryson  City 


Name  of  Paper 


Transylvania '  Brevard 

Watauga Boone 

Yancey Burnsville 

Ashe I  Jefferson 


Mitrhfll  County 

Kroniclc. 
Bryson  City  Times 
Sylvan  Valley  News 

Watauga  Democrat 

Eagle 

Recorder 


Editor 


T.  M.  Gosorn 

H.  W.  Carter 
O.  L.  Jones 
R.  B.  Wilson 
R.  C.  Rivers 
J.  M.  Lyon 
W.  T.  Adams 


Proprietor 


T.  H.  Gosorn 

H.  W.  Carter 
Jones  &  Wilson 

R.  C.  Rivera 
Eagle  Pub.  Co. 
W.  T.  Adams 


Captain  Natt  Atkinson  was  born  November  15,  1832,  in 
Mc.Minn  county,  Tenn.,  near  Charleston.    He  was  a  graduate 
of  Hiwassee  College  and  of  Col.   Wilson's  private  school  in 
Alamance  county,  N.  C.     He  married  Harriet  Newell  Baird, 
daughter  of  Mary  and  Israel  Baird,  of  Buncombe  county,  N.  C  ' 
February   2,    1858.     There    were    twelve   children.     He    was 
admitted  to  the  Asheville  bar  in  18G8,  and  practiced  law  till 
1873.     He  purchased  the  Asheville  Citizen  in  1870,  and  edited 
the  same  for  three  years  following,  when  he  sold  that  paper 
and  moved  to  a  farm  on  Swannanoa  river,  where  he  remained 
till  1882,  when  he  returned  to  Asheville  and  entered  the  real 
estate  business,  which  he  continued  till  his  death,  August  25, 
1894,  at  Salisbury,  N.  C.     He  was  one  of  the  most  useful  and 
enterprising  of  Asheville's  citizens,  encouraging  every  enter- 
prise of  merit,  and  forgetting  his  own  interest  in  that  of  the 
community.     He   was   the   president   of   the   Atlanta,   Ashe- 
ville and  Baltimore  Railroad  Company,  and  began  the  actual 
construction   of  the   first  street   railway   in  Asheville   under 
what  IS  known  as  the  Farinholt  charter,  which  he  sold  to  E. 
D.  Davidson  and  associates,  thus  defeating  an  attempt  that 
was  making  to  build  and  operate  a  steam  railway  through 
the  streets   of  Asheville    and    insuring   the   present   electric 
system.     He  was  also  interested  in  the  construction  of  other 
railways,  and  was  really  the  father  of  the  graded  schools  of 
Asheville.     He  was  elected  to  the  legislature  of  1879  and  by 
legislation  secured  largely  through  his  efforts  saved  the  State 
what  he  estimated  to  be  $175,000.     He  was  a  captain  in  Gen. 
AI.   \aughan's   brigade  of  the  Confederate  Army,   and   was 
one  of  the  personal  escort  of  Hon.  Jefferson  Davis  on  his  flight 
southward  from  Richmond  via  Charlotte  in  April,  1865. 


454        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

The  Lyceum.  This  monthly  was  pubHshed  m  Asheville 
from  May,  1890,  until  some  time  in  1892.  Tilman  R.  Gaines 
of  South  Carolina  was  its  editor  and  proprietor.  In  it  were 
pubUshed  many  papers  of  value,  among  which  should  be 
mentioned  "Reminiscenses  of  Western  North  Carolina,"  by 
Col.  Allen  T.  Davidson;  "Poets  of  the  South,"  by  L.  M. 
Hatch;  "Persecution  of  the  Jews,"  by  W.  H.  Malone;  "Pro- 
tection of  Birds,"  by  J.  D.  Cameron;  "State  Landlordism 
and  Liberty,"  by  Judge  C.  E.  Fenner;  "Two  Days  with  Gen. 
Lee  at  Charleston,"  by  Col.  L.  M.  Hatch;  " Reminiscenses 
of  Forty  Years  Ago,"  by  Col.  J.  M.  Ray;  "Should  Women 
Vote?"  by  H.  B.  Stevens,  and  an  address  by  Col.  Charles  W. 
Woolsey  on  "The  Asheville  Art  Club." 

The  Asheville  Evening  Journal.  About  September, 
1889,  this  paper  started  on  its  career,  Messers.  Clegg  &  Dono- 
hue  being  its  editors  and  proprietors.  Its  advertisement  in 
the  Lyceum  of  September,  1890,  (p.  22)  mentions  that  it  "is 
now  in  its  second  year. " 

The  Asheville  News  and  Hotel  Reporter.  This  was 
a  weekly  paper  which  began  publication  in  January,  1895,  at 
Asheville  with  the  late  Natt  Rogers  as  editor  and  the  late 
Richard  M.  Furman  as  manager  and  pubhsher.  It  was  intended 
as  an  advertising  medium  for  hotels  principally,  but  soon 
reached  a  wider  sphere  of  usefulness,  and  until  the  health  of 
Mr.  Rogers  became  too  much  impaired  it  enjoyed  a  period  of 
popularity  and  considerable  prosperity.  Its  life  was  about 
sixteen  months. 

Robert  McKnight  Furman.  He  was  born  September 
21,  1846,  at  Louisburg,  N.  C,  and  enlisted  in  the  Confeder- 
ate army  in  the  spring  of  1862,  and  served  till  the  close  of  the 
Civil  War.  He  moved  to  Asheville  in  the  spring  of  1870,  and 
in  1873  he  was  married  at  Tarboro  to  Miss  Mary  Mathewson. 
He  edited  the  Asheville  Citizen  from  1873  till  Messers  J.  D. 
Cameron  and  Jordan  Stone  joined  him,  after  which  the  three 
conducted  that  paper  till  about  1880.  He  moved  to  Raleigh 
in  1898  and  became  editor  of  the  Morning  Post,  which  flour- 
ished under  his  management  till  after  his  death  at  Beaufort, 
N.  C,  May  12,  1904. 

Thomas  Walton  Patton.  He  was  for  several  years 
editor  of  the  Asheville  Citizen,  during  which  time  its  columns 
were  open  to  all  public  spirited  causes.     He  was  born  at  Ashe- 


NEWSPAPERS  455 


ville,  May  8,  1 S  U ,  his  father,  James  W.  Patton,  having  been 
a  son  of  James  Patton,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Ashevillo.  His 
mother  was  Miss  Clara  Walton  of  Burke,  and  his  grandmother 
on  his  father's  side  was  a  daughter  of  Francis  Reynolds  of 
Wilkes  county.  His  mother's  father  was  Andrew  Kerr  of 
Kelso,  Scotland.  He  was  educated  by  Col.  Stephen  Lee, 
from  whose  school  he  was  graduated  in  1860,  after  which  he 
went  to  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  entered  the  office  of  his  uncle, 
Thomas  Kerr,  a  cotton  factor.  He  enlisted  in  the  Buncombe 
Rifles  in  April,  1861,  and  at  the  expiration  of  the  six  months' 
enlistment,  he  reenlisted,  becoming  captain  of  company  "C"  of 
the  Sixtieth  North  Carolina  Infantry,  in  which  he  served  till  the 
surrender  of  Johnston's  army.  In  1862  he  married  at  Greens- 
boro, Ala.,  }iliss  Annabella  Beaty  Pearson.  In  1866  he  removed 
to  Alabama,  where  his  wife  and  child  soon  afterwards  died. 
He  returned  to  Asheville  and  went  into  co-partnership  \^dth 
the  late  Albert  T.  Summey,  in  the  mercantile  business,  for  a 
short  time.  In  1871  he  married  Miss  Martha  Bell  Turner, 
a  daughter  of  James  Calder  Turner,  a  civil  engineer  who  aided 
in  the  laying  out  and  construction  of  the  Western  North  Caro- 
lina railroad  to  Asheville.  He  and  his  sister.  Miss  Frances 
L.  Patton,  soon  became  active  in  all  charitable  and  philan- 
thropic work.  He  was  elected  a  county  commissioner  in  1878, 
when  he  made  it  his  first  business  "to  visit  the  county  paupers, 
whom  he  found  'farmed  out'  to  the  lowest  bidder  and  living 
in  huts  far  from  the  public  road  or  any  possibility  of  public 
inspection,"  which  system  he  immediately  abolished.  He 
also  visited  the  jails  regularly,  keeping  up  the  practice  of 
visiting  prisoners  and  paupers  till  his  death.  "When,  in  1893, 
he  considered  that  the  city  administration  was  extravagant, 
if  not  actually  corrupt,  he  did  not  hesitate  one  instant,  but 
declared  himself  an  independent  candidate  for  mayor,"  and 
was  overwhelmingly  elected.  His  two  terms  as  mayor,  for 
S25  a  month  as  a  salary,  resulted  in  much  "economy,  honesty, 
progressiveness  and  effit'iency"  which  reduced  "expenses  one- 
half  without  in  the  least  diminishing  the  efficiency  of  the 
public  service."  In  April,  1898,  he  enlisted  in  the  First 
North  Carolina  regiment,  and  served  in  Cuba,  as  adjutant. 
His  object  was  to  influence  the  younger  men  for  good,  and  the 
survivors  of  that  war  have  named  the  local  camp  in  his  honor. 
He  did  much,  \vith  his  sister.  Miss  F.  L.  Patton,  to  establish 


456        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

and  operate  the  Mission  Hospital,  the  Children's  Home,  and 
other  works  of  benevolence.  He  died  at  Philadelphia, 
November  6,  1907,  and  was  buried  at  Asheville  with  every 
mark  of  respect. 

Thomas  Deweese  Carter.  He  was  born  on  Little  Ivy 
in  what  is  now  Yancey  county,  February  14,  1834,  and  died 
July  29,  1894.  He  married  Miss  Sarah  A.  E.  Bro^\^l  of 
McDowell  count3%  August  14,  1855.  He  owTied  a  large  interest 
in  the  Cranberry  iron  mine  in  Mitchell,  now  Avery,  county, 
and  during  the  Civil  War  manufactured  tools  there  for  the 
Confederate  government.  About  1870  he  wrote  a  series  of 
spirited  articles  on  the  political  situation  for  the  Raleigh  Sen- 
tinel and  the  Asheville  Citizen.  This  was  the  commencement 
of  a  long  and  active  experience  as  a  militant  newspaper  editor, 
for  his  power  as  a  writer  of  virile  English  was  pronounced. 
In  the  spring  of  1872  he  came  to  Asheville  and  began  a  series 
of  articles  concerning  the  Swepson  and  Littlefield  frauds, 
publishing  his  communications  in  the  Citizen,  till  Captain 
Natt  Atkinson,  its  editor  and  owner,  sold  that  paper  to  Robert 
M.  Furman,  which  necessitated  the  launching  of  a  new  weekly 
known  as  the  Wester7i  Expositor,  by  Col.  Carter.  This  paper 
immediately  attracted  attention  not  only  throughout  the 
State,  but  the  New  York  Herald  paid  editorial  tribute  to  the 
vigor  of  the  Expositor's  well  written  and  vigorous  editorials. 
Just  about  1876  Col.  Carter  sold  the  Expositor  to  the  late  W. 
H.  Malone,  retaining  only  control  of  the  editorials  till  after 
the  great  campaign  of  1876,  when  the  Democrats  again  gained 
control  of  the  political  affairs  of  North  Carolina. 

NOTES. 

>A  copv  of  this  article  can  be  found  in ' '  The  Balsam  Groves  of  Grandfather  Mountain, ' 
by  S.  M.  Dugger,  p.  261. 

nV.  W.  Rollins  to  J.  P.  A.,  May  31,  1912. 

'In  July,  US71,  the  late  Captain  Xatt  .\tkinson  was  running  the  Weehly  Citizen,  and  con- 
tinued to  do  so  till  1873.  when  the  late  Robert  M.  Furman  took  charge  of  it. 

*The  Watauga  Journal  was  the  first  paper  ever  published  in  Boone,  but  was  soon  suc- 
ceeded by  the  Enterprise,  both  being  Republican.  The  Journal  was  started  by  a  Mr.  Mc- 
Lauchlin  of  Mooresville,  X.  C  but  he  afterwards  removed  to  Johnson  City,  Tenn.  The 
Watauga  News  suspended  publication  in  1914. 


Nicholas  W.  Woodfix. 


CHAPTER  XIX 
SWEPSON  AND  LITTLEFIELD 

That  the  "evil  that  men  do  Hves  after  them  while  the  good 
is  oft  interred  with  their  bones"  seems  to  be  untrue  in  the  case 
of  the  frauds  of  Swepson  and  Littiefield.  The  former  was  a 
native  of  North  Carolina  and  Littiefield  of  IMaine.  Together, 
they  managed  to  sell  about  $4,000,000  of  the  bonds  of  the 
Western  North  Carolina  railroad,  which  had  been  endorsed 
by  the  State,  and  appropriated  the  proceeds  to  their  own  use. 
This  delayed  the  building  of  that  road  from  1869  to  1880. 
But  most  of  the  younger  people  have  never  even  heard  of  this 
gigantic  theft.  The  true  story  as  told  to  the  Shipp  Fraud 
Investigating  Commission  follows  in  condensed  form,  and  every 
statement  in  this  chapter  not  otherwise  noted  was  taken  from 
that  report  between  pages  220  and  498. 

Soon  after  the  Reconstruction  election  of  1868  there  was  a 
special  session  of  the  legislature  which,  by  an  act  ratified 
August  19,  1868,  divided  the  Western  North  Carolina  railroad 
into  the  Eastern  Division — to  extend  from  Salisbury  to  Ashe- 
ville — and  the  Western  Division — to  extend  in  two  lines,  one 
to  Paint  Rock  and  the  other  to  Duckto^vn,  in  Tennessee. 
The  State  also  agreed  to  take  two-thirds  of  the  stock  of  the 
Western  Division,  which  was  authorized  to  issue  its  stock, 
not  exceeding  §12,000,000,  for  the  completion  of  these  two 
lines.  Under  this  act,  subscriptions  were  invited,  and  3,080 
shares  of  stock  subscribed.  Of  this  stock  ]\Iilton  S.  Little- 
field,  a  carpet-bag  adventurer,  subscribed  to  2,000  shares  and 
Hugh  Rejmolds,  of  Statesville,  to  1,000  shares.  But  only 
five  per  cent  of  eighty  shares  subscribed  by  citizens  along  the 
line  of  this  proposed  road  was  paid  in  cash,  Littiefield  and 
RejTiolds  giving  their  drafts  for  five  per  cent  of  their  subscrip- 
tions, payable  to  the  order  of  Geo.  W.  Simpson,  who  was  elected 
president  at  the  meeting  to  organize  the  Western  Division, 
which  was  held  in  Morganton  October  15,  1868.  Four  direc- 
tors, representing  the  private  stockholders,  and  eight,  repre- 
senting the  State,  were  also  elected  at  that  meeting.  As, 
however,  the  whole  of  the  Western  Division  was  required  to 
be  under  contract  for  its  construction  before  the  State  could 

(457) 


458        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

be  called  on  for  its  subscription,  the  directors  made  a  contract 
with  M.  S.  Littlefield  for  this  work;  but  it  w^as  understood 
that  it  was  a  mere  nominal  contract,  for  the  purpose  of  com- 
plying with  the  terms  of  the  charter,  the  actual  work  to  be  let 
afterwards  to  bona  fide  contractors.  But,  as  no  provision 
had  been  made  for  a  special  tax  levy  to  pay  the  interest  on  the 
bonds,  the  act  did  not  accomplish  its  purpose. 

Mr.  Swepson  went  to  Raleigh  in  the  fall  of  1868  and  urged  the 
passage  of  another  bill  through  the  legislature  to  cure  this  defect; 
but  was  told  by  Littlefield  and  a  man  named  John  T.  Deweese, 
who  were  lobby  la^^yers,  that  he  would  get  no  bills  through  the 
legislature  unless  he  paid  the  same  percentage  that  all  the 
other  railroad  presidents  had  agreed  to  pay  —  viz.,  "ten  per 
cent  in  kind  of  the  amount  of  the  appropriations."  Swepson 
agreed  to  this  and  claimed  that  he  afterwards  "paid  Little- 
field $240,000  in  money  and  some  bonds  for  his  services  in 
procuring  the  passage"  of  the  necessary  legislation  (Ch.  7  and 
20,  Laws  1868-9).  Swepson  had  certified  to  the  Executive  of 
the  State  on  October  19,  1868,  "that  the  entire  road  had  been 
let  to  contract";  and  at  some  subsequent  date  he  received 
from  the  State  treasurer  $6,367,000  of  special  tax  bonds  of  the 
State,  and  began  hypothecating  or  selling  them  in  New  York. 

But  in  the  spring  of  1869  the  case  of  the  University  Rail- 
road V.  H olden  (63  N.  C,  p.  410)  came  before  the  Supreme 
court  on  the  question  of  the  constitutionality  of  the  special 
tax  bonds  authorized  to  be  levied  for  the  railroad;  and  Chief 
Justice  Pearson,  believing  that  his  associates  on  that  bench 
would  be  compelled  to  agree  with  his  reasoning,  WTote  an 
opinion  declaring  those  bonds  unconstitutional,  meaning  to 
submit  it  to  his  brethern  for  their  approval  or  rejection.  So 
confident  was  he  that  they  would  agree  wdth  his  conclusions, 
that  he  told  Col.  Wm.  Johnson,  a  lawyer  and  an  intimate 
friend,  that  the  court  had  decided  the  University  Railroad 
bonds  to  be  unconstitutional.  He  then  read  his  opinion  to 
Col.  Johnson,  and  Johnson  told  Swepson  on  Thursda3%  July 
1,  1869,  that  "he  had  just  seen  the  opinion  in  Judge  Pearson's 
room"  and  that  it  "made  the  whole  of  the  special  tax  bonds 
unconstitutional. "  ^  But,  before  the  decision  of  the  court 
was  announced,  a  motion  was  made  by  Judge  Fowle  for  a  fur- 
ther hearing.  The  motion  was  granted  and  the  majority  of 
the  judges,  concurred  in  holding  the  University  railroad  act 


SWEPSON  AND  LITTLEFIELD  459 

to  be  constitutional,  thus  over-rulinji;  the  chief  justice,  who, 
however,  filed  a  dissenting  opinion.  Mr.  T.  H.  Porter,  rep- 
resenting Soutter  and  Company,  stock  brokers  of  New  York 
City,  came  to  Raleigh  and  arranged  with  the  lawyers  for  the 
rehearing. 

There  was  much  discussion  in  the  State  as  to  this  decision. 
According  to  the  testimony  of  James  C.  Turner,  as  given  be- 
fore the  Shipp  Fraud  Commission  (p.  307),  G.  W.  Swepson 
told  him  in  New  York  "on  more  than  one  occasion  that  he  had 
in  his  pocket  a  decision  adverse  to  the  one  given  and  published 
by  the  court,  and  that  it  had  cost  a  large  amount  to  obtain 
the  published  opinion."  Indeed,  Mr.  Swepson  himself  swore 
(p.  207)  that  his  proportion,  as  president  of  the  Western  Divi- 
sion of  the  Western  North  Carolina  railroad  was  "60  State 
bonds,  charged  as  paid  attorneys,  and  the  following  cash 
charges:  Paid  attorneys  in  Raleigh  $2,000.  Attorneys,  es- 
tablishing validity  of  bonds,  821,250. "  When  it  is  remembered 
that  there  were  ten  railroads  to  which  bonds  aggregating 
S25, 250,000  were  authorized  to  be  issued  at  the  same  session 
as  the  University  railroad  bonds  had  been  authorized,  Swep- 
son's  proportion  of  expenses  in  securing  a  favorable  decision 
would  indicate  the  expenditure  of  an  enormous  sum  of  money. 

But  the  Shipp  Fraud  Commission  examined  Judges  R.  M. 
Pearson,  E.  0.  Reade,  W.  B.  Rodman  and  R.  P.  Dick,  four 
of  the  Supreme  court  judges,  upon  the  question  of  obtaining 
this  decision,  and  found  that  none  of  these  judges  knew  of  any 
improper  or  corrupt  means  or  practice  concerning  it.  The 
only  thing  that  could  be  construed  as  of  a  doubtful  character 
was  Judge  Rodman's  statement,  to  the  effect  that,  in  August 
1869,  after  the  decision  had  been  rendered,  G.  W.  Swepson 
voluntarily  offered  his  personal  guarantee  to  a  brokerage  firm 
in  New  York  for  the  margin  on  §100,000  of  special  tax  bonds 
for  ten  days;  but  claimed  that,  as  the  bonds  had  not  been 
sold  till  after  the  expiration  of  ten  days,  Swepson's  liability 
had  ended  and  the  loss  had  been  charged  to  the  judge.  As 
this  is  the  only  instance  in  the  history  of  the  State  in  which 
our  Supreme  court  was  even  suspected  of  having  been  cor- 
ruptly influenced,  it  is  pleasant  to  be  able  to  record  the  fact 
that  the  men  who  paid  out  the  money  and  the  men  who  re- 
ceived it  have  left  their  testimony  on  record  completely  exon- 
erating the  members  of  the  court.     Yet ! 


460        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

T.  H.  Porter,  in  a  letter  of  May  31,  1870,  states  that  Badger, 
Fowle,  Col.  E.  G.  Haywood,  and  Judge  S.  J.  Person,  attor- 
neys, agreed  to  undertake  the  case  for  S15,000,  and  if  they 
won,  they  were  to  receive  an  addition  in  State  bonds.  Judge 
Daniel  G.  Fowle  testified  before  the  Shipp  Fraud  Commis- 
sion (p.  463)  that  he  and  his  associates  had  received  the  cash 
and  bonds  agreed  upon,  the  suit  having  been  won. 

It  appears  that  the  only  roads  which  Mr.  Porter  represented 
in  this  suit  Avere  the  two  divisions  of  the  Western  North 
Carohna,  the  Wilmington,  Charlotte  and  Rutherford,  and  the 
Western  railroad  companies.  -  Twenty-five  of  the  bonds 
received  by  the  attorneys  were  those  of  the  Wilmington,  Char- 
lotte and  Rutherford  railroad  and  fifty  of  the  Western  Division 
of  the  Western  North  Carolina  railroad — the  Western  rail- 
road seemingly  not  having  contributed  any.  (This  was  not 
the  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad,  however.)  As  Swepson's 
share  was  $60,000  in  bonds  and  $21,250  in  cash,  and  as  the 
attorneys  got  $75,000  in  bonds  and  $15,000  in  money,  nearly 
$100,000  in  bonds,  and  $6,250  in  cash  remain  unaccounted 
for.  It  may  be  that  Soutter  &  Co.,  the  New  York  brokers 
represented  by  Mr.  Porter,  got  this  difference. 

But,  as  indicative  of  the  methods  then  in  vogue,  John  T. 
Deweese,  represented  by  Swepson  as  Littlefield's  partner, 
had  difficulty  in  settling  with  the  Atlantic,  Tennessee  &  Ohio 
railroad  for  services  in  getting  the  legislature  to  authorize  that 
road  to  issue  its  bonds  (ratified  February  3,  1869)  in  exchange 
for  a  like  amount  of  State  bonds,  and  gave  Mr.  R.  C.  Kahoe 
$4,000  of  these  bonds  to  act  as  nominal  plaintiff  in  an  action 
to  restrain  the  State  treasurer,  D.  A.  Jenkins,  from  issuing 
$2,000,000  of  these  bonds.  John  T.  Deweese,  the  real  party 
in  interest  not  having  been  a  tax  payer,  sued  out  the  injunc- 
tion in  June,  1869;  and  R.  Y.  McAden,  Swepson's  nephew, 
settled  this  suit  by  handing  over  more  than  $100,000  of  these 
bonds.  Of  these  bonds.  Judge  Watts  got  $5,000,  "in  accord- 
ance with  the  contract  between  Deweese  and  himself,  as 
stated  in  the  report  of  the  Bragg  committee."  Fowle  and 
Badger,  lawyers  associated  with  E.  G.  Haywood,  Esq.,  re- 
ceived $16,000  of  these  bonds  for  their  services  in  this  case, 
but  returned  them  to  the  railroad  company  upon  becoming 
satisfied  that  it  was  really  a  blackmailing  scheme.  As,  by 
the  time  the  bonds  were  issued,  they  had  fallen  in  price  to  less 
than  30  cents  on  the  dollar,  the  Atlantic,  Tennessee  &  Ohio 


SWEPSON  AND  LITTLEFIELD  461 

railroad  returned  to  the  State  treasurer  all  except  such  as  had 
been  used  in  compromising  the  injunction  suit. 

According  to  the  testimony  of  Col.  N.  W.  Woodfin  before 
the  Shipp  Fraud  Commission  (p.  291)  Swepson  and  Littlefield 
intended  to  build  the  Western  Division,  but  to  do  it  upon 
mortgage  bonds,  and  otherwise  so  leave  it  in  debt  as  to  enable 
themselves  to  buy  it  in  when  sold  for  the  debt.  In  the  mean- 
time, the  money  for  which  the  special  tax  bonds  might  be 
sold  was  to  be  used  by  them  "in  speculation  and  otherwise, 
in  order  to  strengthen  themselves  to  buy  it." 

But,  long  before  this  time,  people  of  the  mountain  section 
were  clamoring  that  work  should  begin  on  the  railroad,  while 
Swepson  was  trying  to  sell  as  many  of  the  bonds  of  the  Western 
Division  as  possible  before  the  price  declined  in  consequence 
of  the  sudden  flooding  of  the  market  with  the  special  tax  bonds 
to  which  the  other  nine  railroads  were  also  entitled.  On 
various  pretexts  he  postponed  the  signing  of  actual  contracts 
for  actual  work  until  he  could  obtain  better  prices  for  his  bonds, 
and  caused  the  State  treasurer,  D.  A.  Jenkins,  to  issue  some 
of  the  bonds  for  the  Western  Division  prior  to  all  others,  and 
to  dechne  to  furnish  bonds  to  the  other  railroads  entitled  to 
them  on  the  ground  that  the  plate  from  which  they  were  to 
be  printed  had  been  broken.  A  question  had  arisen  in  New 
York  as  to  Swepson's  right  to  sell  the  bonds  of  the  Western 
Division,  and  at  a  called  meeting  of  the  directors,  held  in  Ashe- 
ville,  July  2,  1869,  the  president  of  the  company  was  "author- 
ized to  sell  any  securities  of  the  company,  or  to  pledge  them  for 
loans  when  in  his  judgment  the  interests  of  the  company  required 
it;  and  in  case  such  securities  be  sold  to  invest  the  proceeds  in 
such  way  as  he  may  deem  best."  A  certified  copy  of  the  above 
resolution  was  sent  to  him  in  New  York. 

Swepson  and  Directors.  At  this  time  no  one  in  North 
Carolina  stood  higher  in  public  respect  than  George  W.  Swep- 
son, while  the  directors  were  of  the  best  people  in  this  section. 
They  did  not,  and  had  no  reason  to,  suspect  him  of  duplicity. 
They  had  had  no  experience  either  in  the  building  of  railroads 
or  the  management  of  corporations.  He  told  them  that  un- 
less he  could  sell  the  bonds  he  could  not  build  the  railroad, 
and  that  he  could  not  sell  them  unless  they  gave  him  full 
authority  not  only  to  sell  but  to  apply  the  proceeds  as  he  saw 
fit.     They  gave  it  unsuspectingly  and  in  full  confidence  in 


462        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

him.  No  breath  of  suspicion  ever  fell  upon  any  of  them  in 
consequence,  or  that  they  shared  any  of  Swepson's  ill-gotten 
gains.  They  had  done  in  good  faith  what  they  believed 
right  in  order  to  secure  the  speedy  building  of  the  railroad. 

On  the  13th  of  October,  1869,  at  a  meeting  of  the  stock- 
holders at  Asheville,  ISl.  S.  Littlefield  was  elected  president 
in  place  of  G.  W.  Swepson,  who  refused  to  serve  any  longer 
on  the  ground  that  "his  management  had  been  a  good  deal 
censured  and  he  was  suspected  of  improper  conduct  . 
by  the  Western  people.  .  .  .  "  Gen.  Clingman,  Col. 
Davidson  and  Col.  Woodfin  opposed  the  election  of  Littlefield 
to  office. 

So  outspoken  had  become  the  criticism  of  the  management 
of  this  railroad  and  the  sale  of  all  the  special  tax  bonds  that 
the  legislature,  by  an  act  which  was  ratified  March  24,  1870, 
appointed  J.  L.  Henry,  N.  W.  Woodfin,  W.  P.  Welch,  W.  G. 
Candler  and  W.  W.  Rollins  commissioners  to  "examine  fully 
into  the  affairs  of  the  Western  Division  and  to  make  a  full  and 
final  settlement  of  all  accounts  and  liabilities  of  Geo.  W. 
Swepson,  and  to  collect  all  assets"  and  apply  the  same  to 
"the  construction  of  the  railroad."  It  had  full  power  and 
was  authorized  to  sit  in  New  York  or  elsewhere. 

But  by  the  time  this  commission  was  appointed  both  Swep- 
son and  Littlefield  had  left  the  State,  the  latter  never  to  return. 
The  commissioners,  however,  immediately  took  up  their 
work,  going  to  Washington  and  New  York,  and  effected  a  set- 
tlement with  Swepson  before  the  act  appointing  them  was 
repealed,  which  was  done  at  the  session  of  1873-74.     (Ch.  119.) 

The  grand  jury  of  Buncombe  county  returned  a  true  bill 
against  Swepson  and  Littlefield  (Minute  Docket  E.,  No.  32) 
for  conspiracy  to  defraud  the  State;  and  by  a  joint  resolution 
of  January  25,  1871,  the  governor  was  requested  to  offer  a 
reward  of  $5,000  for  the  delivery  of  Milton  S.  Littlefield  to 
the  sheriff  of  Buncombe  county.  But  Littlefield  was  in 
Florida,  Holland  or  England,  and  the  governor  of  Florida 
refused  to  grant  an  order  for  his  extradition  from  that  State. 

The  settlement  which  the  commission  had  effected  with 
Swepson  was  dated  the  16th  day  of  April,  1870,  at 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  was  probably  the  best  possible  in 
the  circmnstances,  as  Swepson  made  it  appear  that  he 
had  already  so  encumbered  all  his  tangible  property  that  if 


SWEPSON  AND  LITTLEFIELD  463 

a  suit  were  brought  "it  was  almost  certain  that  nothing  would 
be  realized."  Swepson  was  frightened  and  penitent,  and  Lit- 
tlefield  was  not  present  to  inspire  him  with  courage. 

Now,  as  tlu'  directors  had  authorized  Swepson  to  sell  and 
pledge  these  securities  and  invest  their  proceeds  as  he  saw  fit, 
and  as  they  had  not  advertised  that  the  contracts  would  go 
to  the  lowest  bidders,  and  as,  in  the  contracts  themselves, 
no  time  limit  was  made  the  "essence  of  the  contract,"  it  was 
plain  that  Swepson  and  Littlefield  were  not  alone  to  blame 
for  the  condition  into  which  the  affairs  of  the  Western  Division 
had  fallen.  In  his  testimony  before  the  Shipp  Fraud  Commis- 
sion Judge  J.  H.  Merrimon  said  (p.  277):  "It  appeared  to  me, 
from  what  I  saw  at  the  meetings  of  the  board  of  directors, 
which  I  attended,  that  they  were  a  useless  l^ody  of  men;  did 
nothing,  and  if  they  had  any  power  or  authority  to  do  any- 
thing, the}'  seemed  never  to  exercise  it,  except  when  they 
were  told  by  Swepson." 

By  this  compromise  Swepson  paid  $50,000  cash  and  gave 
his  drafts  on  Littlefield  as  president  of  the  Jacksonville,  Pensa- 
cola  and  Mobile  railroad  and  endorsed  by  M.  S.  Littlefield 
and  G.  W.  Swepson  as  president  of  the  Florida  Central  rail- 
road, aggregating  8264,000,  payable  four  and  twelve  months 
after  date,  $164,000  of  which  was  secured  by  a  mortgage  on 
certain  lands  of  Swepson's  in  North  Carolina,  the  said  lands 
to  be  discharged  upon  payment  on  each  tract  as  follows: 

Eagle  hotel  in  Asheville  upon  payment  of $  5 ,  000 

Gid  Morris  place  of  1,600  acres  upon  payment  of 12,000 

David  Hennessee  lands  in  Cherokee  upon  payment  of .  .  7 ,  500 

Charles  Moore  place  of  600  acres  upon  payment  of 6,500 

The  Shar])  place  of  about  300  acres  upon  payment  of.  .  3,000 

The  Woodfin  place  in  Macon  county  upon  pament  of.  .  2,000 

The  Jarrett  place  on  Nantahala  river  upon  payment  of.  5,000 

The  Horshaw  lands  on  Valley  river  upon  payment  of .  . .  5 ,  500 

The  Fain  lands  in  Cherokee  county  upon  payment  of.  .  5,000 

$51,^00 
In  addition  to  the  above,  upon  which  no  amount  was  fixed 
for  their  redemption,  the  mortgage  was  to  cover  the  marble  and 
lime  lands  in  Catawba  county,  owned  in  co-partnership  with 
Dr.  A.  M.  Powell,  "about  90,000  acres  in  Alacon,  Cherokee 
and  Clay  counties,  known  as  the  Olmstead  lands,  and  a  lot  of 
about  50,000  acres  held  by  Joseph  Keener  in  trust  for  Geo. 
W.  Swepson. " 


464        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

It  was  further  agreed  that  the  draft  for  $164,000  might 
be  paid  in  railroad  iron  delivered  at  Portsmouth,  Virginia; 
and  that  if  an  umpire,  to  be  appointed  by  N.  W.  Woodfin  and 
M.  W.  Ransom,  in  case  they  could  not  agree,  should  decide 
that  Swepson  had  not  been  authorized  by  his  board  of  direc- 
tors to  invest  the  proceeds  of  the  sales  of  these  bonds  in  these 
Florida  railroads,  then  Swepson  was  to  guarantee  that  $880,- 
000  of  the  amount  of  $1,287,436.03  transferred  in  Florida 
railroad  securities  should  be  paid  or  made  fully  secure;  and  that, 
otherwise,  there  should  be  no  such  o])ligation  on  Swepson's  part. 

In  addition  to  the  above  the  agreement  provided  that  an 
interest  in  the  above  named  railroad,  amounting  to  $1,287,- 
466.03,  should  be  transferred  and  conveyed  to  the  Western 
Division  of  the  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad  Company. 

It  developed  soon  afterwards  that,  although  Swepson  claimed 
to  have  turned  over  these  securities  in  the  Florida  railroads 
to  Littlefield,  yet,  when  the  latter  became  president  of  the 
Western  Division,  in  October,  1869,  he  then  stated  that  they 
were  the  property  of  the  Western  Division,  having  been  pur- 
chased 'with  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  special  tax  bonds 
of  said  railroad,  but  had  been  pledged  with  Edward 
Houston,  of  Georgia  to  secure  the  payment  of  a  large  indebt- 
edness of  Littlefield  to  said  Houston,  and  were  about  to  be 
sold.  Thereupon  the  Western  Division  obtained  an  injunc- 
tion in  the  Supreme  court  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  Octo- 
ber, 1870,  restraining  Littlefield  and  Houston  from  making 
the  sale.  But,  before  the  order  could  be  served,  Houston 
"fled  with  the  said  stock  and  bonds  from  New  York  to  New 
Jersey,  and  from  there  to  Georgia,  in  order  to  avoid  the  law 
and  keep  fraudulent  possession"  of  the  securities,  which  right- 
fully belonged  to  the  Western  Division.  This  stock  consisted 
"of  about  4,370  shares  (being  nearly  the  entire  capital  stock)" 
of  the  Florida  Central  Railroad  Company,  "which  company  had 
then  no  mortgage  debt  upon  its  hne  of  railroad,  which  was  sixty 
miles  long,  completed  and  in  good  running  order."  The 
bonds  of  the  Pensacola  and  Georgia  railroad  and  of  the  Tal- 
lahassee railroad  amounted  to  $1,000,000,  and  cost  Swepson 
$720,000  of  the  proceeds  of  the  special  tax  bonds  of  the  West 
em  Division,  including  "some  stock  in  said  company  and  pay- 
ing expenses  incident  to  such  purchases."  These  railroads 
had  been  sold  in  March,  1869,  under  foreclosure,  and  brought 


SWEPSON  AND  LITTLEFIELD  465 

in  b}'  the  trustees  of  the  Internal  Improvement  Fund 
of  the  State  of  Florida  for  SI. 400,000,  "the  amount  of  the 
whole  mortgage  indebtedness  of  both  of  the  railroads. "  Thus, 
the  Western  Division  had  secured  legal  title  to  a  majority  of 
the  stock  of  an  unencumbered  railroad  60  miles  in  length  and 
owned  ten-fourteenths  of  two  other  Florida  railroads  absolutely 
unencumbered.  If,  therefore,  the  settlement  effected  at 
Washington  had  stood  intact,  there  is  little  doubt  but  that 
the  courts  would  have  confirmed  the  interest  of  the  Western 
Division  in  these  three  Florida  railroads,  as  its  money  had  been 
invested  in  them. 

But  Col.  Woodfin  was  soon  called  to  London,  England, 
where  a  supplemental  settlement  was  made  on  the  10th  of 
November,  1870,  with  Littlefield,  representing  the  Florida 
railroads,  by  which  he  agreed  to  take  for  the  interest 
of  the  Western  Division  in  those  Florida  railroads  800  eight 
per  cent  bonds  of  the  State  of  Florida,  of  $1,000  each,  and 
enough  rails,  etc.,  to  lay  53  miles  of  railroad  down  the 
French  Broad  river  to  Paint  Rock,  including  sidings,  etc. 
This  iron  was  to  be  delivered  duty  free  at  Norfolk,  Va.,  in 
three  lots,  aggregating  1,800  tons,  and  the  rest  at  New  York, 
the  last  shipment  to  be  completed  by  September  1,  1871.  An 
additional  shipment  was  to  be  made  of  1,000  tons  to  New  York, 
wHth  the  necessary  chairs  and  spikes  to  lay  the  same,  by  Sep- 
tember 1,  1871,  "the  shipping  of  which  the  said  S.  W.  Hop- 
kins &  Co.  are  to  guarantee."  But,  to  get  this  settlement, 
j\Ir.  Woodfin  had  to  agree  in  writing  that  he  would  pay  a  claim 
of  $20,000  held  by  Henry  Clews  &  Co.,  of  New  York,  against 
Geo.  W.  Swepson,  and  to  leave  the  800  Florida  bonds  with 
Hopkins  &  Co.  for  sale  at  such  price  as  Mr.  Woodfin  should 
direct.  Mr.  Woodfin  also  receipted  for  two  hundred  pounds 
sterUng,  paid  him  at  that  time.  With  the  lights  before  him, 
this  was  a  most  excellent  settlement.  He  did  not  know  of  the 
complications  existing  in  Florida. 

This  iron  was  shipped  according  to  agreement  but  was 
diverted  by  Hopkins  &  Co.,  to  Detroit,  Mich.,  for  the  purpose 
of  completing  the  Rock  Fish  Railroad,  a  branch  of  the  Michi- 
gan Central.  Major  Rollins  discovered  this  before  the  iron 
was  actually  laid  dowTi,  and  attached  it.  Mr.  Woodfin  arrived 
soon  afterwards  from  New  York  with  a  warrant  for  the  arrest 
and  a  requisition  for  the  return  to  New  York  of  S.  W.  Hop- 

W.  N.  C— 30 


466        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

kins,  the  contractor,  with  whom  Major  Rollins  had  thought 
he  was  about  to  effect  a  satisfactory  settlement.  The  officer 
from  New  York  would  not  wait  till  this  settlement  could  be 
effected  and  hurried  his  prisoner,  Hopkins,  back  to  New  York 
City.  By  the  time  the  case  was  to  be  heard  on  the  question  of 
ownership  of  the  iron  the  clerk  who  had  identified  it  for  Major 
Rollins  had  disappeared  and  the  iron  and  SI 0,000  in  cash 
which  had  been  deposited  to  indemnify  the  real  o^^^le^  of  the 
iron  was  lost  to  the  State.     The  clerk  had  been  ''seen." 

But  that  was  not  to  be  the  end  of  the  bunco  game  by  any 
means;  for  in  May  of  the  very  year  of  which  in  April  he  had 
signed  the  Washington  agreement,  Geo.  W.  Swepson,  while 
president  of  the  Florida  Central  railroad  had,  without  any 
authority  of  the  board  of  directors  of  that  road,  issued  $1,000- 
000  of  bonds,  which  he  signed  as  president  in  Washington, 
D.  C,  and  caused  one  H.  H.  Thompson,  who  was  not  the 
treasurer  of  that  road,  to  sign  as  such  treasurer,  F.  H. 
Flagg  being  then  the  lawful  treasurer.  But  Swepson  and 
Littlefield  gave  Houston,  to  whom  Littlefield  was  in- 
debted, Littlefield's  note  for  $163,000  secured  by  4,370 
shares  of  stock  and  103  Pensacola  and  Georgia  rail- 
road bonds,  and  the  $1,000,000  of  Florida  Central  railroad 
bonds,  which  were  to  be  fraudulently  issued  by  them.  Thus, 
the  value  of  the  interest  in  the  Florida  railroads  had  been  sur- 
reptitiously reduced  very  materially  if  not  altogether  destroyed; 
for  in  January,  1871,  Littlefield  paid  his  $163,000  note  and  ob- 
tained from  Houston  the  surrender  of  the  collateral  which  had 
been  given  to  secure  its  payment.  Then,  one  Thomas  E.  Cod- 
rington  appeared  on  the  scene  and  got  possession  of  the  fraud- 
ulent $1,000,000  of  Florida  Central  bonds,  which,  under  acts 
of  the  Florida  legislature  of  June  24,  1869,  and  January  28, 
1870,  he  surrendered  to  the  State  of  Florida,  and  obtained  in 
their  stead  a  like  number  of  Florida  State  bonds.  But,  strange 
to  relate,  Codrington  got,  instead  of  Florida  State  bonds, 
$1,000,000  of  bonds  of  the  Jacksonville,  Pensacola  and  INIobile 
Railroad  Company,  which  had  been  authorized  by  act  of  the 
Florida  legislature  of  June  24, 1869,  but  of  which  only  $3,000,000 
of  an  authorized  issue  of  $4,000,000  had  been  issued  by  the  gov- 
ernor of  Florida.  Thus,  apparently,  had  been  cured  the  ille- 
gahty  of  the  same  amount  of  bonds  which  Swepson  had  issued 
in  Washington  for  the  benefit  of  the  Florida  Central  Railroad 


SWEPSON  AND  LITTLEFIELD  467 

Company,  to  which  the  signature  of  H.  H.  Thompson,  the 
fictitious  treasurer,  had  been  attached. 

For  this  transaction, in  January,  1872,  Governor  Harrison  Reed 
of  Florida  was  impeached  and  removed,  and  after  the  carpet-bag 
regime  was  entirely  overthroNNii  in  1876,  and  Hon.  Thomas 
Settle  of  North  Carolina  had  been  appointed  judge  of  the 
district  court  of  the  northern  district  of  Florida,  a  hope  was 
entertained  that  a  court  of  equity  would  place  the  Western 
Division  of  the  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad  in  at  least 
as  good  a  position  as  it  had  occupied  when  its  money  had  been 
originally  invested  in  the  three  Florida  railroads,  and  would 
not  allow  it  to  suffer  by  the  illegal  and  fraudulent  acts  of 
those  who  had  ceased  to  be  its  agents  when  those  acts  had 
been  committed. 

Now,  Major  Rollins  had  been  elected  president  of  the  West- 
ern Division  of  the  Western  North  Carolina  railroad  upon 
the  disappearance  of  M.  S.  Littlefield  and,  subsequently,  to 
the  presidency  of  the  Eastern  Division,  and,  followed  the 
railroad's  interest  into  Florida,  and  the  control  of  the  Florida 
railroads.  Accordingly,  in  February,  1877,  he  instituted  a 
suit  in  equity  in  the  circuit  court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Northern  district  of  Florida,  in  which  the  Western  Division 
of  the  Western  North  Carolina  railroad  sought  to  have  the 
bonds  of  the  Florida  Central  railroads,  which  had  been  ex- 
changed for  Florida  State  bonds,  declared  unlawful;  but  Judge 
Joseph  P.  Bradley,  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  in  an  opinion  filed  May  31, 1879,  dismissed 
the  bill  with  costs,  on  the  ground  that  the  Western  Division 
of  the  Western  North  Carolina  railroad,  by  agreements  made 
at  Washington  and  in  London,  had  "acquiesced  in  the  issue 
of  the  bonds  and  only  claimed  to  share  in  the  proceeds  there- 
of." The  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  afterwards 
affirmed  this  decision  in  a  case  entitled  Florida  Central  Rail- 
road Company  v.  Schutte  and  others,  upon  the  ground  that,  in  the 
language  of  Chief  Justice  Waite:  "There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  governor  of  Florida  was  active  in  promoting  the 
sale,  as  was  also  the  chairman  of  the  commission  appointed 
by  the  General  Assembly  of  North  Carolina.  The  bonds 
were  taken  at  once  to  London  and  from  there  put  on  the 
market  in  Holland  where  most  or  all  of  these  sales  appear 
to  have  been  made.     The  bonds  were  undoubtedly  steeped 


468        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

in  fraud  at  their  inception,  but  they  were  nevertheless  State 
bonds  on  the  market  in  a  foreign  country,  etc."  The  court 
held  in  effect  that  as  the  Western  Division  had  adopted  the 
property  purchased  by  an  embezzler  with  its  money,  its  rights 
were  subordinate  to  those  of  innocent  purchasers  of  the  same 
class  of  securities,  and  were  charged  with  all  the  liens  Swep- 
son  had  put  upon  them. ' 

North  Carolina  afterwards  repudiated  all  of  these  special 
tax  bonds  along  with  others  which  had  been  issued  by  the 
carpet-bag  government  of  1868-70. 

NOTES. 

'In  Galloway  v.  Jenkins  (63  N.  C,  p.  147)  the  Supreme  Court  had  held  only  a  short 
time  before  that  the  State  could  not  contract  a  debt  to  build  a  new  railroad  except  by  an 
affirmative  vote  of  the  people,  because  to  do  so  before  the  bonds  of  the  State  had  reached 
par  would  violate  Art.  5,  Sec.  5,  of  the  State  Constitution;  although  it  is  true  that  in  this 
case  Judges  Reade  and  Settle  had  dissented. 

'Hon.  Samuel  W.  Watts  was  the  Superior  court  judge  who  had  issued  the  injunction 
in  June,  1869.     Shipp's  Fraud  Com.  Rep. ,  p.  447 

>103  U.  S.  Rep.,  327  (13  Otto— 118-145). 


William  H.  Thomas, 
'Father  of  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad." 


CHAPTER    XX 
RAILROADS 

The  First  Railroad  Project.*  "When,  about  the  year 
1836,  a  railroad  from  Cincinnati  to  Charleston,  which  should 
pass  through  Ashevillc,  was  projected,  Robert  Y.  Hayne,  the 
great  South  Carolinian  who  had  vanquished  Daniel  Webster 
in  debate,  was  made  its  president.  At  a  meeting  of  this  com- 
pany, held  in  Asheville  in  1839,  Mr.  Hayne,  who  had  continued 
to  be  its  president,  became  dangerously  ill,  and  died  here 
September  24,  1839,  in  the  old  Eagle  Hotel  building." 

The  railroads  which  had  been  built  prior  to  1845  "were  all  in 
the  eastern  portion  of  the  State.  The  need  of  a  road  toward 
the  mountains  was  strikingly  sho\\Ti  by  the  failure  of  the 
crops  in  the  western  counties.  -  Owing  to  this  failure,  even 
the  necessaries  of  life  became  dear  in  that  section.  Corn  rose 
from  fifty  cents  to  a  dollar  and  a  half  a  bushel;  and  yet,  at  the 
same  time,  corn  in  the  eastern  counties  was  rotting  in  the  fields 
for  lack  of  a  market,  and  fish  were  being  used  to  enrich  the 
ground.  The  condition  of  the  [wagon]  roads  in  1848  was, 
however,  such  as  to  discourage  further  expense. " 

A  Crop  Failure  Started  Railroad  Interest.  This 
general  failure  of  crops  in  the  mountain  regions  called  atten- 
tion to  the  want  of  communication  between  the  two  sections 
of  the  State;  and  in  1850-51  $12,000  was  appropriated  by  the 
legislature  to  survey  a  route  for  a  railroad  from  Salisbury  to 
the  Tennessee  line  where  the  French  Broad  river  passes  into 
Tennessee. 

The  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad.  Although 
it  is  generally  supposed  that  the  Western  North  Carolina 
railroad  had  its  genesis  in  1855,  the  North  Carolina  and  West- 
ern railroad,  to  run  from  Salisbury  to  the  Tennessee  line, 
was  chartered  as  early  as  1852  (Ch.  136).  Its  authorized 
capital  stock  was  $3,000,000.  Nothing  of  consequence,  how- 
ever, was  accomplished  under  this  charter. 

Legislative  History.  "In  1854  the  State  of  North 
Carolina  was  completeing  the  construction  of  her  great  work, 
the  North  Carolina  railroad,  and  emboldened  by  this  success 
and  having  in  view  a  connection  of  her  then  existing  system 

(469) 


470        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

of  railroads  with  the  proposed  Blue  Ridge  railroad,  and  so  with 
the  Great  West,  there  was  passed  an  act  entitled:  'An  Act 
to  incorporate  the  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad  Com 
pany,'  ratified  February  15,  1855  (Laws  of  North  Caro- 
lina 1854-55,  eh.  228,  p.  257),  which,  after  reciting  the  pur- 
pose 'of  constructing  a  railroad  to  effect  a  communication 
between  the  North  Carolina  railroad  and  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi,'  provided  for  the  organization  of  a  corporation 
under  the  style  of  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad  Company, 
with  power  'to  construct  a  railroad,  with  one  or  more  tracks, 
from  the  town  of  Salisbury  on  the  North  Carolina  railroad, 
passing  by  or  as  near  as  practicable  to  Statesville,  in  the  county 
of  Iredell,  to  some  point  on  the  French  Broad  river,  beyond 
the  Blue  Ridge,  and' if  the  legislature  shall  hereafter  determine, 
to  such  point  as  it  shall  designate,  at  a  future  session. '  Four 
years  later,  when  the  line  had  been  located  from  Salisbury 
to  the  French  Broad  river  at  Asheville,  the  general  assembly 
supplemented  this  original  charter  and  definitely  fixed  the 
route  of  the  proposed  line  in  an  act  entitled:  'An  Act  to 
amend  an  Act  entitled:  "An  Act  to  incorporate  the  Western 
North  Carolina  Railroad  Company"  passed  at  the  session 
of  1854-55,  and  also  an  act  amendatory  thereof  passed  at  the 
session  of  1856-57'  (Ratified  February  15,  1859.  Private 
Laws  of  North  Carolina  1858-59,  ch.  170,  p.  217). »  This 
directed  that  the  survey  be  continued  'from  the  point  near 
Asheville  to  which  the  survey  has  already  been  made,  extend- 
ing west  through  the  valley  of  the  Pigeon  and  Tuckaseegee 
rivers,  to  a  point  on  the  line  of  the  Blue  Ridge  railroad  on  the 
Tennessee  river,  or  to  the  Tennessee  line  at  or  near  Ducktown, 
in  the  county  of  Cherokee, '  and  thereby  located  a  line  which 
would  connect  the  North  Carolina  railroad  with  the  Blue  Ridge 
railroad,  an  extension  which  has  since  been  realized,  without 
the  Blue  Ridge  railroad  connection,  in  the  existing  Murphy 
branch. 

"As  the  legislature  was  intent,  however,  on  effecting  some 
western  connection  for  the  North  Carolina  system  of  rail- 
roads, the  Western  North  Carolina  was  not  limited  to  an 
alliance  with  the  Blue  Ridge  railroad,  but  it  was  provided 
that  the  extension  from  Asheville  might  be  '  down  the  French 
Broad  river,  through  Madison  county,  to  the  line  of  the  State 
of  Tennessee  at  or  near  Paint  Rock, '  which  might  '  connect 


RAILROADS  471 


with  any  company  that  has  been  formed  or  may  be  formed  to 
complete  the  railroad  connection  with  the  East  Tennessee  and 
Virginia  railroad. '  "  * 

Surveys  were  accortlingly  made  for  both  of  these  proposed 
lines,  and  these  surveys  were  duly  approved  by  the  legisla- 
ture at  its  next  session  in  an  act  ratified  February  18,  1861. 
(Private  Laws  of  North  Carolina  1860-61,  ch.  138,  p.  154). 

"The  alternative,  or  Paint  Rock  line  so  authorized,  being 
that  of  Louisville,  Cincinnati,  and  Charleston,  which  had 
been  pronounced  in  the  reports  of  the  engineer  read  at  the 
Knoxville  convention  in  1836  to  be  extraordinarily  feasible 
for  a  railroad,  would  no  doubt  have  been  originally  adopted 
by  the  Western  North  Carolina  but  for  the  fact  that  in 
1859  the  Blue  Ridge  railroad  was  still  considered  certain  of 
construction,  while  the  Cincinnati,  Cumberland  Gap  and 
Charleston  Railroad  Company,  which  held  the  Tennessee 
franchise  to  carry  on  the  old  Louisville,  Cincinnati  and 
Charleston  line  from  Paint  Rock  to  a  connection  with  the  East 
Tennessee  and  Virginia  railroad  at  Morristown,  was  finan- 
cially weak. 

"As  the  securing  of  a  through  trunk  line  was  the  principal 
object  for  which  the  construction  of  the  Western  North  Car- 
olina was  undertaken,  the  proposed  Blue  Ridge  connection 
accordingly  dictated  the  adoption  of  the  line  from  Asheville 
toward  Murphy  as  the  main  line  of  the  Western  North  Caro- 
lina and  it  was  so  considered  as  late  as  1868  when  the  Con- 
stitutional convention,  then  in  session,  passed  an  ordinance 
entitled:  'An  ordinance  for  the  completion  of  the  Western 
North  Carolina  Railroad,'  ratified  March  14,  1868  (Ordi- 
nances of  1868,  ch.  50,  p.  100),  which  provided  that  no  part 
of  the  subscription  of  the  State  to  the  Western  North  Carolina 
should  be  used  in  the  construction  of  branch  lines,  except 
the  line  to  Paint  Rock,  until  'the  main  trunk  line  of  said  rail- 
road shall  have  been  completed  to  Copper  Mine,  at  or  near 
DucktouTi'  and  furthermore  that  the  General  Assembly  'is 
hereby  authorized  and  directed  to  make  such  further  appro- 
priation or  subscription  to  the  capital  stock  of  said  railroad 
company  as  will  insure  the  completion  of  said  road  at  the 
earliest  practicable  day.' 

"  The  Paint  Rock  line,  thus  relegated  to  the  status  of  a  branch, 
was  not,  however,  abandoned,  but  it  was  considered  that  the 


472        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Tennessee  enterprise  of  the  Cincinnati,  Cumberland  Gap 
and  Charleston  was  primaril}^  interested  therein,  as  is  evidenced 
by  the  act  entitled:  'An  Act  to  amend  the  Charter  of  the 
Western  North  Carolina  Railroad'  ratified  March  4,  1867, 
(Pubhc  Laws  of  N.  C.  1866-67,  ch.  94,  p.  152),  which  author- 
ized the  Western  North  Carolina  to  construct  its  line  from 
Asheville  to  Paint  Rock  upon  the  'Tennessee  Gauge,'  and  to 
so  maintain  it  until  the  entire  line  was  completed,  and  the  gauge 
of  the  North  Carolina  railroad  could  be  established  thereon 
uniformly.  'It  was  the  reahzation  of  the  Paint  Rock  line 
in  1881,  however,  that  opened  the  only  railroad  which  has  ever 
been  built  through  the  southern  ranges  of  the  Appalachian 
Mountains. "  •* 

Route  and  Connections.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  above 
how  the  route  was  changed  from  that  originally  contemplated.  ^ 
It  was  never  purposed  to  build  this  railroad  by  way  of  Frank- 
lin; as  that  town  was  on  the  proposed  Blue  Ridge  line  from 
Walhalla,  S.  C,  and  it  was  the  intention  to  connect  with  that 
line;  but  this  connection  was  contemplated  at  some  point 
west  of  Franklin,  Ducktown,  Tennessee,  having  been  consid- 
ered at  one  time  as  the  point  of  junction,  due  to  ignorance 
of  the  topography  of  the  western  part  of  the  State,  as  the 
connection  must  necessarily  have  been  somewhere  on  the 
Little  Tennessee,  that  stream  rising  in  Raburn  gap,  Ga. 

Rapid  Progress.  The  Western  North  Carohna  railroad 
was  chartered  by  an  act  which  was  ratified  February  15,  1855, 
and  work  was  begun  and  the  railroad  completed  and  put  into 
operation  to  within  a  few  miles  east  of  ]\Iorganton  by  the 
summer  of  1861.  A  contract  had  been  given  to  Crockford, 
Malone  &  Co.,  in  September,  1860,  when  Dr.  A.  M.  Powell 
was  president  of  the  railroad  company,  for  the  completion  of 
the  road  from  a  point  near  Old  Fort  to  the  western  portal  of 
the  Swannanoa  tunnel,  for  a  specified  sum,  plus  20  per  cent 
for  contingencies.  These  contractors  stopped  work  in  the 
spring  of  1861  on  account  of  the  war,  having  done  about  S27,- 
000  worth  of  work.     Soon  after  the  close  of  the  Civil  War, 

while  Mr. Caldwell  was  president  and  Capt.  Samuel 

Kirkland  was  chief  engineer,  the  road  was  completed  to  Mor- 
ganton  by  paying  50  per  cent  increase  on  estimates  made  previous 
to  the  war,  the  increase  being  due  to  depreciation  of  currency. 
Colonel  W.  A.  Eliason  was  elected  chief  engineer  in  1868  and 


RAILROADS  473 


continued  as  such  till  April,  1871.  Previous  to  18G8  Col. 
Elia^^on  luul  l)('i>n  assistant  engineer.  The  line  had  been 
changed  in  the  winter  of  1800-01  for  a  considerable  distance 
on  sections  0,  7,  8,  9  and  10  and  this  reduced  the  estimates  by 
§171,293. 

Location  on  the  Blue  Ridge  Changed.  The  route  up  the 
eastern  slope  of  the  131ue  Ridge  was  changed  after  the  war 
to  one  with  longer,  safer  and  lighter  grades  than  those  of 
the  original  survey.  ^ 

Engineers  and  Mountain  Work.  While  Col.  J.  W. 
Wilson  was  chief  engineer  Col.  S.  W.  McD.  Tate  became 
president,  and  in  October,  1800,  the  board  of  directors  ordered 
the  resumption  of  work  west  of  Morganton,  and  the  precedent 
of  paying  50  per  cent  advance  was  followed.  In  January, 
1808,  the  contract  for  the  work  from  Old  Fort  to  the  western 
portal  of  the  Swannanoa  tunnel  was  let  to  John  Malone  & 
Co.,  diminished  by  the  work  which  had  been  done  by  Crock- 
ford,  Malone  &  Co.,  plus  50  per  cent  to  the  original  estimates. 

A  Proposition  was  afterwards  made  to  Col.  Wilson  that,  if  he 
would  turn  over  $200,000  of  first  mortgage  bonds  of  the  road, 
the  chief  engineer  would  make  out  estimates  for  $701,000  in 
addition  to  what  he  had  received,  which  would  be  a  majority 
of  the  $1,400,000  bonds  authorized  by  the  act  of  December 
19,  1800.  This  proposition  was  made  at  the  Boyden  House 
in  Salisbury  in  December,  1870,  and  the  object  was  claimed 
to  be  to  get  control  of  the  majority  of  the  bonds  and  thus 
prevent  a  forced  foreclosure  of  the  railroad: 

"  Some  time  in  the  fall  of  1809  I  had  conversation  with  Col. 
Tate  in  relation  to  the  condition  of  the  road. ''  .  .  .  In 
one  of  those  conversations  in  Morganton  it  was  suggested  that 
the  sale  of  the  road  could  not  be  forced  unless  a  majority  of 
the  bonds  got  into  the  hands  of  one  person.  I  suggested  to 
Col.  Tate  that  probably  the  contract  with  John  Malone  &  Co. 
could  be  made  useful  in  preventing  the  sale;  that  they  claimed 
compensation  for  their  work  according  to  the  old  estimates  and 
contract  with  Crockford  and  Malone.  I  thought  they  were 
bound  by  the  estimates  on  the  line  as  changed  by  me,  but  that 
I  would  sign  the  estimates  according  to  the  old  notes,  with  the 
understanding  that  000  of  the  bonds  were  to  be  delivered  to 
Maj.  Wilson,  and  200  were  to  be  placed  in  my  hands  ;  for  the 
whole  was  to  be  held  so  that  they  would  not  be  put  on  the 


474        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

market  and  get  into  the  hands  of  the  New  York  speculators, 
and  thereby  endanger  the  sale  of  the  road.  The  800  were  to 
be  divided  between  Maj.  Wilson  and  myself,  so  that  no  one 
was  to  have  a  majority  of  the  bonds.  'Col.  Wilson  declined 
this  proposition,'  as  it  was  '  much  more  than  was  due  me,  and 
I  regarded  the  transaction  as  corrupt.'  "  * 

A  Change  of  Officers.  Dr.  J.  J.  Mott  succeeded  Col. 
Tate  as  president  of  this  division  of  the  road,  Col.  Tate  becom- 
ing financial  agent  when  he  secured  the  State  bonds  issued 
on  account  of  the  company.  The  office  of  financial  agent 
was  abolished  in  1869.  Col.  Tate  accounted  for  all  these 
bonds  before  the  Bragg  committee,  which  found  his  official 
conduct  correct. 

John  Malone  &  Co.  The  firm  of  John  Malone  &  Co., 
was  composed  of  John  Malone,  J.  W.  Wilson  and  Mr.  Golds- 
borough  of  Maryland.  J.  W.  Wilson  had  been  the  chief  engineer 
and  superintendent  of  the  road  from  the  summer  of  1864 
until  the  provisional  governor  was  appointed  in  1865.  He 
was  afterwards  reappointed  by  the  directors  named  by  Gov. 
Worth  and  held  the  position  until  the  spring  of  1867,  when  he 
resigned  in  order  to  go  into  business.  Up  to  September,  1871, 
John  jMalone  &  Co.,  had  been  paid  for  their  work  about  $600,- 
000,  the  estimate  of  the  whole  contract  having  been  $1,959,- 
000,  two-thirds  of  which  was  to  be  paid  in  cash  and  one-third 
in  stock,  leaving  $220,000  still  due  to  the  contractors.  The 
Swepson  and  Littlefield  frauds  brought  all  work  to  a  stop  in 
1870.     (See  Chapter  XIX.) 

Western  Division  Abolished.  At  its  session  of  1873-74 
the  legislature  repealed  the  act  appointing  the  Woodfin  commis- 
sion and  required  the  commissioners  to  turn  over  all  the  books 
and  property  of  the  Western  Division  to  the  directors  of  the 
Western  North  Carolina  railroad,  upon  whom  devolved 
the  former  duties  of  the  commissioners;  and  the  legislature 
of  1876-77  required  the  president  of  the  railroad  to  report 
what  property  he  had  acquired  from  Swepson  and  Littlefield 
in  his  settlement  with  them.  This  Western  Division  consisted 
of  the  Murphy  and  Paint  Rock  lines.  The  Eastern  Division 
was  the  line  from  Salisbury  to  Asheville. 

Early  Litigation.  The  Western  North  Carolina  railroad 
got  into  trouble  with  its  creditors,  and,  in  1874-75,  we  find  a 
joint  resolution  to  ascertain  what  the  claims  against  the  road 


RAILROADS  475 


could  be  bought  for,  aiul  another  joint  resolution  to  appeal 
to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States  from  the  de- 
cision of  the  United  States  court  at  (jreensboro  in  the  case  of 
Henry  Clews,  Hiram  Sibley  and  others  v.  the  Western  Division 
of  the  Westei-n  North  Carolina  railroad,  and,  finally  (Ch.  150) 
an  act  to  authorize  the  purchase  of  the  road  under  the  decree 
for  its  sale  at  not  more  than  $850,000,  with  authority  to 
issue  seven  per  cent  bonds  to  that  amount,  secured  by  a  mort- 
gage of  the  property;  and  to  complete  the  road  to  Paint  Rock 
and  Murphy,  the  State  to  have  three-fourths  of  the  stock 
and  the  private  stockholders  the  other  third. 

"By  an  act  ratified  March  13,  1875  (laws  of  North  Carolina 
1874-75,  ch.  150,  p.  172),  the  Governor,  Curtis  H.  Brogden, 
the  president  of  the  senate.  R.  F.  Armfield,  and  the  Speaker 
of  the  House,  James  L.  Robinson,  were  constituted  a  com- 
mission with  power  to  purchase  the  Western  North  Carolina 
railroad  at  the  forthcoming  sale  in  the  Sibley  suit  for  not 
exceeding  $850,000,  the  amount  which  had  been  adjudged 
due  on  the  outstanding  first  mortgage  bonds  issued  by  the 
Eastern  Division.  In  order  to  force  through  the  negotiations 
for  the  purchase  of  the  outstanding  claims,  this  commission 
was  later  authorized  to  prosecute  an  appeal  in  the  Sibley  suit 
to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  by  resolution  adopted 
March  20,  1875.  (Laws  of  North  Carohna  1874-75,  p.  405. 
See  also  a  resolution  concerning  the  expenses  of  this  commis- 
sion, ratified  January  11,  1877,  Laws  of  North  Carolina  1876-77, 
p.  582.) 

"This  finally  resulted  in  the  execution  of  an  agreement 
under  date  of  April  17,  1875,  whereby  all  the  parties  in  interest, 
including  the  East  Tennessee,  Virginia  and  Georgia,  the  North 
Carolina  Railroad  Company  and  McAden,  assigned  all  their 
claims  to  the  State  commission  consisting  of  Messrs.  Brog- 
den, Armfield  and  Robinson,  in  consideration  of  their  agree- 
ment to  purchase  and  reorganize  the  Western  North  Caro- 
lina, and  to  issue  new  first  mortgage  bonds  for  $850,000  to  be 
ratably  distributed  among  the  parties  in  interest.  This 
agreement  was  thereupon  carried  out,  and  reorganization 
by  the  State  followed;  the  new  corporation,  hereinafter  styled 
Western  North  Carolina  Railroad  Company  No.  2,  taking 
possession  of  the  property  on  October  1,  1875."  ^ 

Organization.     By  chapter  105  of  the  laws  of  1876-77  the 


476        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Western  North  Carolina  railroad  was  organized  with  a  capital 
stock  of  S850,000,  three-fourths  of  which  belonged  to  the 
State  and  one-fourth  to  the  private  stockholders  to  be  appoint- 
ed according  to  their  several  interests.  The  State  also  under- 
took to  furnish  500  convicts  to  work  on  the  road  and  the 
governor  was  authorized  to  buy  iron  to  lay  the  track  from 
the  then  terminus  near  Old  Fort.  It  was  also  provided  that 
when  the  road  should  have  been  completed  to  Asheville  the 
convicts  were  to  be  divided  equally,  one-half  to  work  on  the 
Paint  Rock  line  and  the  other  half  on  the  Murphy  division, 
and  that  after  the  line  should  have  been  completed  to  Paint 
Rock,  all  the  convicts  were  to  be  employed  on  the  line  to 
Murphy.  Apparently,  however,  the  State  became  uncertain 
as  to  the  securities  of  the  Richmond  &  Danville  railroad  for 
its  lease  of  the  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad,  for 
on  the  23d  of  January,  1877,  a  joint  resolution  was  adopted 
to  enquire  into  the  sufficiency  of  those  securities.  In  1879 
the  Western  Division  was  abolished  and  consolidated  with 
the  Eastern  Division  under  the  name  of  the  Western  North 
Carolina  Railroad  Company. 

MW.  J.  Best  &  Co.  A  special  session  of  the  legislature  was 
called  and  by  an  act  of  March  29,  1880,  (Ch.  26)  the  State 
agreed  to  sell  the  Western  North  Carolina  railroad  to  Wm. 
J.  Best,  Wm.  R.  Grace,  James  D.  Fish  and  J.  Nelson  Tappan 
subject  to  the  mortgage  of  1875  for  $850,000,  on  which  the 
purchasers  were  to  pay  the  interest,  etc. 

The  agreement  of  April  27,  1880,  between  Wm.  J.  Best 
et  at.  and  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  among  other  things, 
recited : 

"  The  Act  of  March  29,  1880,  and  provides  in  consideration  of  the 
deUvery  of  a  deed  by  the  Commissioners  named  in  said  act  to  the  United 
Trust  Company,  to  be  held  in  escrow,  that  the  purchasers  will  : 

"  1.  Complete  the  line  to  Paint  Rock  on  or  before  July  1,  1881,  and 
to  Murphy  on  or  before  January  1,  1885. 

"  2.  Repay  to  the  State  all  moneys  expended  on  the  road  after  March 
29,  1880. 

"  3.  Pay  to  the  State  $125  per  annum  rent  for  each  of  five  hundred 
able-bodied  convicts. 

"  4.     That  no  bonds  will  be  issued  except  as  provided  in  the  act. 

"  5.  That  they  will  deliver  $520,000  of  their  first  mortgage  bonds, 
when  issued  and  $30,000  cash,  to  make  up  the  aggregate  of  $550,000, 
invested  by  the  State  in  the  property,  to  the  State  Treasurer. 


RAILROADS  477 


"  6.  That  they  will  pay  the  interest  on  the  outstanding  $850,000  of 
W.  N.  C.  No.  2  bonds."'" 

Clyde,  Logan  and  Buford.  "Clyde,  Logan  and  Buford, 
in  1880,  loaned  W.  J.  Best  money  and  he  failed  to  pay  same 
back  and  forfeited  the  road,  he  assigning  all  his  interest  to 
Messrs.  Clyde,  Logan  and  Buford  on  May  28,  1880.' '  • "  These 
men  controlled  both  the  Richmond  and  Danville  Railroad 
Company  and  the  Richmond  and  West  Point  Terminal 
Company. ' ' 

The  Richmond  and  Danville.  The  Richmond  and  Danville 
Railroad  Company  at  one  time  owned  the  Richmond  and 
West  Point  Terminal  Company,  and  afterwards  the  Richmond 
and  West  Point  Terminal  Company  bought  the  Richmond 
and  Danville.  Under  the  assignment  from  Best  the  Rich- 
mond Terminal  Company  came  into  control  of  the  Western 
North  Carolina  and  immediately  proceeded  with  the  work, 
issuing  two  mortgages  for  this  purpose.  ^  ^ 

"The  Richmond  Terminal  Company  acquired  the  Western  North 
CaroUna  in  the  interest  of  the  e.xpanding  R.  &.  D  system  to  extend  its 
line  from  a  connection  at  Salisbury  with  the  North  CaroUna  Railroad, 
which  the  R.  &  D.  was  operating  in  1880  under  lease. 

"For  the  next  five  years  while  the  construction  of  the  Western  North 
Carolina  was  being  completed  the  operation  was  carried  on  in  the  name 
of  Western  North  Carolina  No.  3  as  is  evidenced  by  an  act  entitled  : 

"  'An  Act  empowering  the  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad  Company 
to  construct  telegraph  and  telephone  lines  on  its  right  of  way.' 

"Ratified  March  6,  1885. 

"Laws  of  North  CaroUna  1885,  ch.  294,  p.  542,  which  authorized  the 
company  to  do  a  general  telegraph  business,  but  in  1886,  when  the  R. 
&  D.  was  assuming  the  operation  of  most  of  the  Richmond  Terminal 
lines  in  its  own  name,  the  following  lease  was  executed  : 

"'Western  North  CaroUna  Railroad  Co.,  to  Richmond  and  DanviUe 
Railroad  Company,  lease  dated  April  30,  1886  :  Term  Ninety-nine 
years.  Rental  :  Net  earnings  above  fixed  charges.  (Abrogated  May 
5,  1894.)'  "'=^ 

Richmond  Terminal.  "From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
property  was  operated  as  the  Western  North  Carolina  but 
was  held  by  the  Richmond  Terminal  Company  up  to  April 
30,  1886,  from  which  time  to  May  5,  1894,  when  the  Southern 
Railway  purchased  the  property,  it  was  operated  by  the  Rich- 
mond &  Danville  under  lease. "'^ 

The  State  Sells  the  Railroad.  By  an  act  of  1883  (ch. 
241)  the  State  agreed  to  sell  the  road  to  Clyde,  Logan  and 


478        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Buford,  assignees  of  W.  J.  Best  and  associates,  provided  they 
should  complete  it  to  the  mouth  of  the  Nantahala  river  by- 
September  1,  1884,  and  should  keep  at  work  beyond  that 
point  75  convicts.  They  were  also  required  to  purchase  of 
the  State  treasurer  S520,000  of  the  coupon  bonds  of  the  West- 
ern North  Carolina  railroad  which  they  had  deposited  with 
the  State  treasurer  under  sections  12  and  24  of  the  act  of 
March  29,  1880.  The  road  was  finished  into  Andrews  in  the 
summer  of  1889  and  to  Murphy  in  1891.  Soon  thereafter, 
to  wit,  on  June  15,  1892,  the  old  Richmond  &  Danville  Rail- 
road went  into  the  hands  of  receivers,  Fred  W.  Hidekoper, 
Reuben  Foster,  and,  later  on,  Samuel  Spencer,  and  emerged 
therefrom  as  the  Southern  Railway  Company,  August  22,  1894, 
when  the  order  was  made  confirming  the  sale  of  the  road  which 
had  been  made  by  Charles  Price,  special  master,  on  August 
21  at  Salisbury,  for  $500,000. 

Completion  of  the  Railroad.  From  1869  and  thereafter  for 
several  years,  passengers  were  taken  from  Old  Fort,  the  terminus 
of  the  railroad,  to  Asheville  in  stage  coaches  operated  by  the 
late  Ed.  T.  Clemmons,  contractor.  Jack  Pence  "drove  the 
mountain,"  as  the  end  of  the  line  nearest  Old  Fort  was  called, 
handling  "the  ribbons"  over  six  beautiful  white  horses.  The 
part  of  the  trip  do^vn  the  mountains  was  always  made  at 
night,  but  there  was  never  an  accident.  After  several  years 
the  road  was  completed  to  a  station  called  Henry's,  where  it 
remained  till  1879,  when  it  had  been  finished  to  Azalia,  130 
miles  west  of  Sahsbury.  The  .formidable  Blue  Ridge  had 
been  successfully  surmounted  at  last. 

The  Andrews  Geyser.  A  hotel  and  geyser-Uke  fountain 
were  maintained  at  Round  Knob  from  about  1885  to  about 
the  close  of  the  last  century,  when  the  hotel  was  burned. 
The  fountain  had  ceased  some  time  before  that;  but  in  1911 
George  F.  Baker  of  New  York,  as  a  testimonial  to  the  ser- 
vices Col.  A.  B.  Andrews  had  rendered  in  the  development 
of  Western  North  Carolina,  restored  the  fountain  at  his  own 
expense.  •  It  throws  a  stream  of  water  250  feet  into  the  air. 

Arrival  at  Various  Points.  ^  *  The  railroad  was  completed 
to  Biltmore  on  Sunday,  October  3,  1880;  to  Alexanders,  10 
miles  below  Asheville  on  the  French  Broad,  on  the  4th  day 
of  July,  1881,  and  to  Paint  Rock  January  25,  1882.  The 
bridge  at  Marshall  was  finished  June  15,  1882.     The  Murphy 


RAILROADS  479 


branch  was  completed  to  Pigeon  river,  now  Canton,  January 
28,  1882,  reaching  Waynesville  later  in  the  same  year. 

Progress  West  of  Waynesville.  If  the  original  plan 
to  have  a  tunnel  through  the  Balsam  mountain  had  been 
adhered  to  the  terminus  of  the  road  must  have  remained  at 
Waynesville  many  years;  but  the  road  was  built  over  the 
mountain  by  a  dilhcult  and  dangerous  grade,  and  the  work 
which  had  been  done  on  the  tunnel  in  1869  and  1870  was 
abandoned.  This  Balsam  gap  is  the  highest  railroad  pass 
east  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  being  about  3,100  feet  above 
sea  level.  .  .  .  The  road  was  completed  to  Dillsboro  in 
1883  and  to  Bryson  city  in  1884.  It  reached  Jarrett's  station, 
or  Nantahala,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Red  Marble  creek,  Novem- 
ber 23,  1884.  Here  it  stayed  a  long  time,  due  to  the  fact 
that  a  tunnel  had  been  contemplated  through  the  Red  Marble 
gap  of  the  Valley  River  Mountain;  but  after  the  grading  had 
been  completed  nearly  to  the  gap  it  was  discovered  that  the 
soil  would  not  support  the  roof  and  sides  of  a  tunnel,  and  the 
whole  work  had  to  be  done  over  again  and  the  roadbed  placed 
on  a  much  higher  grade.  This  serious  error  cost  many  thou- 
sands of  dollars  and  long  delay.  The  road  was  finished  to 
Andrews  in  the  summer  of  1889,  and  its  entrance  into  Mur- 
phy was  celebrated  in  1891,  on  the  same  day  the  corner- 
stone of  the  fine  new  court  house  was  laid.  The 
original  survey  required  the  road  to  go  by  old  Valley  Town, 
but  it  was  changed.  Several  of  the  convicts  who  helped  to 
build  this  road  settled  in  Murphy  when  their  terms  expired 
and  are  making  good  citizens 

Spartanburg  and  Asiieville  Railroad.  This  road  was  com- 
pleted to  Saluda,  twelve  miles  east  of  Hendersonvillc  in  1879, 
and  to  Hendersonvillc  about  1882.  It  was  necessary  that 
Buncombe  county  should  contribute  to  the  building  of  this 
railroad. 

Buncombe's  Subscription.  On  the  5th  of  August,  1875, 
there  were  1,944  votes  for  subscription  to  §100,000  of  the 
stock  of  the  Spartanburg  and  Asheville  railroad,  and  only 
242  votes  against  subscription,  and  the  bonds  were  issued, 
bearing  six  per  cent  interest  and  due  in  twenty  years.  But 
they  were  issued  only  as  the  grading  was  completed  and 
amounted  at  the  end  to  only  $08,000  in  all.  These  bonds  were 
refunded  at  par  by  new  bonds  dated  July  1,  1895,  due  in  twenty 


480        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

years,  under  Chapter  172,  Public  Laws  1893.  But  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  RepubHcan  board  of  county  commissioners  on  De- 
cember 27,  1897,  they  ratified  a  contract  which  had  been 
made  by  the  board  and  Hon.  A.  C.  Avery,  Mark  W.  BrovvTi 
and  Moore  &  Moore,  attorneys,  to  contest  the  vahdity  of 
the  bonds  in  a  case  entitled  the  County  Commissioners  v.  W. 
R.  Payne,  County  Treasurer.  This  attempted  repudiation 
was  used  by  the  Democrats  to  defeat  the  Republicans  in 
November,  1898.  But  the  Democrats  themselves  after- 
wards employed  counsel  to  carry  out  the  repudiation  of 
these  bonds  on  the  ground  that  the  bill  had  not  been 
read  on  three  separate  days  in  each  house.  However, 
certain  holders  of  these  bonds  soon  brought  an  action  in  the 
District  court  of  the  United  States,  which  held  that  the  bonds 
were  valid. 

Richmond  Pearson's  Bill.  Having  secured  the  S100,000 
subscription  from  Buncombe  county,  the  officers  of  this  road 
seemed  satisfied  to  keep  its  terminal  at  Hendersonville  indefi- 
nitely. Consequently,  in  1885,  Hon.  Richmond  Pearson, 
of  Buncombe,  introduced  a  bill  in  the  legislature  to  declare 
forfeited  the  charter  of  the  Spartanburg  and  Asheville  Ptailroad 
Company,  but  before  it  could  be  read  a  second  time,  the  railroad 
company  began  work  and  in  1886  completed  the  road  to 
Asheville.  During  the  time  the  road's  terminus  remained 
at  Hendersonville  Buncombe  county  was  paying  interest  on 
the  $98,000  of  bonds  which  had  been  issued. 

The  South  and  Western  Railroad.  The  South  and  West- 
ern railroad  was  completed  from  Johnson  City,  Tennessee,  to 
Huntdale,  Yancey  county.  North  Carolina,  in  1900.  It  was 
afterwards  built  to  Spruce  Pine  in  1904. 

The  Southern  Railway  in  the  Manger.  From  the 
decision  of  the  Supreme  court  in  the  case  of  the  Johnson  City 
Southern  Railway  against  the  South  and  Western  Railroad 
Company  ^^  it  is  clear  that  the  Southern  Railway  Company 
in  1907  attempted  to  defeat  the  building  of  this  incomparable 
railroad  now  crossing  the  mountains  from  Marion,  North 
Carohna,  to  Johnson  City,  Tennessee,  by  alleging  that  it  (the 
Southern)  was  seeking  to  condemn  land  along  the  North  Toe 
river  in  Yancey  county  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a  railway 
from  the  coal  fields  to  tidewater,  when  in  point  of  fact  it  "did 
not  in  good  faith  intend  to  construct  a  railroad  over  the  line 


RAILROADS  481 


in  controversy,"  but  had  caused  the  Johnson  City  railroad 
to  be  "incorporated  for  the  purpose  of  hindering,  delaying 
and  obstructing  the  building  of  a  railroad  along  the  North 
Toe  by  the  South  antl  Western  Railway  Company  which 
was  in  good  faith  constructing  a  railroad  from  Johnson  City 
.  .  .  to  Spruce  Pine  in  North  Carolina,  and  was  oper- 
ating the  same."  ^* 

The  Southern's  Plan.  The  plan  of  the  Southern  Rail- 
way had  been  to  pretend  that  it  meant  to  build  a  railroad 
along  this  river,  although  it  was  well  aware  that  the  South 
and  Western  had  already  built  such  a  road  along  the  stream 
from  Johnson  City  to  Spruce  Pine;  and,  by  appealing  to  the 
courts,  to  prevent  the  real  road  from  changing  its  track  from 
the  east  to  the  west  bank  of  the  river  in  order  to  obtain  a  bet- 
ter grade,  which  it  had  commenced  to  do  in  November,  1905, 
while  the  dummy  corporation  the  Southern  railway  was  using 
for  this  purpose  had  not  been  incorporated  till  December 
of  the  following  year.     Upon  this  the  court  said : 

Courts  Not  to  be  Used  to  Prevent  Progress.  "  It  is 
not  of  so  much  interest  to  the  public  which  of  two  corporations 
build  the  road  as  it  is  that,  by  using  the  courts  in  the  way 
suggested,  they  prevent  either  from  doing  so.  If  the  course 
proposed  by  the  'Southern  Railway'  be  permitted,  the  State 
has  granted  her  franchise,  with  its  sovereign  power,  to  her 
own  hindrance.  If  in  creating  two  corporations  she  has 
conferred  power  upon  both  by  which,  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  her  own  courts,  the  building  of  railroads  may 
be  retarded,  if  not  ultimately  defeated,  and  her  mountain 
fastnesses  remain  locked  in  their  primitive  isolation,  the 
legislature  may  well  consider  whether  some  restriction  should 
not  be  put  upon  corporations  enjoying  such  power.  If  the 
course  proposed  by  the  'Southern  Railway'  be  permitted, 
railroad  building  may  be  'tied  up'  indefinitely  by  repeatedly 
renewed  condemnation  proceedings,  contested  until  the  end 
has  been  reached,  and  then  withdrawn,  only  to  be  repeated 
in  another  form."  ^^ 

The  Carolina,  Clinchfield  and  Ohio  Railroad.  The 
South  and  Western,  also  known  as  the  "Three  C's, "  but  now  the 
Carolina,  Clinchfield  and  Ohio,  was  completed  to  Marion, 
in  1908.  It  is  the  best  constructed  railroad  in  the  mountains, 
the  grades  and  curvatures  being  far  less  than  those  of  the 
Southern  from  Old  Fort  to  Morristown. 

W.  N.  C— 31 


482        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Alleged  Peonage.  During  the  time  the  heavy  work  on 
the  eastern  slope  of  the  Blue  Ridge  was  being  done,  con- 
struction companies  were  given  contracts  for  the  building 
of  certain  sections  of  the  line.  Among  these  contractors 
was  the  Carolina  Construction  Company.  Labor  was  hard 
to  get,  and  in  order  to  secure  laborers  this  Construction  Com- 
pany paid  the  expenses  of  certain  men  to  their  camp.  They 
worked  half  a  day  and  slipped  ofif,  were  followed,  captured, 
returned  to  camp  and  imprisoned  till  nightfall,  when  they  were 
taken  out  and  severely  whipped.  The  facts  appear  in  Buck- 
ner  v.  South  &  Western  Railway  Co.,  159  N.  C,  going  up  on 
appeal  from  Buncombe  county.  This  was  knovsm  as  the 
''peonage  case." 

TriE  Snow  Bird  Valley  Railroad.  The  Kanawha  Hard- 
wood Company,  with  that  progressive  and  public  spirited  Vir- 
ginian, J.  Q.  Barker,  at  its  head,  came  in  1902  and  constructed 
the  Snow  Bird  Valley  logging  railroad  for  a  distance  of  fifteen 
miles  from  Andrews  over  the  Snow  Bird  mountains  to  the  head 
of  Snow  Bird  creek  in  1907-08.  The  Cherokee  Tanning  and 
Extract  Company  began  business  in  1903,  and  the  Andrews 
Lumber  Company,  under  the  management  of  Mr.  H.  R.  Camp- 
bell, came  in  the  spring  of  1911,  and  have  since  completed 
fifteen  miles  of  logging  railroad  of  standard  gauge  into  heavily 
timbered  lands  in  Macon  county  on  Chogah  creek.  This  com- 
pany has  also  built  a  saw  mill  near  Andrews  with  a  capacity  of 
80,000  feet  a  day. 

East  Tennessee  and  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad. 
This  road  was  completed  from  Johnson  City,  Tenn.,  via 
Ehzabethton  to  the  Cranberry  iron  mines  in  1882.  It  is  a 
narrow  gauge  road.  In  1900  or  thereabout  it  was  extended 
to  Pinola  or  Saginaw,  in  what  is  now  Avery  county.  This 
extension  was  paid  for  in  cofTee  for  a  long  time,  funds  being 
short,  and  was  called  the  Arbuckle  line.  Its  real  name,  how- 
ever, is 

Linville  River  Railroad  Company,  and  was  built  by 
E.  B.  Camp,  who  owned  a  considerable  body  of  timber 
near  Saginaw,  the  company  operating  the  road  and 
saw  mills  being  the  Pinola  Lumber  and  Trading  Company. 
Both  companies  went  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver,  how- 
ever, and  were  bought  in  by  Isaac  T.  Mann  of  Bramley, 
W.   Va.     He  got    the   W.   M.  Ritter  Lumber  Company  in- 


RAILROADS  483 


terestcd  in  it  and  both  properties  finally  went  to  that 
company,  including  a  very  good  inn,  called  the  Pinola 
Inn.  A  majority  of  its  stock  was  transferred  to  the  Cran- 
berry Iron  and  Coal  Company  in  April,  1913  by  the  W.  M. 
Ritter  Lumber  Company. 

IIendehsonville  and  Brevard  Railroad.  This  road  was 
built  in  1894  by  the  late  Tam  C.  McNeeley.  Thos.  S.  Boswell 
was  the  engineer,  and  after  it  went  into  the  hands  of  a  receiver 
in  1897  he  operated  it  as  superintendent,  when  it  was  bought 
by  J.  F.  Hays  and  associates,  who  afterwards  organized 

The  TransiTiVania  Railroad  Company,  and  in  1900  ex- 
tended the  road  to  Rosman,  N.  C,  a  point  ten  miles  southwest  of 
Brevard.  From  there  it  was  to  have  been  constructed  to  Seneca, 
S.  C,  which  would  have  given  a  shorter  route  south  from 
Asheville  by  35  miles;  but  the  Southern  Railway  leased  it 
and  that  put  an  end  to  that  scheme.  In  1903  this  road,  as  the 
Transylvania  railroad,  was  extended  to  Lake  Toxaway,  nine 
miles  beyond  Rosman,  and  it  was  in  this  year  that  the  Tox- 
away Inn  was  built,  the  lake  having  been  dammed  in  the 
same  year,  Thos.  S.  Boswell  having  been  the  engineer. 

"The  building  of  the  Transylvania  road  and  its  extension, 
resulted  in  the  construction  of  the  plant  of  the  Toxaway 
Tanning  Company  at  Rosman,  N.  C,  in  about  1901,  as  I 
recall.  This  has  also  resulted  in  the  development  of  the 
Gloucester  Lumber  Company  at  that  place;  this  concern  is 
operating  20,000  acres  on  the  western  end  of  the  Pisgah 
Forest  tract  of  the  Vanderbilt  estate  and  have  their  mills 
located  at  Rosman,  and  carry  on  quite  a  large  operation,  with 
probably  20  miles  of  railroad.  Also,  at  Rosman  is  located 
the  plant  of  the  Shaffer  Lumber  Company,  and  they  have  a 
line  of  railroad  running  to  the  south  from  Rosman  and  have 
quite  a  large  operation  with  their  mills  located  on  their  line 
of  road.  Also,  the  building  of  the  Transylvania  resulted 
in  the  location  of  the  plant  of  the  Brevard  Tanning  Company 
at  Pisgah  Forest,  two  miles  northeast  of  Brevard,  which  has 
had  a  very  successful  operation."  ^^ 

The  Elkin  and  Alleghany  Railroad.  The  great  draw- 
back to  Alleghany  county  has  been  the  lack  of  a  railroad.  The 
legislature  of  1907  authorized  the  State  to  furnish  not  less 
than  50  convicts  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a  railroad 
from  Elkin  to  Sparta.     The   State   took   stock   in  this  road 


484        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

to  the  amount  of  the  work  done  by  the  convicts,  and  the  work 
of  grading  was  begun  in  tlie  fall  of  1907.  In  the  early  part 
of  the  year  1911  the  directors,  John  T.  Miles,  Capt.  Roth, 
H.  G.  Chatham,  R.  A.  Doughton,  A.  H.  Eller,  C.  C.  Smoot, 
Henry  Fries  and  others,  succeeded  in  interesting  John  A. 
Mills  in  this  enterprise,  and  he  helped  to  procure  the  financial 
aid.  And  now  the  railroad  has  every  appearance  of  being 
rapidly  pushed  to  completion.  The  train  is  now  running  to 
the  foot  of  the  mountain,  nearly  halfway  to  Sparta. 

The  Pigeon  River  Railroad.  This  was  one  of  the  first 
enterprises  planned  by  the  Champion  Fiber  Company;  but 
it  decided  that  a  flume  from  Sunburst  to  Canton  would  be 
cheaper  and  answer  its  purposes  as  well  as  a  railroad.  This 
proved  impracticable,  on  account  of  difficulties  in  securing 
rights  of  way;  and  a  railroad  was  commenced  a  few  years 
ago,  of  standard  gauge,  and  it  is  now  completed. 

Georgia  and  North  Carolina  Railroad.  The  Georgia  and 
North  Carolina  railroad,  from  Marietta,  Cieorgia,  to  iNIurphy 
(ch.  167,  Laws  of  1870-71)  was  the  first  railroad  to  run  into 
Cherokee,  and  the  late  Mercer  Fain  was  its  first  president 
and  was  the  most  active  in  its  construction.  It  reached 
Murphy  in  1888,  and  at  first  was  a  narrow  gauge.  It  was 
afterwards  absorbed  by  the  Marietta  and  North  Georgia 
railroad,  which  extended  it  from  Blue  Ridge,  Georgia,  to 
Knoxville,  leaving  the  Murphy  end  a  mere  branch.  It  was 
originally  intended  that  this  road  should  go  down  the  Hiwassee 
and  Tennessee  rivers  to  Chattanooga,  but  others  had  already 
obtained  a  charter  for  a  road  by  that  route  which  they  refused 
to  surrender  or  assign  except  upon  prohibitive  terms.  Hence 
the  route  via  Blue  Ridge  was  adopted.  The  dog-in-the- 
manger  policy  has  thus  prevented  a  road  down  the  Hiwassee 
river  and  has  not  produced  any  benefit  to  those  who  not  only 
would  not  build  themselves  but  would  not  allow  others  to  do  so. 

The  Appalachian  Railroad.  There  is  also  a  short  railroad 
which  leaves  the  Murphy  branch  about  five  miles  east  of  Bry- 
son  City  and  runs  a  short  distance  up  Ocona  Lufty  creek. 

Tallulah  Falls  and  Franklin  Railroad.  This  road  was 
completed  from  Cornelia,  in  Georgia,  via  Tallulah  Falls  and 
Rabun  Gap  to  Franklin,  in  1908.  It  affords  an  outlet  for  a 
large  section  of  this  region,  and  practically  makes  the  whole 
of   Macon    county   tributary   to    Georgia.     If   the    Southern 


RAILROADS  485 


Railway  wouKl  fomplcte  the  link  between  Franklin  and  Al- 
mond, and  down  the  Little  Tennessee  river  from  Bushnel 
to  Maryville,  Tenn.,  Franklin  would  have  two  other  outlets, 
one  into  our  own  State  via  Asheville,  and  into  Tennessee 
via  Bushnel  and  Murphy.  ^  ^  This  is  more  of  the  dog-in-the- 
manger  spirit. 

The  Damascus  Lumber  Company  Railroad.  In  1902  the 
Hemlock  Extract  Company,  D.  K.  Stouffer,  manager,  was  built, 
and  several  years  afterwards  the  Damascus  Lumber  Company 
built  a  narrow  gauge  railroad  from  Laurel  Bloomery  in  Tennessee, 
on  the  Laurel  Railway  Company's  line,  over  the  Cut  Laurel  gap. 
It  is  operated  exclusively  as  a  logging  road,  but  the  grade, 
generally,  is  good  enough  for  a  standard  road,  and  there  is 
no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  electrified  and  operated  as  it 
is  for  freight  and  passengers.  Its  terminus  at  Hemlock  is  only 
19  miles  from  Jefferson,  the  county  seat  of  Ashe  county,  the 
grade  dowm  Laurel  creek  to  the  North  Fork  of  the  New  river 
is  good,  and  the  road  should  be  extended  to  Jefferson  at  least, 
the  principal  barrier  to  mountain  roads  having  been  overcome 
in  the  passage  of  the  Cut  Laurel  gap. 

The  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina  Railroad  was  com- 
pleted to  the  mouth  of  Big  creek  on  the  Pigeon  river  about  1897, 
and  then  extended  two  miles  up  to  Mount  Sterling  post  office, 
where  there  has  been  a  large  saw  mill  plant  since  about  1900. 
The  design  is  to  complete  this  line  up  the  Pigeon  to  Canton 
at  least;  and  ultimately  up  the  Pigeon  to  Sunburst,  and  thence 
into  Transylvania  county.  Should  it  get  as  far  as  the  mouth 
of  Cataloochee  creek  it  will  have  tapped  the  finest  body  of 
virgin  hardwood  timber  left  in  the  mountains. 

Asheville  and  Craggy  Mountain  Railway.  On  March  29, 
1901,  the  city  of  Asheville  authorized  the  Craggy  Mountain 
R  nil  way  Company  to  transfer  its  rights  over  Charlotte  street 
to  the  reorganized  Asheville  Street  Railroad  Company.  Mr.  R.  S. 
Rowland  operated  this  road  to  Overlook  Park,  on  Sunset  Moun- 
tain, several  summers;  but,  by  September,  1904,  he  had  dem- 
onstrated to  his  own  satisfaction  that  it  could  not  be  made 
to  pay.  In  that  month  it  was  torn  up  and  the  rails  and  ties 
used  to  build  a  track  from  the  Golf  Club  to  Grace  and  thence 
to  the  French  Broad  river  at  Craggy  Station  on  the  South- 
ern Railway,  and  the  Weaver  Power  Company  plant  and 
dam,  then  but  recently  erected,   and  to  the  factory  of  the 


486        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


William  Whittam  Textile  Company,  which  had  been  incor- 
porated February  1,  1902.  He  also  built  a  trestle  across  the 
French  Broad  river  to  the  opposite  bank,  where  the  Southern 
Railway  established  a  station  called  Craggy. 

Quarry.  IVIeantime,  however,  not  losing  sight  of  the 
objective  point  of  the  Craggy  Railway  Company,  Air.  How- 
land  graded  a  roadbed  and  laid  a  track  for  a  steam  railroad 
from  the  new  Music  Hall  at  Overlook  Park,  to  Locust  Gap, 
a  distance  of  about  two  miles,  and  opened  a  new  quarry  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  IMusic  Hall,  with  a  track  ex- 
tending down  to  it.  He  also  leased  a  part  of  the  old  James 
M.  Smith  property,  in  rear  of  the  present  Langren  Hotel, 
where  he  established  bins,  and  from  which  he  sold  all  sorts 
of  stone,  bringing  it  dowTi  the  mountain  by  a  steam  dummy 
engine,  and  hauling  it  through  the  streets  of  Asheville  with 
a  large  electric  motor  engine.  The  ties  and  rails  on  the  track 
to  Locust  Gap  and  to  the  new  quarry  were  also  taken  up  and 
placed  on  the  railroad  leading  to  Grace  and  Craggy  Station. 
He  also  graded  a  traction  road  from  near  Locust  Gap  through 
the  lands  of  J.  W.  Shartle,  C.  A.  Webb  and  others  to  Craven 
Gap  at  the  head  of  Beaver  Dam  creek,  and  thence  to  within 
half  a  mile  of  Bull  Gap  at  the  head  of  Ox  creek  on  the  North 
and  Bull  creek  on  the  south.  This  road  is  to  form  a  part  of 
the  projected  automobile  road  from  Asheville  via  jMitchell's 
Peak,  and  thence  along  the  crest  of  the  Blue  Ridge  to  Blow- 
ing Rock.  During  this  time  Mr.  Howland  experimented 
with  steam  traction  engines;  but  they  were  not  satisfactory 
for  the  mountain  roads. 

Asheville  Loop  Line  Railway.  Mr.  Howland  operated  the 
railroad  down,  to  Craggy  Station  and  to  the  Elk  Mountain 
Cotton  Mill  till  April,  1906,  when  he  sold  that  portion  of  the 
railroad  between  New  Bridge  on  the  Burnsville  road  and 
Craggy  Station  to  the  Southern  Railway,  but  continued  to  run 
cars  from  the  Golf  Club  to  New  Bridge.  The  sale  of  the  lower 
portion  of  this  railroad  also  carried  with  it  the  corporate  rights, 
etc.,  of  the  Asheville  and  Craggy  Mountain  Railroad  Company, 
and  it  then  became  necessary  to  organize  the  Asheville  Loop 
Line  Railway  to  operate  what  was  left  of  the  Craggy  Moun- 
tain Railway.  This  company,  during  the  summer  of  1906, 
leased  from  the  Southern  Railway  that  portion  of  the  railway 
between  New  Bridge  and  Craggy  Station  and  operated  the  en- 


RAILROADS  487 


tire  line  from  the  Clolf  Club  to  the  river.  The  water  im- 
pouiulecl  by  the  Weaver  Power  Company  dam  was  called 
Lake  Tahkeeostee,  and  proved  quite  an  attraction  to  summer 
visitors  who  were  in  Asheville  in  great  numbers  during  the 
season.     The  railroad  paid  a  slight  profit. 

Asheville  Rapid  Transit  Railroad.  During  the  fall  of  1906 
Messrs.  Culver  and  Whittlesey,  attorneys,  and  Mr.  R.  H.  Ting- 
ley,  civil  engineer,  of  New  York  City,  got  control  of  the  Loop 
Line  railroad  and  determined  to  rel)uild  the  track  to  the 
Music  Hall  on  Sunset  mountain.  To  do  this  they  formed 
a  new  corporation  called  the  Asheville  Rapid  Transit  Com- 
pany, December  18,  1906,  and  in  March  of  1907  obtained  a 
franchise  to  build  an  electric  railway  from  the  corner  of  Water 
street  and  Patton  avenue  across  North  Main  street,  and 
thence  along  Merrimon  avenue  to  a  point  near  the  Manor, 
and  thence  over  private  property  to  the  Golf  Club.  In  order 
to  secure  this  concession  from  the  city  they  deposited  $1,000, 
to  be  forfeited  in  case  they  did  not  commence  to  build  the  rail- 
way into  to\vTi  by  the  following  September  and  complete  it 
within  a  few  months  thereafter. 

Merrimon  Avenue  Line.  These  gentlemen  secured 
enough  money  to  reconstruct  the  track  up  the  mountain  to 
the  Music  Hall,  which  was  in  full  operation  by  July  4,  1907, 
on  which  day  two  thousand  passengers  were  transported  over 
the  new  road.  They  continued  to  operate  the  road  during 
the  summer  and  opened  a  restaurant  and  moving  picture 
show  at  Overlook  Park.  But  the  money  they  had  expected 
to  borrow  for  the  completion  of  the  railway  into  the  city  via 
Merrimon  avenue  could  not  be  obtained,  and  they  abandoned 
the  enterprise,  turning  the  property  back  to  Mr.  R.  S.  How- 
land  in  the  spring  of  1908.  As  there  were  several  local  debts 
due  by  the  company  the  board  of  aldermen  very  consider- 
ately returned  the  $1,000  which  had  been  deposited  as  a 
forfeit,  upon  the  abandonment  and  release  by  the  company 
of  all  rights  on  the  streets,  on  condition  that  it  should 
be  so  applied.  In  June,  1908,  Mr.  R.  S.  Howland  took 
charge  of  the  company  again;  but  the  company,  not  hav- 
ing paid  the  Asheville  Electric  Company  for  the  power 
which  had  been  furnished  for  some  time  previous,  the  latter 
company  refused  to  supply  electric  current  for  the  operation 
of  cars  to  Sunset  mountain.     An  arrangement,  however,  was 


488        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

soon  afterwards  made  for  power  to  operate  the  cars  from  the 
Golf  Club  to  New  Bridge  and  this  continued  to  be  done  till 
August  27,  when  the  Rapid  Transit  Company  was  placed  in 
the  hands  of  a  receiver.  It  was  sold  in  December,  1908,  to 
R.  S.  Howland  and  associates  for  S25,000.  By  an  arrange- 
ment between  Messrs.  LaBarbe,  Moale  &  Chiles  and  R.  S. 
Howland  the  latter  was  to  have  the  roadbed  from  the  Golf 
Club  to  New  Bridge  and  certain  other  property,  and  the 
former  the  track  up  the  mountain  and  ten  acres  around  Music 
Hall.  This  led  to  some  litigation  between  these  parties,  which, 
however,  was  adjusted  in  1911. 

East  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina  Railroad.  During 
1909  R.  S.  Howland  built  a  trolley  railroad  from  New  Bridge 
to  Weaverville,  thus  giving  a  continuous  line  from  Grace 
to  Weaverville.  By  a  subsequent  agreement  with  the  Ashe- 
ville  Electric  Company  and  the  Asheville  and  East  Tennessee 
Railroad  Company,  as  this  Weaverville  railway  company  is 
called,  under  its  charter,  the  latter  has  the  right  to  operate 
its  cars  over  the  track  of  the  former  from  Grace  to  Pack  Square. 
This  line  passes  over  ]\Ierrimon  avenue  under  a  franchise 
granted  the  Asheville  Electric  Company  by  the  city  soon  after 
its  rights  over  that  avenue  had  been  abandoned  by  the  Rapid 
Transit  Company.  Both  the  Merrimon  Avenue  line  in  the 
city  and  the  railway  from  Grace  to  Weaversville  have  proven 
great  conveniences  to  the  public. 

Sunset  Mountain  Railway  Company.  Under  this  name 
LaBarbe,  Moale  and  Chiles  operated  the  road  up  Sunset  moun- 
tain to  Music  Hall  during  the  summer  of  1910,  but  soon  sold  it 
to  the  E.  W.  Grove  Park  Company,  who  also  bought  about 
300  acres  on  Sunset  mountain  from  the  Howlands.  The 
track  has  been  removed  and  the  roadbed  converted  into  an 
automobile  road. 

The  Hiwassee  Valley  Railroad.  In  1913  Clay  and  Cher- 
okee counties  each  voted  $75,000  for  the  construction  of  a  rail- 
road from  Andrews  via  Marble  dowTi  the  Hiwassee  river 
to  Hayesville,  crossing  Peach  Tree  and  Hiwassee  at  the  Clay 
county  line.  It  will  be  35  miles  long,  standard  gauge,  etc., 
and  will  be  operated  by  electricity  from  a  power  plant  to  be 
erected  on  Hiwassee  river.  A  question  has  arisen  as  to  the 
legality  of  the  vote,  and  the  company  is  now  enjoined  from 
proceeding  further  in  securing  aid  from  either   county.     J. 


RAILROADS  489 


Q.  Barker  is  president,  and  Samuel  Cover,  treasurer,  and  D.  S. 
Russell,  seeretary. 

Better  Than  Raising  Corn  and  Coti'on.  If  Ashe,  Clay, 
Graham,  and  Watauga  counties,  four  of  the  richest  counties 
in  the  mountains  naturally,  had  railroads  the  enhanced 
value  of  their  property  would  give  the  State  a  larger  and  more 
constant  revenue  from  taxation  than  she  now  derives  from  the 
raising  of  uncertain  crops  of  cotton  and  corn  on  the  State 
farms  by  working  her  convicts  in  that  malarious  section  of  the 
State.  If  these  convicts  were  taken  to  the  healthful  and  in- 
vigorating climate  of  the  mountains  and  put  to  work  grading 
railroads,  for  their  support  in  provisions  alone,  it  would  not 
be  long  before  every  county  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  would  be 
adequately  served  with  an  outlet  for  their  crops,  lumber  and 
minerals,  while  new  health  and  pleasure  resorts  would  be 
opened  up  for  summer  tourists  and  health  seekers. 

Ashe  is  less  knowm  than  any  mountain  county,  but  it  is  the 
finest  of  them  all,  agriculturally  and  in  minerals  and  water 
power.  Yet  in  the  decade  between  1900  and  1910  its  popu- 
lation decreased  from  19,581  to  19,074.  Clay's  population 
fell  from  4,532  in  1900  to  3,909.  Yet  the  lands  of  Clay  are 
rich  and  productive  and  its  jail  is  empty  nine-tenths  of  the 
time.  Watauga,  which  in  many  respects  is  unsurpassed, 
gained  only  a  little  over  one  hundred  inhabitants  in  the  same 
period.  These  three  fine  counties  are  really  retrograding  for 
want  of  railroads.  If  the  increase  in  population  and  wealth  of 
Buncombe  in  1880,  before  railroads  reached  its  borders,  com- 
pared with  its  population  and  wealth  in  1913,  is  an  index  of 
what  railroads  accomplish  for  communities,  it  will  be  evident 
that  the  convicts  could  be  more  advantageously  employed  in 
the  mountains  building  wagon-  and  railroads  than  in  raising 
precarious  crops  of  cotton  and  corn  near  Weldon. 

The  territory  that  in  1911  was  erected  into  the  county  of 
Avery  is  more  mountainous  and  was  formerly  more  inac- 
cessible than  any  other  part  of  the  mountains.  Yet,  having 
a  railroad,  it  gained  nearly  2,000  in  population  in  the  last 
ten  years. 

Other  Railroads.  In  November,  1912,  the  county  of 
Watauga  by  a  large  majority  voted  $100,000  toward  the  con- 
struction of  a  railroad  through  Cook's  Gap,  Boone  and  down 
the  Watauga  river,  and  the  State  has  since  provided  thirty 


490        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

convicts  for  work  thereon.  Work  has  already  begun.  The 
Virginia  -  Carohna  Railway  obtained  from  the  Legislature 
of  North  Carolina  in  1911,  authority  to  construct  a  railroad 
from  its  line  in  Grayson  and  Washington  counties,  Virginia, 
into  the  counties  of  Ashe  and  Watauga,  and  in  June,  1913, 
let  the  entire  line  to  the  Callahan  Construction  Company,  from 
Konarok,  Va.,  via  Jefferson  to  Todd,  or  Elk  Cross  Roads; 
all  grading  to  be  completed  by  July,  1914.  That  the  link  between 
Canton  and  the  mouth  of  Big  creek,  near  Mount  Sterling 
post  office,  will  be  built  shortly  seems  probable,  as  the  line 
has  only  to  follow  the  Pigeon  river  to  complete  this  link, 
thus  opening  up  a  large  boundary  of  timber  and  acid  wood 
and  bark  in  the  Cataloochee  valley.  There  is  also  hope  that 
a  railroad  will  be  built  from  Saginaw  (Pinola)  to  Mortimer 
or  Collettsville.  A  lumber  road  from  Black  Mountain  station 
to  Mitchell's  peak  is  being  constructed  rapidly. 

The  Blatherskite  Railroad.  This  road  has  been  build- 
ing (in  the  newspapers)  for  ten  years  or  more,  but  never  hauls 
any  freight  or  passengers.  It  is  quiescent  until  there  is  talk 
of  a  bona  fide  railroad,  and  then  it  develops  a  state  of  activity 
and  construction  (still  in  the  newspapers)  wherever  it  is  pro- 
posed to  locate  such  new  railway. 

NOTES. 

'From  Asheville's  Centenarj-. 

sHill's,  p.  259. 

'Col.  Wm.  H.  Thomas  ^^as  more  active  ia  securing  this  amendment  than  anyone  else. 

^Harrison's  Legal  History  of  the  Lines  of  the  Southern  Railway. 

'Under  the  act  incorporating  the  Western  North  Carolina  R.  R.,  commissioners  were 
appointed  to  take  subscriptions  to  the  capital  stock  in  Salisbut  y,  Lincolnton,  Newton, 
Statesville,  Henderson ville,  Lenoir,  Boone,  Taylorsville ,  Morganton,  Marion,  Rutherford- 
ton,  Shelby,  Mocksville,  and  Asheville.  The  act  provided  for  the  construction  of  a  rail- 
road to  effect  a  communication  between  the  North  Carolina  R.  R.  and  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi,  no  route  being  specified. 

*Shipp  Fraud  Com.  Rep.,  pp.  250  and  307. 

'Wm.  A.  Eliason  Testimony,  Shipp  Fraud  Com.,  p.  357. 

8J.  W.  Wilson  before  Shipp  Fraud  Commission,  p.  365. 

'Harrison's  "Legal  Histoi  y  of  the  Lines  of  the  Southern  Railway." 

•"Fairfax  Harrison's  "Legal  History  of  the  Lines  of  the  Southern  Railway." 

1 'Letter  from  Col.  A.  B.  Andrews  to  J.  P.  A.,  July,  1912. 

•^Fairfax  Harrison's  " Legal  History  of  the  Lines  of  the  Southern  Railway." 

"Letter  from  Col.  A.  B.  Andrews  to  J.  P.  A.,  .July,  1912. 

i^These  dates  are  from  letter-  from  Col.  A.  B.  Andrews  to  J.  P.  A.,  dated  July  19  and21, 
1913. 

"HS  N.  C.  Reports,  p.  59. 

isLotter  of  J.  F.  Hays  to  J.  P.  A.,  1912. 

"The  Southern's  line  ha?  been  extended  from  Bushnel  to  Eagle  creek,  on  the  Little 
Tennessee,  sixteen  miles;  but  it  is  used  principally  for  hauling  lumber.  "The  scenery  is 
unsurpassed. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
NOTABLE  RESORTS  AND  IMPROVEMENTS 

The  Buck  Hotel.  This  ancient  hostelry  was  built  by  the 
late  James  M.  Smith  and  stood  where  the  new  Langren  hotel 
now  stands.  It  was  the  first  hotel  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge, 
but  when  it  was  built  is  not  stated  in  Asheville's  Centenary 
(1898),  the  best  authority  we  have  on  local  ancient  history. 
He  was  the  son  of  Col.  Daniel  Smith  of  New  Jersey,  who  died 
May  17,  1824,  aged  67.  James  M.  was  born  January  7,  1794, 
near  the  present  Asheville  passenger  depot.  His  mother 
was  Mary,  a  daughter  of  William  Davidson,  a  cousin  of  Gen. 
William  Davidson,  who  was  killed  at  Cowan's  Ford.  ^  It  was 
Gen.  Davidson's  brother  Samuel  who  was  killed  by  the  Indians 
at  the  head  of  Swannanoa  in  1781-82.  James  M.  Smith  married 
Polly  Patton,  a  daughter  of  Col.  John  Patton,  who  was  a  mer- 
chant, hotel  keeper,  manufacturer,  farmer,  tanner,  large 
landowner,  and  very  wealthy.  The  Buck  hotel  stood  till 
about  1907,  when  it  was  removed. 

The  Eagle  Hotel.  -  This  was  built  by  the  late  James 
Patton,  father  of  the  late  James  W.  Patton,  and  grandfather 
of  the  late  Thomas  W.  Patton.  He  was  born  in  Ireland 
February  13,  1756,  and  came  to  America  in  1783.  He  was  a 
weaver,  but  soon  became  a  merchant.  In  1791  he  met  Andrew 
Erwin,  who  married  his  sister  and  became  his  partner  in  busi- 
ness. In  1807  they  moved  to  the  Swannanoa  at  what  is 
known  as  the  Murphy  place,  where  they  remained  till  1814, 
when  they  moved  to  Asheville,  Mr.  Patton  opening  a  store 
and  the  Eagle  Hotel — the  central  or  wooden  part.  In  1831 
he  bought  and  improved  the  Warm  Springs,  and  died  at  Ashe- 
ville September  9,  1846. '  James  W.  Patton  was  born  Febru- 
ary 13,  1803,  and  died  in  December,  1861.  His  life  was  full 
of  good  deeds.  His  son,  Thomas  W.  Patton,  was  foremost 
in  all  good  works,  and  in  1894  came  to  the  rescue  of  Asheville 
in  a  crisis  of  her  affairs  as  mayor  on  an  independent  ticket. 

The  Hot  Springs.  "The  Warm  Springs  on  the  French 
Broad  had  been  discovered  in  1778  by  Henry  Reynolds  and 
Thomas  Morgan,  two  men  kept  out  in  advance  of  the  settle- 
ment to  watch  the  movements  of  the  Indians.     They  followed 

(491) 


492        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

some  stolen  horses  to  the  point  opposite,  and  leaving  their 
own  horses  on  the  north  bank,  waded  across  the  river.  On 
the  southern  shore,  in  passing  through  a  little  branch,  they 
were  surprised  to  find  the  water  warm."  "The  next  year, " 
says  Ramsey,  "the  Warm  Springs  were  resorted  to  by  inva- 
lids." Soon  after  his  graduation  at  Washington  College, 
Tenn.,  young  Z.  B.  Vance  was  a  clerk  at  this  hotel.  * 

Grant  No.  668,  dated  July  11,  1788,  and  signed  at  Fair- 
field, by  Samuel  Johnston,  governor,  conveyed  to  Gaser  Dagg, 
or  Dagy,  or  Dager,  200  acres  of  land  on  the  south  side  of  the 
French  Broad  river  in  Green  county,  including  the  Warm 
Springs.  ^  This  land  was  then  supposed  to  be  in  Green  county, 
in  what  is  now  Tennessee.  William  Neilson  then  acquired 
an  interest  in  the  Springs  for  on  April  27,  1829,  Philip  Hale 
Neilson,  who  appears  to  have  inherited  an  undivided  one- 
half  interest  to  this  property,  conveyed  it  to  Green  K.  Cessna,  ^ 
who  with  Joseph  L.  Chunn  and  wife  conveyed  the  entire 
property  to  James  W.  and  John  E.  Patton,  by  deed  dated 
December  6,  1831,  for  $20,662.  ^  WiUiam  Mathias  appears 
to  have  kept  the  Hot  Springs  before  John  E.  Patton  took 
charge  in  1832.  He  owned  it  till  1862,  when  J.  H.  Rum- 
bough  bought  it.     He  has  owned  it  since. 

Old  Warm  Springs.  ^  The  old  Patton  hotel  at  Warm 
Springs  faced  the  river  and  was  on  the  left  bank,  a  bridge 
crossing  the  French  Broad  at  that  point.  ^  The  thirteen 
large  white  pillars  in  front  were  very  imposing  looking, 
and  represented  the  original  States.  The  Lover's  Leap 
rock  was  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  and  little  less 
than  half  a  mile  above  the  hotel.  It  was  a  sheer  precipice 
thirty  or  forty  feet  in  height.  What  is  now  called  Lover's 
Leap,  on  the  left  bank  and  a  mile  below,  is  much  higher,  but 
was  not  so  precipitous  in  former  days,  the  passage  of  the  rail- 
road necessitating  the  blasting  away  of  the  lower  portion  of  the 
cliff.  Old  Man  Peters  is  said  to  have  fallen  from  it  years  before 
the  Civil  War  while  coon-hunting,  but  recovered.  The  Hale 
Neilson  property  was  at  Paint  Rock,  and  what  is  still  called 
the  Old  Love  road  leaves  the  river  about  six  miles  below  Hot 
Springs  and  joins  the  present  road  up  Paint  creek  twelve 
miles  east  of  Greenville,  Tenn.  It  appears  to  be  very  little 
traveled  these  days,  and  is  probably  the  one  Bishop  Asbury 
first  used,  crossing  the  French  Broad  at  what  is  still  put  down 


NOTABLE  RESORTS  AND  IMPROVEMENTS         493 


on  the  United  States  contour  maps  as  Love's  Ferry.  Thad- 
deus  Weaver  lived  at  the  mouth  of  Paint  creek,  and  the  old 
Allen  House,  at  the  mouth  of  Wolfe  creek,  is  still  standing. 
The  old  Neilson  hotel  at  Warm  Springs  was  burned  between 
1821  and  1840.  The  present  hotel  faces  the  railroad,  and 
has  its  back  to  the  river. 

Flat  Rock.  From  that  storehouse  of  information,  "Ashe- 
ville's  Centenary"  (1898),  we  learn  that  in  1828  the  turnpike 
from  Saluda  gap  via  Asheville  was  completed  to  Warm 
Springs,  and  that  "brought  a  stream  of  travel  through  west- 
ern North  Carolina."  Among  these  were  visitors  from  Char- 
leston, S.  C,  some  of  whom  were  attracted  by  the  charming 
scenery  and  surroundings  of  Flat  Rock.  Charles  B.  Bar- 
ing bought  land  and  built  there,  his  deed  bearing  date 
September  13,  1830.  i«  Judge  Alitchell  King  also  bought 
land,  his  deed  being  dated  October  28,  1829.  ^  i  There  was 
a  small  hotel  there  kept  by  Williams  Brittain,  in  which  they 
probably  stayed  till  they  could  build  homes  of  their  own. 
What  is  now  the  Major  Barker  place  was  the  Mollineaux 
home.  Following  is  from  the  history  of  Henderson  (town  and 
county)  by  Mrs.  Mattie  S.  Chandler,  written  expressly  for 
this  work: 

The  home  of  Judge  IMitchell  King  (who  afterward  donated 
the  land  upon  which  Hendersonville  stands)  was  one  of  the 
very  first  built  at  Flat  Rock,  and  numbers  of  his  descendants 
continue  to  come  there,  maintaining  handsome  homes  of 
their  own.  This  place  later  passed  into  the  ownership  of 
Col.  C.  G.  Memminger,  and  is  now  owned  by  the  Smythes. 

Count  de  Choiseul,  one  of  the  most  famous  of  these  old 
residents,  modeled  his  dwelling  there  after  the  magnificent 
old  French  country  homes.  He  lived  there  many  years,  until 
after  the  death  of  one  of  his  sons  in  the  War  between  the  States. 
He  then  returned  to  France  that  his  remaining  son  might  in- 
herit his  titles  as  well  as  his  immense  property  there. 

The  old  Urqhardt  home,  one  time  residence  of  Cora  Urq- 
hardt,  now  Mrs.  James  Potter  Bro%Mi,  is  practically  unchanged. 
It  belongs  to  the  Misses  Norton  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  who  spend 
the  summers  there. 

Charles  Baring  came  to  Flat  Rock  from  Charleston  in  1820, 
and  built  in  1828  what  is  now  the  summer  home  of  George  J. 
Baldwin  (prominent  business  man  of  Savannah).     There  are  a 


494        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

number  of  the  descendants  of  the  Barings  who  have  lived 
for  many  years  in  this  count}'',  and  they  tell  many  interesting 
stories  of  this  family.  Charles  Baring,  member  of  the  Banking 
firm  of  Baring  Bros,,  London,  came  first  to  Charleston  to 
negotiate  a  match  between  Lord  Ashl:)urton  and  a  beautiful 
English  widow  then  in  Charleston,  a  Mrs.  Heyward,  sister 
of  Lady  Barclay.  It  proved  to  be  a  case  of  John  Alden  and 
Priscilla,  he  "asked  her  himself."  They  were  married  and 
early  in  their  married  life  came  to  Flat  Rock. 

Airs.  Baring  was  brilliant,  clever,  well  kno^vn  in  these  early 
days  in  Charleston  as  a  dramatic  writer,  and  amateur  actress. 
She  entertained  extensively  and  brilliantly  at  Flat  Rock,  her 
birthday  balls  having  been  quite  famous.  On  this  occasion 
she  is  said  to  have  invariably  worn  a  remarkalsle  costume 
of  purple  velvet,  wdth  headpiece  of  purple  plumes,  and  many 
diamonds.  Judging  from  a  very  handsome  portrait  of  her, 
now  in  the  possession  of  a  Hendersonville  lady  of  her  kin, 
she  must  have  been  very  beautiful.  Miss  Sue  Farmer  of 
Hendersonville,  daughter  of  Henry  Tudor  Farmer,  and  grand- 
niece  of  this  lady,  has  in  her  possession  many  of  Mrs.  Bar- 
ing's belongings,  among  which  are  a  quaint  old  jewel  casket 
with  glass  handles,  with  many  compartments  and  little 
secret  drawers  and  pockets.  In  the  Baldwin  home,  in  what 
was  Mrs.  Baring's  bedroom,  there  still  remains  the  curious 
old  wall  paper  with  its  designs  of  the  Crusaders. 

She  it  was  who  built  the  far-famed  St.  John-in-the- Wil- 
derness, the  Episcopal  church  at  Flat  Rock,  said  to  be  the 
oldest  of  its  denomination  in  the  State.  Both  she  and  her 
husband  are  buried  under  the  floor  of  this  church,  and  the 
tablets  erected  to  their  memory  are  in  the  church. 

At  the  age  of  seventy,  Charles  Baring  was  married  a  second 
time  to  a  young  lady,  ]\Iiss  Constance  Dent,  daughter  of  Com- 
modore Dent  of  Charleston.  He  then  built  another  home, 
which  was  knowm  for  many  years  as  the  Rhett  place,  and  on 
which  spot  now  stands  the  beautiful  new  Highland  Lake 
Club,  wdth  its  numerous  cottages  and  buildings,  and  which 
on  summer  evenings  presents  such  a  brilliant  scene,  where 
hundreds  of  wealthy  visitors  come  to  spend  the  summer. 

The  well-kno\\Ti  old  Farmer  Hotel  was  built  by  Charles 
Baring,  and  kept  by  his  nephew  and  ward,  Henry  Farmer, 
for  many  years.      It  was  perhaps  better  known  as  the  Flat 


NOTABLE  RESORTS  AND  IMPROVEMENTS         495 


Rock  Inn  and  gained  quite  a  reputation  for  the  old  Southern 
hospitahty  dispensed  there.  It  was  built  in  1850,  and  stands 
practically  unchanged;  through  having  fallen  into  disuse  in 
late  years,  it  has  grown  rather  dilapidated.  After  Mr.  Far- 
mer's death  it  was  sold  to  a  company  of  the  Charlestonian 
residents  and  used  as  a  country  club. 

Henry  Tudor  Farmer,  father  of  the  one  named  above,  was 
born  in   England,  and  though  he  never  lived  in  Flat  Rock 
for  any  time  he  is  said  to  have  written  some  of  his  later  verse 
there.     In    "The    Nineteenth    Century,"    by    Wm.    Gilmore 
Simms,  state  historian  of  Southern  History,  under  date  of  1869, 
a  very  detailed  account  of  his  works  is  given,  extracts  as  fol- 
lows:    "He  lived  in  New  York  for  some  time  before  coming 
to  Charleston.     There  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  all  the 
wits  about  town.     He  was  intimate  with  Francis,  the  most 
famous  of  reminiscents.     He  has  jested  at  the  Cafe  with  Hal- 
leck  and  Drake  of  the  firm  of    the    'Croakers.'     He  knew 
Bryant  and  Sands  Hillhouse  and  Percival  at  their  beginnings, 
and  himself  published  a  volume  of  poems  both  in  New  York  and 
London.      His    work    is    highly    complimented    for    its   skill 
and  dainty  imagery,  as  well  as  the  easy-flowing  rhythm." 

As  Seen  Through  Northern  Eyes.     In  the   "Carolina 
Mountains,"  we  read  (p.   112):  "Long  before  the  train  had 
surmounted  the  barrier  of  Blue  Ridge,  the  beauty  and  salu- 
brity of  the  high  mountains  had  called  up  from  the  eastern 
lowlands  people  of  wealth  and  refinement  to  make  here  and 
there  their  summer  homes.     The  first  and  most  important 
of  these  patrician  settlements  was  at  Flat  Rock,  the  people 
coming  from  Charleston,  the  center  of  civiHzation  in  the  far 
South,  and  choosing  Flat  Rock  because  of  its  accessibility, 
and  because  the  level  nature  of  the  country  offered  opportunity 
for  the  development  of  beautiful  estates  and  the  making  of 
pleasure  roads  through  the  primeval   forests  that   in  those 
days  had  not  been  disturbed.     Into  this  great,  sweet  wilder- 
ness, now  quite  safe  from   Indians,  these  children  of  fortune 
brought  their  servants  and  their  laborers,  and  selecting  the 
finest  sites  whence  were  extensive  views  of  the  not  too  distant 
mountains,  surrounded  by  the  charming  growths  of  the  region, 
m  a  land  emblazoned  and  carpeted  with  flowers,  built  their 
homes  of  refuge  from  the  burning  heat  and  equally  burning 
mosquitoes  of  the  coastland.      .      .      .      These  people  drove 


496        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

in  their  own  carriages,  accompanied  by  a  retinue  of  servants 
and  provision  wagons.  .  .  .  This  procession  up  the  moun- 
tains had  fewer  trappings  on  the  horses  and  less  gayly  attired 
escort  than  did  those  of  the  olden  time;  but  we  may  be  sure 
that  the  carriages  of  the  gentlefolk  of  the  eighteenth  century 
were  pleasanter  conveyances  than  the  mule-litters  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  and  we  may  also  be  sure  that  no  lovelier  faces  looked 
out  from  the  gorgeous  retinue  on  its  way  across  the  hills  of 
the  past  than  could  be  seen  in  the  carriages  where  sat  the 
ladies  of  the  New  World,  with  their  patrician  beauty  and 
their  gracious  manners.  And,  although  the  escort  of  the 
New  World  travelers  did  not  number  one  thousand  gayly 
dressed  cavaliers,  it  consisted  of  a  retinue  of  those  ebony  chil- 
dren of  the  sun,  who  loved  the  pleasant  journey,  and  loved 
their  gentle  lords  and  ladies — for  all  this  happened  in  those 
halcyon  days  'before  the  War'  when  .  .  .  the  real 
'quality'  cherished  their  slaves  and  were  greatly  loved  by 
them. " 

Distinguished  Pioneers.  This  writer  continues:  "The 
Lodge"  was  built  by  one  of  the  English  Barings,  Charles,  of  bank- 
ing fame,  on  which  place  was  a  'tumble -down  stile,'  like 
the  one  near  Stratford-on-Avon."  "Coming  somewhat  later, 
as  friends  of  Mr.  Baring,"  were  Mr.  Molyneux,  British  con- 
sul at  Savannah,  and  Count  de  Choiseuil,  French  consul  a 
the  same  place.  "Perhaps  the  most  cherished  name  of  this 
mountain  settlement  was  that  of  the  Rev.  John  G.  Drayton, 
for  many  years  rector  of  St.  John-in-the- Wilderness,  and  to 
whom  the  dignified  and  noble  estate  of  Ravenswood  at  Flat 
Rock  owes  its  origin,  as  well  as  the  wonderful  Magnolia  Gar- 
dens on  the  Ashley  river,  near  Charleston — gardens  where 
one  wanders  away  into  a  dreamland  of  flowers  unlike  any 
other  dreamland  in  the  world.  .  .  .  And  always  when 
talking  to  anyone  of  the  old  residents  of  Flat  Rock,  comes 
forth  the  name  of  Dr.  Mitchell  C.  King,  who,  for  more  than 
half  a  century,  was  the  greatly  beloved  physician  of  the  com- 
munity, and  who,  while  a  student  at  the  University  of  Got- 
tingen,  formed  so  -(Varm  a  friendship  with  a  fellow  student, 
known  as  Otto  von  Bismarck,  that,  for  many  years  after,  a 
regular  correspondence  was  carried  on  'between  them'  these 
letters  being  carefully  preserved  by  the  descendants  of  the 
doctor."     She  also  mentions  the  Memmingers,  the  Rutledges 


NOTABLE  RESORTS  AND  IMPROVEMENTS         497 

the  Lo^^^^de.s(^s,  tlic  Elliotts,  the  Pinckneys,  the  Midilletons 
and  many  others. 

The  Man  Who  Brought  Us  to  the  Springs. '^  Colonel 
V.  Ripley,  father  of  Mrs.  Lila  Ripley  Barnwell,  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  in  Hendersonville.  He  was  of  English  descent, 
his  innneiliate  branch  of  the  family  having  come  to  New  Eng- 
land in  1G30.  Colonel  Ripley  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  from 
which  state  he  came  to  North  Carolina  when  quite  a  young 
man.  He  was  a  man  of  wide  experience  and  fine  business 
ability.  In  1835  the  business  of  mail  contracts,  extending 
from  Florida  when  the  state  was  a  territory  to  the  upper 
part  of  South  Carolina,  was  almost  entirely  in  his  hands. 
This  business  w^as  continued  until  June,  1855. 

His  Wife  an  Authoress.  '  -  Mr.  Ripley's  first  wife  was 
the  daughter  of  James  M.  Smith  of  Buncombe,  who 
was  the  first  white  child  to  be  born  west  of  the  Blue 
Ridge  in  Buncombe  county,  he  having  been  born  on 
Swannanoa. '  ^  During  the  War  between  the  States,  Col. 
Ripley  was  married  to  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Ewart  of  Colum- 
bia, S.  C,  a  lady  of  great  culture,  refinement  and  strong  in- 
tellectuality. In  her  early  years,  Mrs.  Ripley  was  an  author  of 
considerable  distinction,  and  was  a  regular  contributor  to 
many  of  the  leading  magazines  and  periodicals  of  her  day. 
Perhaps  her  most  valuable  production  was  "Ellen  Campbell, 
of  Kings  Mountain,"  a  prize  story  which  was  contested  for 
by  many  of  the  well  known  writers  of  the  South.  The  de- 
scription of  the  battle  of  Kings  Mountain  in  this  story  is  one 
of  the  most  graphic  ever  given  of  that  famous  engagement. 
It  increased  enormously  the  circulation  of  the  paper  in  which 
it  was  published.  She  was  the  author  of  "Edith  Egerton, " 
"Avalona"  and  several  other  novelettes,  as  also  of  many 
beautiful  poems. '  ■•  Mrs.  Lila  Ripley  Barnwell,  her  daughter, 
has  been  inseparably  identified  with  the  later  development 
of  Hendersonville;  she  is  well  known  in  western  North  Caro- 
lina as  a  writer,  and  a  broadly  public-spirited  woman,  as 
well  as  a  friend  to  all  who  need  a  friend — and  this  is  saying 
much. 

Cashiers  Valley.  ^  ^  About  1818  a  man  named  IMillsaps  set- 
tled in  the  upper  end  of  Cashiers  Valley.  Soon  after  that 
date  James  McKinney  came  to  the  valley  and  bought  the 
lands  then  owned  by  Millsaps.  A  short  time  after,  John 
Zachary  and  sons,  Jefferson,  Mordecai,  Alfred,  Jonathan,  and 
w.  N.  C— 32 


498        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Alexander,  came  to  the  valley  and  settled  in  the  lower  end 
thereof.  All  the  Zacharys  seem  to  have  been  artizans. 
Alexander  was  a  brick  mason  and  also  a  brickmaker.  He 
evidently  burned  the  first  bricks  in  the  south  end  of  Jackson 
county.  Alfred  was  a  hatter  and  made  both  fur  and  wool 
hats.  It  was  customary  in  those  days  to  take  coon -skins 
or  lambs -wool  to  his  "shop"  to  be  made  up  on  shares. 
A  good  home-made  wool  or  fur  hat  cost  seventy-five  cents. 
Mordecai  Zachary  was  a  carpenter  and  built  a  fine  house  for 
those  days.  The  Zacharys  built  the  first  saw-mill  in  the 
valley. 

Cashiers  Valley  is  a  mountain  plateau  of  the  Blue  Ridge 
3,400  feet  in  altitude,  from  four  to  five  miles  long,  and  a  mile 
and  a  half  wide.  Attracted  by  its  climate,  freedom  from 
dampness,  its  utter  isolation  from  the  populated  haunts  of 
man,  the  rugged  character  of  its  scenery  and  deer  and  bear 
infested  wildwoods,  years  since,  wealthy  planters  of  South 
Carolina  drifted  in  there  with  each  recurring  summer.  Now 
a  few  homes  of  these  people  are  scattered  along  the  highland 
roads.  One  residence,  the  pleasant  summer  home  of  Gen. 
Wade  Hampton,  governor  of  South  Carolina  in  1876,  the 
earliest  settler  from  the  Palmetto  State,  is  situated,  as  it 
appears  from  the  road,  in  the  gap  between  Chimney  Top 
and  Brown  mountain,  through  which,  twenty  miles  away, 
can  be  seen  a  range  of  purple  mountains.  A  grove  of  pines 
surrounds  the  house.  Governor  Hampton  formerly  spent 
the  summers  here,  engaged,  among  other  pastimes,  in  fishing 
for  trout  along  the  head  streams  of  the  Chatooga,  which 
have  been  stocked  with  this  fish  by  the  Hampton  family, 
and  in  hunting  deer.  Chief  Justice  A.  J.  Willard  of  Colum- 
bia, S.  C,  afterwards  had  a  residence  nearby. 

Whiteside  Cove.  ^  ^  The  first  settler  in  Whiteside  Cove 
was  Barak  Norton.  He  came  from  South  Carolina  and 
settled  in  the  Cove  about  1820.  Barak  Norton  and 
others  took  up  State  grant  No.  307  on  the  24th  day  of 
December,  1838.  Barak  Norton  in  his  own  name  took 
up  State  grant  No.  322  on  the  27th  of  December  of  the 
same  year.  His  oldest  daughter,  Mira  Norton,  took  up  State 
grant  No.  320  on  same  date  of  same  year.  He  lived  to  the 
advanced  age  of  99  or  100  and  died  at  James  Wright's,  about 
three  miles  north  of  Highlands,  near  Short  Off,  in  1868  or 


NOTABLE  RESORTS  AND  IMPROVEMENTS         499 

1870.  His  wife,  Mary  Norton,  nee  Nicholson,  also  lived  to  an 
advanced  age  of  nearly  100  years.  Barak  Norton  and  his  wife 
Mary  were  strong  adherents  to  the  Universalist  belief  and 
died  strong  in  the  faith. 

Horse  Cove.  ^  ^  Soon  after  the  settlement  of  Whiteside 
Cove  and  Cashiers  Valley,  Horse  Cove  was  settled  by  George 
and  William  Barnes,  Mark  Burrill  and  Evan  Talley.  The 
Barnes  families  seem  to  have  been  the  first  to  settle  there. 
Gold  was  discovered  about  1840. 

DuLA  Springs.  These  springs  were  opened  to  the  public 
about  1900,  and  are  the  property  of  the  Chambers  family. 
There  are  several  houses  which  afford  accommodations  for 
from  thirty  to  fifty  people  on  most  reasonable  terms.  They 
are  about  two  miles  north  of  Weaverville,  which  is  reached 
by  an  electric  line  from  Asheville. 

Highlands,  Macon  County.  ^  ^  Early  in  1875  S.  T.  Kelsey 
and  C.  C.  Hutchinson,  of  Kansas,  bought  800  acres  of  J.  W. 
Dobson,  to  which  land  Kelsey  moved  his  family  in  February, 
1875.  T.  Baxter  White  of  Marblehead,  Mass.,  followed  in 
April.  In  May  Hutchinson  and  family  came,  and  White 
became  postmaster,  and  for  two  years  carried  the  mail  in 
his  coat  pocket  to  Horse  Cove  and  back.  About  1877  Dr. 
George  Kibbee  came  from  Oregon,  and,  having  been  success- 
ful in  treating  yellow  fever  in  Knoxville  by  using  rubber  beds 
and  cold  water  baths,  he  went  to  New  Orleans  in  1879  when 
yellow  fever  was  epidemic  there.  He  contracted  the  disease 
there  and  died.  Joseph  Halleck  of  Minnesota,  a  brother 
of  Gen.  W.  H.  Halleck  of  the  Civil  War,  kept  the  first  hotel. 
In  1888-89  the  Davis  house  was  opened  and  was  popular  till 
1909,  when  Miss  Davis,  who  had  kept  it  admirably,  died. 
John  Norton  built  a  store  in  1879,  and  Charles  0.  Smith  of 
Indiana  bought  the  Polly  Norton  farm  and  lived  there  till 
his  death.  Captain  S.  P.  Ilavenel  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  came 
in  1879  and  built  a  beautiful  residence  on  the  crest  of  the  Blue 
Ridge,  commanding  a  fine  view,  hauling  all  the  lumber,  ex- 
cept that  for  the  frame,  from  Walhalla,  S.  C.  By  the  aid 
of  his  family  a  Presbyterian  church  was  built  and  dedicated 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Miller  of  Charlotte,  N.  C,  in  September, 
1885.  It  need  not  be  said  that  this  Uttle  community  has 
had  excellent  schools  from  the  first.  A  debating  society  every 
Friday  night  used  to  keep  things  lively  and  brought  the  com- 


500        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

munity  together.  Mr.  Kelsey  was  a  practical  disciple  of 
good  roads,  going  out  and  building  them  himself.  Highlands 
is  a  fine  town. 

LiNviLLE  City.  This  beautiful  little  town  was  built  and 
is  owned  largely  by  the  Linville  Improvement  Company,  which 
in  1890  was  composed  principally  of  S.  T.  Kelsey,  S.  P.  Rav- 
enel  and  Donald  MacRae.  They  built  the  Yonahlossee  turn- 
pike from  this  town  to  Blowing  Rock,  about  twenty  miles 
distant,  at  a  cost  of  about  $18,000,  less  than  $1,000  per  mile. 
It  is  the  most  beautiful  and  best  constructed  mountain  road 
in  the  State.  But,  at  the  time  it  was  completed  and  the 
Linville  River  Railroad  had  reached  Pinola  and  Montezuma, 
less  than  two  miles  distant,  there  were  such  serious  dissen- 
sions among  the  directors  of  the  company  that  a  lawsuit 
resulted.  Until  it  had  been  settled  it  was  impossible  to  give 
clear  title  to  any  of  the  lots  which  had  been  largely  advertised 
for  sale.  When  the  trouble  was  finally  adjusted  the  golden 
moment  had  passed.  ^  ^  But  Blowing  Rock  had  benefited  by 
the  construction  of  the  turnpike.  There  is  a  nice  little  inn 
and  a  fine  lake  filled  with  trout  at  Linville  City.  It  is  within 
the  shadow  of  the  Grandfather  mountain  and  about  4,000 
feet  above  sea  level. 

Blowing  Rock.  In  1875  WilHam  Morris  lived  at  Blow- 
ing Rock  and  took  a  few  summer  boarders.  The  fame  of  his 
culinary  art,  or  that  of  his  ^\'^fe,  spread  and  brought  his  place 
to  the  attention  of  the  late  Senator  M.  W.  Ransom.  He 
bought  and  built  a  summer  home  there.  Others  followed. 
The  Green  Park  Hotel,  the  Watauga  Hotel  and  other  fine 
hostelries  were  built,  and  when  the  Yonahlossee  turnpike  was 
completed  Blowing  Rock  was  quite  popular.  There  is  no 
finer  scenery  anywhere,  the  water  is  pure  and  hotels  and 
private  boarding  houses  numerous.  The  following  have 
fine  homes  at  this  charming  place:  Col.  W.  W.  String- 
fellow;  Miss  Esther  Ransom,  of  Weldon;  Mr.  E.  H.  Hughes, 
of  Charleston,  S.  C;  Prof.  W.  J.  Martin,  of  Davidson  Col- 
lege; Rev.  C.  G.  Vardell,  of  Red  Springs;  Mrs.  Moses  H. 
Cone,  Mr.  A.  W.  Washburn,  of  Charlotte;  Mr.  Elliott 
Dangerfield,  of  New  York;  Rev.  J.  S.  Vance,  of  Nashville, 
Tenn.;  Mr.  D.  A.  Tompkins,  of  Charlotte;  Mr.  E.  H.  Wil- 
liamson, of  Fayetteville;  Judge  G.  W.  Gage,  of  Chester,  S. 
C;  Mrs.  W.  G.  Randall,  of  Greensboro,  N.  C;  Rev.  D.  E. 


NOTABLE  RESORTS  AND  IMPROVEMENTS         501 


Snapp,  of  Baltimore,  Mil.;  Mr.  J.  Lamb  Perry,  of  Charleston, 
S.  C;  Mrs.  W.  G.  Randall,  and  many  others. 

Roaring  Gap  Hotel.  Within  the  last  few  years  Roaring 
Gap,  on  the  crest  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  at  the  head  of  Roaring 
river,  has  become  a  popular  summer  resort,  with  a  large  and 
well-arranged  hotel,  commanding  fine  views.  There  are  also 
a  number  of  nice  cottages.  It  is  nearly  3,500  feet  above  sea 
level. 

Thompson's  Bromine  Arsenic  Springs.  Nine  miles  from 
Jefferson  is  a  mineral  spring,  hotel  and  outbuildings,  situated 
3,000  feet  above  sea  level,  that  is  almost  a  specific  for  eczema, 
all  forms  of  skin  troubles  and  all  kidney  and  bladder  affec- 
tions. It  can  be  reached  from  Troutdale,  Va.,  (leaving  Nor- 
folk &  Western  train  at  Marion,  Va.,  for  Troutdale)  or  from 
Wilkesboro,  N.  C.,  on  Southern  Railway,  from  which  it  is 
distant  forty  miles.  It  opens  May  15.  H.  M.  Wiley  is  the 
proprietor  and  the  postoffice  is  Grumpier,  Ashe  county,  N.  C. 

Moses  H.  Cone.  He  was  born  at  Jonesborough,  Tenn., 
June  27,  1857,  and  died  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  December  8,  1908. 
In  September,  1897,  he  began  the  acquisition  of  the  3,500 
acres  of  land  which  make  up  what  is  now  Flat  Top  Manor.  ^  ^ 
He  died  childless  and  intestate;  but  his  widow,  Mrs.  Bertha 
Lindau  Cone,  and  his  brothers,  and  sisters,  Ceasar  Cone  and 
wife,  Jeannette  Cone,  L.  N.  Cone,  Julius  W.  Cone,  Bernard 
M.  Cone  and  wife  of  Guilford  county;  Frederick  W.  Cone, 
Moses  D.  Long  and  his  wife,  Carrie  Cone  Long,  of  Buncombe; 
Sydney  M.  Cone  and  wife,  and  C,  and  E.  Cone  of  Baltimore, 
Md.,  in  May,  1911,  in  recognition  of  "the  deep  love  and  last- 
ing affection"  for  the  people  of  Watauga  of  Moses  H.  Cone, 
conveyed  to  the  Cone  Memorial  Hospital,  a  corporation  of 
Guilford  county,  the  whole  of  the  Flat  Top  Manor  and  three 
smaller  tracts  which  had  been  acquired  by  Mrs.  Cone  since 
her  husband's  death — the  entire  propety,  aggregating  3,517 
acres — to  be  called  the  "Moses  H.  Cone  Memorial  Park," 
to  be  used  as  "a  park  and  pleasure  ground  for  the  public  in 
perpetuity,"  in  order  "to  make  an  everlasting  memorial" 
to  the  said  Moses  H.  Cone.  A  life  estate  in  this  property 
is,  however,  reserved  to  Mrs.  Cone,  and  a  plat  of  ground  400 
feet  square  in  which  Moses  H.  Cone  is  buried.  ^  *  There  are 
scores  of  poor  people  in  Watauga  county  who  will  never  for- 
get the  goodness  of  Moses  H.  Cone. 


502        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

The  Lindsay  Patterson  Farms.  This  gentleman,  with 
his  Revolutionary  War  ancestry,  and  his  estimable  Avife,  not 
content  with  trying  to  preserve  the  history  of  this  section, 
has  purchased  two  fine  farms  in  Watauga,  one  on  Meat  Camp 
creek,  five  miles  north  of  Boone,  containing  350  acres,  and  the 
other,  eight  miles  further  north,  containing  2,000  acres,  and 
lying  in  Watauga  and  Ashe  counties.  This  latter  is  called  the 
Bald  Mountain  farm,  because  the  mountain  on  which  it  lies 
is  largely  bare  of  forests.  Grain,  hay,  potatoes,  and  vege- 
tables are  produced  in  abundance  on  the  Meat  Camp  farm; 
while  horses,  mules,  cattle,  ponies,  sheep,  hogs,  turkeys, 
geese,  ducks  and  chickens,  flourish  and  grow  fat  on  the  other. 

AsHEviLLE  Sulphur  Springs.  On  the  last  day  of  February, 
1827,  Robert  Henry  and  his  slave  Sam  discovered  this  spring, 
five  miles  west  of  Asheville,  and  about  the  year  1830  his  son- 
in-law.  Col.  Reuben  Deaver,  built  a  wooden  hotel  on  the  hill 
above  and  began  taking  summer  boarders.  Such  was  the 
patronage  that  an  addition  had  to  be  made  to  the  hotel  every 
year.  As  many  as  five  hundred  are  said  to  have  been  there 
at  one  time,  and  the  neighborhood  was  ransacked  for  beds, 
bedding,  chairs,  and  provisions.  Most  of  the  visitors  came 
from  South  Carolina,  among  whom  were  the  Pinckneys, 
Elmores,  Butlers,  Pickenses,  Prestons,  Alstons,  Kerrisons,  and 
others.  Mr.  John  Keitt  was  the  first  person  buried  on  Sul- 
phur Springs  hill,  August  27,  1836.  ^  ^  The  fact  that  the  Pinck- 
neys were  almost  constant  visitors  accounts  for  the  prevalence 
of  the  given  name  Pink  in  the  neighborhood  of  Asheville.  The 
Alstons  reserved  the  corner  rooms  on  the  second  floor  from 
May  till  frost  every  season.  Besides  the  hotel,  an  L-shaped 
building,  there  were  cabins  on  the  grounds.  There  were 
bowling  alleys,  billiard  tables,  shuffle-boards  and  other  games. 
A  large  ball-room  and  a  string  band,  composed  of  free  negroes 
from  Charleston  and  Columbia,  provided  the  music  for 
dancing.  One  of  these  negroes  was  named  Randall,  who  had 
been  presented  with  a  purse  of  85,000  by  the  white  people 
of  South  Carolina  for  having  given  information  about  a  con- 
templated negro  insurrection  at  Charleston;-"  and  another 
of  these  musicians  was  named  Lapitude,  who  OA\Tied  a  plan- 
tation near  Charleston  and  forty  slaves.  He  was  a  man  of 
some  education,  and  the  manner  of  a  Chesterfield.  ^  ^  From 
its   opening  till    1860  there  were  more  summer   visitors   at 


NOTABLE  RESORTS  AND  IMPROVEMENTS         503 

Deaver's  Springs  than  in  Asheville.  Col.  James  M.  Ray 
gives  us  this  picture  of  Asheville  sixty  years  ago:  "Well, 
what  of  Asheville  in  these  long  past  years?  It  was  about 
like  Leicester  or  Marshall — a  very  small  village  on  the  'turn- 
pike,' midway  between  the  two  Greenvilles.  The  two  'ho- 
tels'. Eagle,  and  Buck,  even  many  years  later,  not  doing  near 
the  business  of  many  of  the  country  inns  or  stock  stands  on  the 
Warm  Springs  road.  For  anyone  to  stop  at  either  of  these 
two  hotels  longer  than  for  dinner  or  for  the  night  was  not 
thought  of;  though  a  few  summer  visitors  would  sometimes 
make  a  short  stop  in  passing  through  to  Deaver's  Springs  or 
to  Warm  Springs,  Wade  Hampton  and  others  with  fast  teams 
driving  from  Asheville  to  Warm  Springs  for  dinner. "  ^  2  Xhe 
old  hotel  was  burned  in  December,  1862,  was  rebuilt  by  E. 
G.  Carrier — of  brick  this  time — in  1887,  and  known,  first 
as  Carrier's  Springs  and  then  as  The  Belmont.  It  was  again 
burned  in  September,  1891,  while  under  the  management  of 
Dr.  Carl  Von  Ruck.  From  1889  till  1894  an  electric  railway 
ran  from  Asheville  to  the  spring,  but  it  was  abandoned. 

Cloudland  Hotel.  In  1878  Gen.  J.  H.  Wilder  of  Knox- 
ville  built  a  hotel  on  the  top  of  the  Roan  mountain  and 
opened  it  for  guests,  having  previously  constructed  a  wagon 
road  from  Roan  Mountain  Station  on  what  is  now  the  East 
Tennessee  and  Western  North  Carolina  Railroad.  Later  he 
built  a  much  larger  hotel,  which  met  a  public  want  admir- 
ably, as  it  afforded  sufferers  from  hay-fever  immediate  relief. 
It  is  built  across  the  State  line  between  Tennessee  and  North 
Carolina,  and  guests  frequently  sleep  with  one  part  of  their 
bodies  in  one  state  and  the  rest  in  the  other.  It  was  very 
popular  till  a  few  years  ago,  when  it  was  closed,  but  will 
soon  be  reopened. 

Eagle's  Nest,  near  Waynesville,  has  divided  this  patron- 
age with  the  Cloudland  since  1900.  In  the  year  1900  Mr.  S.  C. 
Satterthwait  of  Waynesville  built  a  hotel  on  top  of  one  of  the 
highest  of  the  Balsams,  calling  the  range  the  Junaluskas.  It  is 
five  miles  from  Waynesville  and  is  reached  by  a  good  wagon  road. 
It  is  5,0.50  feet  above  sea-level,  and  is  one  of  the  hay-fever 
resorts  in  this  section,  Cloudland  hotel  on  the  Roan,  6,000 
feet,  being  the  only  other.  Tents  supplement  the  rooming 
accommodations  when  desired.  Accommodations  for  about  100 
guests.     The  magnificent  Plott  Balsam  mountain  is  in  full  view. 


504        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Balsam  Inn.  Soon  after  the  completion  of  the  railroad  to 
Balsam  gap,  seven  miles  west  of  Waynesville,  Christie  Broth- 
ers of  Athens,  Ga.,  opened  a  railroad  eating  house  at  that 
point,  and  furnished  venison,  wild  turkey  and  mountain  trout 
and  the  best  cuisine  in  the  State.  They  had  only  rough  and 
small  houses,  and  did  not  seek  any  patronage  except  from 
railroad  passengers.  But  about  1905  a  large  and  commodi- 
ous hotel  was  erected  there,  with  accommodations  for  many 
guests.  Baths,  acetylene  lights,  music  and  other  attractions 
keep  the  hotel  filled  during  the  summer  season. 

Our  First  Landscape  Architect.  Our  first  settlers 
sought  house  sites  near  springs,  caring  little  for  views  or  being 
viewed.  Knolls  and  commanding  eminences  were  too  far 
from  water,  as  a  rule,  and  required  a  climb  up-hill  to  reach. 
In  1821  the  late  Dr.  J.  F.  E.  Hardy  came  to  Asheville  from 
Newberry  District,  S.  C,  where  he  had  been  born  in  1802. 
His  first  residence  was  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Eagle  and 
South  Main  streets,  at  one  time  the  finest  residence  in  Ashe- 
ville, where  he  resided  for  fifteen  years  after  his  marriage  to 
Miss  Jane  Patton  in  1824,  In  1840  he  married  Miss  Erwin 
of  Morganton,  and  soon  afterwards  moved  to  Swannanoa 
Hill  at  the  corner  of  Biltmore  road  or  South  Main  street  and 
the  Swannanoa  river.  This  is  on  a  hill,  and  the  roads  and 
approaches,  lined  with  white  pines,  cedars  and  other  trees  and 
shrubbery,  still  make  this  one  of  the  prettiest  places  in  this 
section.  But  when  he  first  improved  it,  it  was  far  in  advance 
of  anything  theretofore  seen  in  these  parts.  It  commands  a 
fine  view.  Here  he  hved  till  1860,  when  he  bought  Belle- 
view  on  the  eastern  side  of  South  Main  street,  another  com- 
manding hill  with  a  splendid  view.  The  winding  roadway, 
bordered  by  pines  and  cedars,  which  led  from  the  road  to  the 
house,  is  still  intact  except  at  the  lower  end,  where  the  former 
road,  now  street,  has  been  dug  down  far  below  its  former 
level,  leaving  the  entrance  to  the  approach  road  high  in  the 
air.  INIrs.  Bucannon  now  o\\tis  this  property.  Soon  after 
the  Civil  War  Dr.  Hardy  built  the  brick  house  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Hendersonville  road  beyond  Biltmore,  which  com- 
manded another  fine  view.  Here  he  died  at  the  age  of  eighty. 
He  was  one  of  the  most  eminent  physicians  of  his  day.  He 
was  of  commanding  presence,  with  the  manner  of  a  lord.  At 
his  home  was  dispensed  much  of  the  hospitality  for  which 


NOTABLE  RESORTS  AND  IMPROVEMENTS         505 

this  section  was  noted,  distinguished  strangers  finding  tliere 
entertainment  and  intelligence  at  least  equal  to  that  of  larger 
places.  His  son,  Dr.  J.  (letUlings  Hardy,  succeeded  to  his 
practice,  and  no  call  ever  went  unanswered  by  him. 

BiLTMORE,  Soon  after  the  opening  of  the  Battery  Park 
Hotel  Mr.  George  W.  Vanderbilt  of  New  York  visited  Ashe- 
ville  and  was  at  once  struck  with  its  possibilities.  He  tried 
at  first  to  secure  Fernihurst,  owned  by  Mrs.  J.  K.  Connally, 
but  failing,  turned  his  attention  to  the  land  south  of  the 
Swannanoa  and  east  of  the  French  Broad.  Charles  McNamee, 
Esq.,  a  lawyer  of  New  York,  and  a  kinsman,  first  took 
options  and  deeds  in  his  own  name  ;  but  it  soon  became 
noised  about  that  he  was  buying  for  Mr.  Vanderbilt  and 
prices  began  to  soar.  The  first  deed  recorded  is  from  J.  G. 
Martin,  trustee  and  commissioner,  to  the  Williams  property, 
and  is  dated  September,  1889,  followed  by  many  others  till 
the  16th  of  June,  1890,  when  Henry  Allen  White  conveyed 
134  acres  directly  to  Mr.  Vanderbilt,  after  which  there  was 
no  attempt  to  disguise  the  fact  that  this  gentleman,  "  having 
all  the  world  before  him  where  to  choose,"  had  chosen  Buncombe 
as  the  site  of  his  future  home.  The  influence  of  this  choice  on  the 
outside  world  was  immense.  These  purchases  of  small  tracts 
have  resulted  in  the  accumulation  of  about  12,500  acres  in 
what  is  called  Biltmore  House  tract,  and  about  100,000  acres 
in  Buncombe,  Transylvania  and  Henderson  counties  in.  what  is 
known  as  Pisgah  Forest.  The  services  of  Frederick  Law  Olm- 
stead,  the  distinguished  landscape  architect  of  New  York,  were 
secured,  and  he  planned  the  roads,  bridges,  forests,  lakes,  water- 
falls, etc.,  on  the  Biltmore  House  tract.  Those  roads  are  un- 
surpassed by  even  the  drives  in  Central  Park,  New  York, 
being  kept  in  perfect  condition  at  all  times.  Biltmore  house 
was  begun  in  1891  and  completed  in  1896.  This  house  was 
modeled  after  Chateau  Blois,  France;  and  the  Rampe  Douce, 
or  gentle  slope,  immediately  in  front  of  the  house  l)ut  Ijeyond 
the  la^\^l  known  as  the  Esplanade,  is  a  close  imitation  of  a 
like  construction  at  Vaux  le  Vicomte,  France.  The  garden  to 
the  right  of  the  front  of  the  house  and  on  a  lower  level  than 
the  esplanade  is  called  the  "walled  garden,"  and  the  stone 
images  or  sphinxes  on  the  four  gate  posts  at  the  entrances 
were  brought  from  Egypt,  and  are  the  busts  of  women  on 
the  bodies  of  lions  couchant.      They  are  said  to  be  of  great 


506        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

age.  Fine  tapestries,  paintings,  statuary  and  other  objects  of 
art,  with  a  large  library  of  rare  books,  have  been  gathered 
into  the  house.  Fountains,  conservatories,  dairies,  vegetable 
gardens,  model  farms,  and  other  attractions  add  to  the  beauty 
and  charm  of  the  place,  probably  the  finest  private  residence 
in  America.  Birds  and  wild  animals  are  protected  on  this 
estate,  and  on  the  lakes  wild  ducks  are  seen  in  \vinter  when 
they  cannot  be  found  on  the  rivers  nearby.  Pisgah  Forest 
was  bought  for  its  forests,  and  Hon.  Gifford  Pinchot  was 
placed  in  charge  as  forester. 

Pisgah  Forest.  Mr.  Vanderbilt  was  the  first  to  see  the 
paramount  necessity  for  forest  conservation.  Pisgah  Forest 
prospered  under  the  expert  guidance  of  Mr.  Pinchot  till 
he  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Schenck,  who  for  years  con- 
ducted a  school  of  forestry.  Biltmore  village,  at  the  end 
of  South  Main  street  of  Asheville,  is  planned  after  English 
villages,  with  the  ivied  church,  the  hedges  and  the  "simple 
village  green."  But  it  is  not  probable  that  any  English  vil- 
lage is  as  spick  and  span  as  Biltmore  is  every  day,  where 
streets,  lawns,  hedges,  sidewalks,  drains  and  shrubbery  are 
constantly  on  dress  parade — an  object  lesson  in  municipal 
government  without  politics. 

The  National  Park  Commission  and  Mr.  Vanderbilt  could 
not  agree  on  a  price  for  Pisgah  Forest  in  June,  1913,  but 
after  Mr.  Vanderbilt's  death,  March  5,  1914,  his  widow  sold 
the  entire  tract. 

"The  Beautiful  Sapphire  Country."  The  completion 
of  the  railroad  to  Lake  Toxaway  in  1900  led  to  the  following 
developments,  and  were  due  largely  to  the  energy  and  enter- 
prise of  Mr.  J.  F.  Hays  :  The  Toxaway  property  as  a  whole 
was  made  up  of  property  purchased  from  the  receivers  of 
the  Sapphire  Valley  Company,  and  other  smaller  properties. 
The  Fairfield  Inn,  on  Lake  Fairfield,  was  built,  together  with  the 
dam  for  the  lake,  in  1896.  The  Franklin  Hotel  at  Brevard,  which 
was  a  part  of  this  same  operation,  was  built  in  the  year  of  1900. 
Later  the  Franklin  was  sold  to  a  Mr.  Robinson  and  associ- 
ates, of  Charlotte,  N.  C,  and  they  are  at  present  owners  of 
that  property.  The  Toxaway  property  was  sold  in  1911  under 
foreclosure,  and  is  now  held  as  the  property  of  Mr.  E.  H. 
Jennings  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  Toxaway  Inn,  as  well  as  Fairfield 
Inn,  and  The  Franklin,  had  their  greatest  success  in  the  years 
1904-1907. 


NOTABLE  RESORTS  AND  IMPROVEMENTS         507 

Waynesville  White  Sulphur  Spring.  This  spring  was 
discovered  by  "Uncle"  Jerry,  a  slave  of  the  late  James  R. 
Love,  in  1845  or  184G.  Col.  Love  soon  after  built  a  large 
residence  there,  which  he  occupied  till  his  death  in  1SG4.  It 
was  burned  in  August,  1885.  Col.  W.  W.  Stringficld,  who 
had  married  his  daughter  Maria,  Ijuilt  a  brick  hotel  on  the 
site  of  this  residence  after  it  had  been  burned,  about  1880.^' 
It  is  now  owned  by  Ben  Johnston  Sloan.  It  is  less  than  one 
mile  from  Waynesville. 

Epp's  Spring.  This  was  the  property  of  the  late  Epp 
Everett  of  Bryson  City,  and  is  about  five  miles  from  that 
town  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tuckaseegee  river,  at  the 
mouth  of  Cane  Brake  branch.  It  is  a  chalybeate  spring, 
and  there  are  one  or  two  cabins  there. 

Old  Valley  Town  Tavern.  This  famous  hostelry  was 
kept  by  the  late  Mrs.  Margaret  Walker  for  a  number  of 
years  after  the  Civil  War,  and  was  popular  with  lawyers  and 
their  clients.  Although  there  was  no  court  house  there,  the 
lawyers  would  hurry  through  Graham,  Cherokee  and  Clay 
county  courts  in  order  to  get  to  spend  as  much  time  at  this 
hotel  as  possible. 

The  Langren  Hotel.  This  fine  structure  of  reinforced 
concrete  was  finished  and  thrown  open  July  4,  1912.  It  is 
near  the  Pack  Square,  Asheville,  and  stands  on  the  much 
litigated  Smith  property  on  the  corner  of  North  Main  and 
College  streets,  where  formerly  stood  the  old  Buck  hotel.  It 
is  a  commercial  and  tourist  hotel,  and  popular. 

Kenilworth  Inn.  This  handsome  hotel  was  opened  about 
1890.  It  stood  on  the  eminence  above  the  junction  of  South 
Main  street  and  the  Swannanoa  river  road,  and  from  it  Craggy 
and  the  Blacks  were  visible.  It  was  popular  until  its  de- 
struction by  fire  at  3  a.  m.,  April  14th,  1909,  J.  M.  Gazzam 
of  Philadelphia,  chief  owner,  escaping  at  the  risk  of  his  life 
and  the  expense  of  great  injuries  from  which  he  afterwards  re- 
covered.    It  was  insured  for  S70,000. 

Oakland  Heights.  This  hotel  was  built  by  the  late  Alex- 
ander Garrett  and  his  son,  Robert  U.  Garrett,  in  1889.  It 
afterwards  became  a  girls'  school,  and  then  a  hotel,  having 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Home 
Missions.  It  then  became  Victoria  Inn,  and  during  1911 
was  purchased  by  the  Catholic  Church  and  is  now  St.  Gene- 
vieve's College,  a  most  excellent  school  for  girls. 


508        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

The  Grand  Central  Hotel.  This  was  built  by  the  late 
S.  H.  Chedester.  It  was  afterwards  operated  as  the  Hotel 
Berkeley,  but  in  1911  was  converted  into  a  department  store 
by  Solomon  Lipinsky. 

Margo  Terrace.  This  home-like  hotel  was  built  by  ]Miss 
Gano  in  1889.  In  1904  it  became  the  property  of  Pat  Branch, 
who  in  1912  doubled  its  capacity  and  greatly  improved  its 
outward  appearance. 

Vance's  Monument.  This  handsome  granite  column  was 
erected  on  the  PubUc  Square  at  Asheville  in  1897,  George  W. 
Pack,  after  whom  the  Square  was  soon  named,  having  con- 
tributed S2,000 — and  the  public,  SI, 300 — for  its  erection  to 
the  memory  of  Zebulon  Baird  Vance,  Buncombe's  most  dis- 
tinguished and  honored  citizen  and  great  "War  Governor." 

George  W.  Pack  Memorial  Library.  This  was  estab- 
lished in  1879,  and  had  many  homes  before  the  late  George 
W.  Pack  donated  the  fine  building  on  Pack  Square  in  1899. 

Battery  Park  Hotel.  Having  a  railroad  did  not  by 
any  means  complete  Asheville's  happiness;  for  it  had  no  hotel 
accommodations  at  all  commensurate  with  the  tide  of  travel 
which  immediately  set  in.  At  this  juncture  came  the  late 
Col.  Frank  Coxe,  who  built  the  present  Battery  Park  Hotel. 
It  was  opened  July  12,  1886,  with  Col.  C.  H.  Southwick 
manager.  It  has  remained  the  principal  hotel  of  Asheville 
ever  since.  It  has  been  twice  enlarged  and  frequently  im- 
proved. For  several  years  it  was  managed  by  the  late  E.  P. 
McKissick.  It  is  a  credit  to  this  community,  and  has  become 
an  indispensable  asset. 

The  Telegraph  Line.  The  first  telegraph  line  reached 
Asheville  July  28,  1877,  with  Samuel  C.  Weldon  as  operator. 
Through  the  efforts  of  the  late  Capt.  C.  M.  McLoud,  the  line 
was  soon  afterwards  extended  to  Hendersonville.  Then 
Mr.  Weldon  became  the  owner  and  operator  thereof  till  the 
railroad  company  took  it  off  his  hands. 

Other  Enterprises.  The  Asheville  Cemetery  Company  was 
incorporated  August  4,  1885;  the  Telephone  Company,  October 
1, 1885;  the  Western  North  Carolina  Fair,  January  30,  1884;  the 
Gas  and  Light  Company,  May  25,  1886.  In  1887  Alex,  and  R. 
U.  Garrett  built  the  Oakland  Heights  Hotel.  The  Swannanoa 
Hotel  was  completed  in  1879  and  opened  for  business  in  the 
summer  of  1880. 


NOTABLE  RESORTS  AND  IMPROVEMENTS         509 


AsHEViLLE  Street  Railway.  This  most  necessary  com- 
mon carrier  was  built  by  Dr.  S.  Westray  Battle,  James  G. 
Martin,  W.  T.  Ponniman,  and  E.  D.  Davidson,  the  latter  of 
New  York,  and  began  to  run  in  January,  18S9.  It  failed 
in  1893  and  was  sold  out  in  1894,  and  bid  in  by  White  Brothers 
of  New  York.  It  finally  went  into  the  Asheville  Electric 
Company's  properties,  and  is  now  part  of  the  Asheville  Power 
and  Light  Company. 

"The  Drummer's  Home."  This  hotel  at  Murphy,  pre- 
sided over  by  Mrs.  Dickey  for  years,  has  made  a  name  for 
itself  that  will  endure.  It  was  for  years  the  most  popular 
house  west  of  Asheville. 

West  Asheville.  In  1885  Mr.  Edwin  G.  Carrier  and  fam- 
ily moved  to  Asheville  from  ^Michigan.  He  soon  afterwards 
bought  several  hundred  acres  of  land  west  of  the  French  Broad 
river,  including  the  Sulphur  Springs  and  the  J.  P.  Gaston 
tracts  of  land.  In  1887  he  built  a  large  brick  hotel  on  the  site 
of  the  wooden  structure  that  was  burned  during  the  Civil 
War,  and  soon  thereafter,  1891,  constructed  an  electric  rail- 
way from  Asheville  to  Sulphur  Springs,  crossing  the  French 
Broad  river  near  the  mouth  of  the  Swannanoa  on  a  fine  steel 
bridge.  This  railway  first  ran  only  to  the  passenger  station; 
but,  on  October  13,  1891,  it  was  granted  a  franchise  by  the 
city  to  extend  its  line  through  Depot  street,  Bartlett  street 
and  French  Broad  avenue  to  the  corner  of  West  College  and 
North  Main  streets.  It  stopped,  however,  at  what  is  now  the 
corner  of  Haywood  street  and  Battery  Park  Place,  then  called 
Government  street.  It  was  called  the  West  Asheville  and 
Sulphur  Springs  Railway  Company. 

A  race  track  was  established  just  south  of  Strawberry  Hill 
and  between  the  Sulphur  Springs  railway  and  French  Broad 
river.  A  grand-stand  was  erected  and  a  high  fence  built 
around  the  race  track.  There  were  several  exciting  races, 
all  of  which  were  well  attended. 

Sunset  Mountain.  During  the  summer  of  1889,  Capt. 
R.  P.  Foster  and  the  late  W^alter  B.  Gwyn,  Esq.,  completed  a 
railway  from  Charlotte  street  to  a  point  on  Sunset  mountain, 
knoAATi  as  the  "Old  Quarry,"  near  which  is  a  fine  spring,  and 
from  which  can  be  had  one  of  the  finest  views  in  this  section. 
This  road  was  operated  by  a  small  steam  engine,  called  a 
"dummy,"  and  was  chartered  as  the  "Asheville  &  Craggy 


510        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Mountain  Railway  Company,"  its  objective  being  the  top  of 
Craggy  mountain.  On  November  28,  1890,  the  city  granted 
this  company  a  charter  to  build  its  track  and  operate  its  cars 
along  Charlotte  street  northward  to  the  city  limits  in  that 
direction.     This  line  was  quite  popular. 

Richard  S.  Howland.  In  1904  Lewis  Maddux,  as  receiver 
of  the  Asheville  Street  Railway  Company,  strung  a  trolley 
wire  from  Chestnut  street  along  Charlotte  street  to  what  used 
to  be  kno^vn  as  the  "Golf  Club"  and  operated  cars  to  that 
point  by  an  arrangement  with  Mr.  Gwyn.  In  1901  Richard 
S.  Howland,  Esq.,  came  from  Providence,  R.  L,  and  bought 
property  near  the  foot  of  Sunset  mountain  and  erected  a  fine 
residence  there.  He  acquired  control  of  the  Craggy  Mountain 
Railway  and  completed  it  to  the  top  of  the  mountain,  where 
he  erected  a  music  and  dance  hall.  He  also  obtained  the  right 
to  operate  his  cars  to  the  public  square.  The  terminus  of  the 
railroad  was  called  Overlook  Park. 

CoGGiNS  Springs.  These  springs  are  near  Bull  creek,  and 
are  chalybeate  and  sulphur  water.  There  are  no  hotels  or 
boarding  places,  except  farm  houses,  near.  They  are  about 
eight  miles  east  of  Asheville. 

The  Grove  Park  Hotel.  This  unique  and  costly  series  of 
grottoes,  built  of  rough  mountain  rock,  was  completed  in  1913 
(July),  in  the  E.  W.  Grove  park,  near  Asheville.  It  is  said  to 
have  cost  one  million  dollars. 

Asheville's  Gravity  Line.  During  Mayor  jNIiller's  ad- 
ministration Charles  T.  Rawls  was  chairman  of  the  finance 
committee,  and  was  most  active  and  energetic.  He  visited 
Atlanta  and  studied  the  system  of  municipal  government  of 
that  city  and  succeeded  in  getting  its  best  features  adopted 
by  Asheville,  especially  the  manner  of  keeping  the  books  and 
accounts.  At  his  instance,  and  largely  through  his  influence, 
the  city  voted  $200,000  of  four  per  cent  bonds  for  the  adoption 
of  a  gravity  water  works  system,  by  which  the  water  of  the 
North  Fork  of  theSwannanoa  river  is  conveyed  through  a  sixteen- 
inch  pipe  to  the  city.  The  contract  for  constructing  this  line 
was  awarded  to  M.  H.  Kelly  in  August,  1903.  The  city  ac- 
quired about  9,500  acres  of  land  above  the  intake  on  which 
there  is  no  human  habitation.  Certain  patriots  did  what 
they  could  to  force  the  city  to  pay  them  an  exorbitant  price 
for  land  claimed  or  controlled  by  them,  and  litigation  followed. 


NOTABLE  RESORTS  AND  IMPROVEMENTS         511 

The  city  finally  got  this  land  at  a  reasonable  price.  The  re- 
turns from  this  water  system,  after  all  expenses  have  been 
paid,  are  sufficient  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  city's  entire 
bonded  debt  of  about  one  million  dollars.  Mr.  Rawls  was 
elected  mayor,  but  his  health  temporarily  broke  do^^^l  before  his 
time  expired.  He  got  the  legislature  to  authorize  the  aldermen 
to  tax  the  cost  of  building  sewers  on  the  abutting  property 
instead  of  paying  for  them  out  of  the  general  fund.  ^^  The 
result  has  been  the  most  complete  and  satisfactory  sewer 
system  in  the  South. 

Col.  James  G.  Martin.  He  was  a  son  of  Gen.  James  G. 
Martin,  and  from  1885  to  1893,  when  he  removed  to  New  York 
City,  was  the  leader  in  most  of  the  public  enterprises  in 
Asheville  and  Western  North  Carolina.  He  died  in  1912,  aged 
about  59  years.    He  was  a  most  useful  citizen. 

George  Willis  Pack,  of  Cleveland,  Ohio,  was  a  most 
generous  friend  to  Asheville,  having  donated  11  acres  of  land 
for  Aston  Park,  about  four  acres  for  a  court  house,  a  kinder- 
garten school,  a  library  building,  and  most  of  the  money  for 
the  Vance  ]\Ionument. 

NOTES. 

'AsheWUe's  Centenary. 

2Ibid. 

>Ibid. 

*J.  H.  Wheeler's  "  Reminiscenses. " 

'Buncombe  County  Deed  Book  A,  p.  491. 

•Ibid,  Deed  Book  No.  16,  p.  74. 

'Ibid,  p.  413. 

'Statements  of  Captain  B.  F.  Patton,  March  25,  1913.  He  spent  his  boyhood  at  Old 
Warm  Springs.  Mrs.  M.  A.  Chambers  of  Columbia,  S.  C,  now  in  her  uin 'tieth  year,  remem- 
bers visiting  this  hotel,  Hickorj'  Xut  Falls,  r.nd  Flat  Rock,  when  a  girl,  about  1833. 

'Charles  Dudley  Warner  ("On  Horsehack,"  p.  135),  in  1884,  called  this  hotel  "a  pala- 
tial hovel." 

'"Buncombe  County  Deed  Book  No.  16,  p.  375. 

"Ibid,  p.  193. 

'^From  Mrs.  Mattie  Smathers  Chandler's  history  of  Henderson  county. 

".As  Ashe  county  was  settled  in  1755,  according  to  Wheeler's  History  (p.  27),  many 
white  children  were  born  in  that  county  years  before  James  M.  Smith  was  born  in  Bun- 
combe county. 

i<Mrs.  Ripley  was  the  mother,  by  a  former  marriage,  of  Hon.  Hamilton  Glover 
Ewart,  member  of  Congress  from  1887  to  1889,  and  appointed  U.  S.  District  Judge  in  1898. 

'^Information  furnished  by  T.  Baxter  White,  J.  Pierson  and  others. 

"Information  furnished  by  S.  P.  Ravenel,  Esq.,  of  Asheville. 

"Watauga  County  Deed  Book  R,  p.  131. 

"Ibid,  No.  11.  p.  517. 

"Robert  Henry's  diary,  now  in  possession  of  his  daughter-in-law,  Mrs.  C.  C.  Henry, 
of  Acton,  N.  C. 

'""South  Carolina  Women  in  the  Confederacy,"  p.  249. 

"Statements  of  Mrs.  Eugenia  E.  Hopson,  daughter  of  Col.  Reuben  Deaver,  and  of 
Mrs.  Martha  A.  -Arthur,  daughter  of  Robert  Henry. 

2-Col.  James  M.  Ray  in  The  Lvceum,  p.  19,  December,  1890. 

"Letter  of  Col.  W.  W.  Stringfield  to  J.  P.  A.,  January  27,  1912. 

'*ln  Justice  v.  Asheville,  decided  at  the  December  Term  (1912)  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
this  act  was  sustained. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

FLORA  AND  FAUNA 

Primeval  Conditions.  Exactly  what  the  forests  were  like 
in  the  days  of  the  earliest  settlers  and  what  were  the  kinds  and 
habits  of  its  wild  denizens  can  be  knowTi  only  by  the  accounts 
that  have  come  down  from  our  ancestors.  Whether  the  coun- 
try was  more  open  than  now  or  whether  the  wild  animals 
were  tamer  than  we  now  find  them,  are  matters  that  cannot  be 
absolutely  determined  by  any  mathematical  process.  Some 
claim  that  the  Indians  kept  the  undergrowth  thinned  out  by 
annually  setting  the  fallen  leaves  afire  in  order  that  they  might 
see  the  game  the  better,  while  others  suppose  that  there  were 
thickets  and  saplings  beneath  the  giant  forest  trees  as  there 
are  at  this  time.  Following  are  some  thoughts  upon  this 
question: 

"It  is  also  doubtless  true  that  150  or  200  years  ago  the  forests  were 
not  nearly  so  well  grown  up  as  at  present,  and  that  would  in  a  measure 
account  for  the  presence  of  such  animals  as  the  moose  or  even  elk.  Old 
hunters  have  told  me  that  when  they  could  first  recollect  there  was 
scarcely  any  laurel,  with  only  now  and  then  a  small  bunch,  and  that 
the  woods  were  open  and  no  underbrush  at  all;  that  they  could  see 
through  the  forest  ever  so  far,  and  that  the  growth  of  the  hemlock  was 
nothing  like  it  is  at  present.  Now  and  then  a  giant  monarch  of  the  for- 
est and  all  around  for  a  considerable  distance  would  be  small  hemlocks. 
At  the  writer's  own  home  at  Banners  Elk,  I  had  occasion  a  year  or  so 
ago  to  make  a  practical  demonstration  of  that  fact.  There  was  evi- 
dence of  one  of  those  giant  hemlocks  that  had  fallen  down  perhaps  a 
hundred  years  ago.  It  was  all  decayed  but  the  knots,  of  which  I  piled 
up  more  than  125.  The  tree  itself  must  have  been  120  feet  high  when 
standing.  All  around,  the  hemlocks  grew  thick  from  two  to  two  and  one- 
half  feet  in  diameter.  That  the  forests  have  become  more  thicketty  in  the 
last  thirty  years  is  the  observation  of  every  thoughtful  man."' 

A  Mysterious  Floral  Sisterhood.  In  the  "Carohna 
Mountains"  (ch.  VI)  we  are  told  that  in  the  Himalayas  and  the 
mountains  of  the  Far  East  are  found  the  flame-colored  azalea, 
the  silver-bell  tree,  the  fringe  bush,  the  wisteria,  and  ginseng, 
which  are  found  nowhere  else  except  in  our  own  Appalachians. 
What  bond,  the  author  asks,  tore  these  tender  flowers  asunder, 
separating  them  by  continents  and  vast  seas?  We  are  also  told 
that  the  Rhododendron  Vaseyii,  which,  unlike  the  other  rho- 

(512) 


FLORA  AND  FAUNA  513 


dodendrons,  sheds  its  leaves  in  the  fall,  was  supposed  to  have 
become  extinct  (p.  59)  but  that  it  is  still  found  on  the  north 
side  of  the  (Jrandfathor  mountain.  We  learn  also  that  Shortia 
was  named  for  Prof.  Short  of  Kentucky,  and  was  rediscovered 
on  the  Horse  Shoe  Pasture  river  a  few  miles  south  of  Lake 
Toxaway,  "literally  coloring  acres  of  the  earth  with  its  charm- 
ing flowers"  (p.  275). 

Botany  and  Botanists.  The  abundance,  variety  and 
beauty  of  the  wild  flowers,  bushes  and  shrubs  attracted  the 
attention  of  botanists  at  an  early  date.  William  Bertram 
of  Phihulclphia  was  in  the  Cherokee  country  in  1776.  -  Andrew 
Michaux  was  sent  to  this  country  by  the  French  government 
to  collect  seeds,  shrubs  and  trees  for  the  royal  gardens  in  1785, 
and,  on  the  30th  of  August,  1794,  reached  the  summit  of  the 
Grandfather,  "the  highest  in  all  North  America,"  he  declared; 
"and  with  my  companion  and  guide  sang  the  hymn  of  the 
Marseillaise."^  The  following  year  Michaux  explored  the 
mountains  of  Burke  and  Yancey,  carrying  away  in  the  fall 
2,500  specimens  of  trees,  shrubs  and  plants.  In  1794  he 
visited  the  Linville,  Black,  Yellow,  Roan,  Grandfather  and 
Table  mountains.  The  late  Col.  Davenport  of  Yadkin  Valley 
was  his  guide.  His  "Flora  Boreali-Americana"  is  yet  a  classic. 
Mr.  Fraser,  a  Scotchman,  made  botanical  collections  in  these 
mountains  in  1787  and  1789;  and,  under  the  patronage  of  the 
Russian  government,  he  explored  them  again  in  1799,  accom- 
panied by  his  eldest  son,  when  he  found  the  laurel  or  Rhodo- 
dendron Catawbiense.  They  came  again  in  1807,  and  in 
1811  the  son  returned,  spending  several  years,  and  annually 
sending  large  consignments  of  plants  and  seed  to  Great  Brit- 
ain. F.  A.  Michaux,  son  of  Andre,  was  here  in  1802,  and 
published  his  "Forest  Trees  of  North  America"  in  1857. 
Thomas  Nuttall,  an  Englishman,  examined  a  portion  of  our 
mountains,  and  wrote  "Genera  of  North  American  Plants." 
He  died  in  1859.  Prof.  Asa  Gray  of  the  University  of  Cam- 
bridge and  John  Carey  of  New  York  were  in  the  mountains 
of  Ashe  and  Yancey  in  1841;  and  in  1843  Prof.  Gray,  with 
Mr.  Sullivan  of  Ohio,  came  into  our  mountains  from  Virginia. 
S.  B.  Buckley  came  by  the  Hiwassee  in  1842,  and  in  the  same 
year  ]\Ir.  Rugel,  a  German  collector,  was  here.  In  1844  Mr. 
Dow,  a  young  botanist,  traversed  the  entire  length  of  our 
mountain  range.     In  1840  Prof.  Gray  found  the  Lilium  Can- 

W.  N.  C— 33 


514        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

adense,  but  Dr.  Sereno  Watson  discovered  that  it  possessed 
traits  peculiar  to  itself  alone,  "set  it  aside  as  a  distinct  species 
and  honored  it  with  its  discoverer's  name."  In  1839  Dr. 
Gray  observed  in  Paris  an  unnamed  specimen  brought  there 
by  the  elder  Michaux  from  "les  hautes  montagnes  de  Caro- 
linie" ;  but  on  his  return  failed  to  find  it  till  in  1877  G.  M.  Hymes, 
then  a  boy,  accidentally  discovered  it  on  the  bank  of  the  Ca- 
tawba near  Marion.  Dr.  Gray  had  already  named  it  Shortia 
in  honor  of  Dr.  C.  W.  Short.  In  September,  1886,  Professor 
Sargent  discovered  that  the  Hogback  mountain  above  Lake 
Toxaway  is  the  original  habitat  of  the  Shortia,  just  98  years 
after  Michaux  had  first  found  it  and  probably  near  the  same 
spot. 

Pioneers  in  Forestry.  Before  the  railroad  got  to  Ashe- 
ville,  and  afterwards,  shrewd  men  went  through  these  moun- 
tains buying  standing  timber  and  paying  for  it  with  a  song, 
if  with  that.  Thousands  of  the  finest  black  walnut  trees 
were  branded  as  the  property  of  the  purchasers  and  left  to 
grow  on  the  land  of  the  seller.  Later  on  the  finest  poplars 
and  cherries  were  also  purchased  and  left  to  grow,  while  the 
railroads  were  ever  drawing  nearer.  The  walnut  trees  were 
first  cut  and  their  trunks  hauled  for  miles  to  the  head  of  the 
railroad.  Later  still  the  poplars  and  cherries  followed.  Then 
followed  a  demand  for  the  stumps  of  the  walnuts,  and  these 
also  found  a  ready  market,  and  brought  more  than  the  trees 
which  had  been  cut  from  them,  for  by  this  time  we  had  grown 
in  knowledge  and  knew  somewhat  of  the  value  of  our  timber. 
We  had  not  known  it  before  the  Civil  War,  having  used  black 
walnut  and  cherry  and  poplar  rails  for  the  building  of  fences. 

Scottish  Land  and  Timber  Company.  In  the  eighties 
this  company,  managed  by  Alexander  A.  Arthur  from  Scot- 
land, bought  up  ten  square  miles  of  the  finest  timber  on  Big 
Pigeon,  between  Cataloochee  and  Big  creeks,  and  tried  to 
float  the  logs  down  the  Pigeon;  but  it  was  soon  discovered 
that  it  did  not  pay  at  that  time.  Later  on  the  Bushnells  of 
Ohio,  one  of  whom  was  afterward  governor  of  Ohio,  came 
and  set  up  extensive  mills  at  the  junction  of  Little  Ten- 
nessee and  Tuckaseegee  rivers,  where  they  established  booms; 
but  the  first  flood  swept  booms  and  logs  away.  The  place 
was  called  Bushnell  and  still  retains  the  name.  The  Ritters, 
Whitings  and  others  have  followed. 


FLORA  AND  FAUNA  515 

Mills  to  the  Tlmber.  During  this  time  many  small 
concerns  were  taking  small  steam  engines  to  the  timber  and 
cutting  it  near  where  it  stood.  Even  this  did  not  pay  in  many 
cases,  and  it  became  a  saying  that  if  you  had  a  grudge  against 
a  man,  just  give  him  a  steam  saw-mill  and  his  ruin  would 
soon  follow.  The  business  has  since  thriven  in  some  cases 
and  proven  disastrous  in  others. 

Wealth  in  Forests.  It  is  in  her  forests,  however,  espe- 
cially of  late  years,  that  this  section  has  found  its  greatest 
wealth.  There  are  at  least  a  dozen  well  recognized  species  of 
oak,  while  most  of  the  hardwoods  and  the  coniferous  and  de- 
ciduous gro^vths  common  to  this  latitude  can  be  found  in 
great  abundance.  Already  saw  mills,  pulp  mills,  acid  mills, 
and  other  mills  for  the  utilization  of  these  forests  have  been 
established  and  thousands  of  men  are  employed  where  only 
a  few  found  employment  before.  The  railroads  are  taxed  to 
supply  cars  in  which  to  haul  the  products  of  the  forest  to 
market.  With  the  adoption  of  intelligent  forestry  methods 
promised  by  the  United  States  Government,  which  is  now 
acquiring  many  of  these  forested  areas,  the  future  seems  to 
hold  out  the  hope  that  these  forests  will  continue  to  be  a 
source  of  revenue  for  all  time  to  come. 

Forest  Fires.  From  the  report  of  J.  S.  Holmes  (State 
Forester)  of  1911,  it  appears  that  the  forest  fires  in  the  vari- 
ous mountain  counties  in  1910  have  wrought  considerable 
damage;  table  four  of  that  report  giving  the  facts  in  detail. 
From  the  same  paper  can  be  gathered  the  steps  that  have 
been  taken  to  prevent  these  fires,  including  the  State  and 
National  legislation  on  the  subject.  In  1909  the  legislature 
of  this  State  passed  a  law  to  declare  any  wooded  land  above 
2,000  feet  elevation  a  "State  Forest,"  and  the  appointment 
of  wardens  as  the  owner  of  the  land  may  request;  but  advan- 
tage has  not  been  generally  taken  of  its  provisions,  because  it 
requires  the  owner  to  pay  one-half  a  cent  an  acre  additional 
tax  for  the  benefit  of  the  school  fund,  while  he  has  also  to 
pay  the  wardens  for  their  services. 

From  Advance  Sheet  of  Forest  Service  of  the  United 
States,  1912.  Estimated  amount  of  standing  timber  in 
thousand  feet  board  measure,  trees  10  inches  and  over  in 
diameter  breast  high,  in  western  North  Carohna,  by  coun- 
ties : 


516        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Per  Average 

Total  Area        Cent  of  Stand  Per  Total 

Area  Forested       Forest  Acre  (Thousand 

Counties  (Acres)  (Acrex)        Land  (Board  Feet)  Feet) 

Cherokee 288 ,  640  228 ,  473  76  1 ,  635  373 ,  690 

Clay 118,400  99,650  84  3,804  379,027 

Graham 193,280  173,763  90  6,255  1,086,937 

Swain 358,400  336,850  94  4,747  1,598,927 

Macon 339,840  288,234  85  2,980  858,795 

Jackson 316,160  284,105  90  2,765  785,449 

Haywood 346,240  287,592  83  4,960  1,426,498 

Transylvania 237,440  208,573  88  1,712  357,064 

Henderson 231 ,  680  140 ,  299  61  1 ,  862  261 ,  182 

Buncombe 399,360  198,807  50  1,673  332,539 

Madison 275,840  196,763  71  2,908  572,222 

Yancey 193,280  159,660  83  4,625  738,504 

Mitchell 231,680  178,479  77  3,596  641,750 

Watauga 211,200  147,901  70  4,534  670,555 

Ashe 255,360  145,741  57  3,594  523,848 

Alleghany 142,720  53,071  77  2,030  107,728 

Total 4,139,520  3,127,961       76  3,425     10,714,715 

Eastern  Forest  Reserves.  In  1900  Dr.  C.  P.  Ambler, 
George  S.  Powell,  Hon.  Locke  Craig  and  Hon.  Josephus 
Daniels  inaugurated  the  Appalachian  National  Park  move- 
ment at  Asheville,  which  culminated  in  March,  1910,  in  the 
passage  by  Congress  of  the  Weeks  act,  under  which  S10,000,- 
000  were  appropriated  for  the  purchase  of  wild  lands  in  the 
mountains  at  the  heads  of  the  navigable  rivers  of  the  eastern 
States.  But  as  only  $2,000,000  could  be  expended  in  any 
year,  and  as  the  act  could  not  be  put  into  force  between  March 
and  June  30,  1910,  the  expiration  of  the  fiscal  year,  only 
$8,000,000  were  available.  The  operation  of  this  act  expires 
in  1915.  At  the  expiration  of  1913  the  following  purchases 
had  been  made  : 

Southern  Appalachians  : 

State  Tracts  Acres  Price  Value 

Georgia 148  77,235  $6.75  $507,311.70 

North  Carolina 146  108,518  7.88  855,605.25 

South  Carolina 68  23,286  5.50  128,157.25 

Tennessee 19  164,605  4.88  798,624.00 

Virginia 77  208,134  3.31  689,245.66 

West  Virginia 25  63,786  2.67  170,296.20 

Total 483  645,564  $3,149,240.06 

White  Mountains  : 
New  Hampshire 22  100,437  $7.01  704,112.50 

Grand  total 505  746,001  $5.17         $3,853,352.56 


FLORA  AND  FAUNA  517 

As  indicative  of  the  rapid  advance  in  the  price  of  timber- 
land  in  the  mountains,  the  Murchison  boundary  in  Yancey 
county  may  be  cited.  It  was  sold  at  Sheriff's  sale  about 
1879  to  the  Alurchisons  for  $2,200,  wlio  held  it  intact  as  a 
timber  and  game  preserve  until  December,  1909,  when  they 
sold  it  for  8225,000  to  Carr  and  Keys,     These  held  it  about 

a  year  and  sold  it  to  Brown  for  $300,000.     The 

late  R.  B.  Joluiston,  who  owned  5,000  acres  on  Cat  Tail  creek, 
adjoining  the  Murchison  tract,  vainly  offered  it  to  Big  Tom 
Wilson  for  $750  in  1879  as  a  goat  farm.  In  January,  1911,  John- 
ston's heirs  sold  the  timber  on  this  tract  to  the  Carolina  Spruce 
Company  for  $1 10,000.  In  October,  1912,  G.  W.  Vanderbilt  sold 
to  Lewis  Carr  of  Virginia,  the  timber,  wood  and  bark,  stand- 
ing and  down,  on  69,326  acres  of  mountain  land  in  Transyl- 
vania, Henderson  and  Buncombe  counties  for  $12  per  acre, 
paj^able  in  installments  in  twenty  years.  He  had  bought  this 
land  twenty  years  before  for  less  than  $3  per  acre.  (Deed 
Book,  Buncombe,  No.  161,  p.  518.) 

Elk  and  Buffalo.  The  native  fauna, alas!  has  largely  dis- 
appeared. But  when  Daniel  Boone  and  his  contemporaries 
first  crossed  the  Blue  Ridge  they  found  black  bear  and  red 
deer  in  the  greatest  numbers;  while,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Banner  Elk  have,  even  in  recent  years,  been  discovered  the 
bones  of  elk  and  caribou.  Elk  mountain  and  Bull  Gap  in 
Buncombe  county  take  their  names  from  the  elk.  There  is 
reason  to  believe  that  buffalo  used  to  pasture  along  the  lonely 
streams  of  this  elevated  plateau,  while  smaller  game,  such  as 
the  opossum,  the  raccoon,  mink  and  otter,  have  not  entirely 
disappeared  to  this  day.  The  beaver,  however,  has  long  been 
extinct,  leaving  its  name  to  innumerable  streams.  (See  ante 
pp.  42,  65,  251,  252  and  253.) 

Dogs  for  Food?  In  that  storehouse  of  information  con- 
cerning this  section  of  country,  the  Nineteenth  Annual  Re- 
port of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology,  *  page  26,  it  ap- 
pears that  when  DeSoto  arrived  at  Guaxule,  which  the  author, 
James  Moody,  identifies  as  "the  great  Nacoochee  mound,  in 
White  county,  Ga.,  a  few  miles  northwest  of  the  present 
Clarksville, "  and  near  Franklin,  N.  C,  the  Cherokees  "gave 
the  Spaniards  300  dogs  for  food,  although,  according  to  the 
Elvas  narrative,  the  Indians  themselves  did  not  eat  them." 
In  a  foot  note  it  is  stated  that  "Elvas,  Biedma,  and  Ranjel 


518        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

all  make  special  reference  to  the  dogs  given  them  at  this 
place;  they  seem  to  have  been  of  the  same  small  breed  ('per- 
rillos')  which  Ranj el  says  the  Indians  used  for  food."  Men- 
tion is  also  made  of  the  "deUcious  service  berry  of  the  south- 
ern mountains. "  * 

First  Buffaloes.  From  the  same  work,  page  26,  it  is 
learned  that  when  DeSoto  was  resting  at  Chiha,  near  the 
present  Columbus,  Ga.,  he  met  with  "a  chief  who  confirmed 
what  the  Spaniards  had  heard  before  concerning  mines  in  the 
province  of  Chisca,"  saying  that  there  was  "  a  melting  of  cop- 
per and  of  another  metal  of  about  the  same  color,  but 
softer,  and  therefore  not  so  much  used,"  and  that  DeSoto 
sent  two  soldiers  on  foot  with  the  Indian  guides  to  find 
Chisca,^  which  was  ''northward  from  Chiaha,  somewhere  in 
upper  Georgia  or  the  adjacent  part  of  Alabama  or  Tennes- 
see." When  these  soldiers  returned  to  DeSoto  they  reported 
that  they  had  been  taken  "through  a  country  so  poor  in  corn, 
so  rough,  and  over  so  high  mountains  that  it  would  be  impos- 
sible for  the  army  to  follow";  but  they  had  "brought  back 
with  them  a  dressed  buffalo  skin  which  the  Indians  there  had 
given  them,  the  first  ever  obtained  by  white  men,  and  de- 
scribed in  the  quaint  old  chronicle  as  "an  ox  hide  as  thin 
as  a  calf's  skin,  and  the  hair  like  a  soft  wool  between  the 
coarse  and  fine  wool  of  sheep."  This  must  have  been  in  the 
mountains  of  North  Carolina. 

Fruit  Culture.  As  to  the  adaptabihty  of  the  soil  and 
climate  of  the  mountains  to  fruit  culture,  the  State  Agricul- 
tural Department  has  this  to  say  in  a  pamphlet  entitled 
"Orchard  Lands,"  and  dated  at  Raleigh,  N.  C,  October  7, 
1910  : 

"The  Appalachian  mountain  region  attains  in  North  Carolina  it3 
maximum  development,  for  here  it  reaches  the  greatest  height  east  of 
the  Rockies.  This  gives  it  a  cool  climate,  like  that  of  the  northern  states 
and  Canada.  In  addition  to  its  altitude,  it  has,  on  account  of  its  south- 
ern latitude,  a  longer  growing  season  and  a  more  abundant  and  brighter 
sunlight.  This  makes  it  ideal  for  the  commercial  production  of  hardy 
fruits.  The  apples  grown  in  this  region  are  of  very  high  color  and  of 
fine  quahty.  The  rainfall  is  heavy  in  summer,  giving  a  rapid  growth 
and  making  fruit  of  large  size.  The  fall  weather  is  dry,  cool,  and  bright, 
thus  giving  the  most  favorable  conditions  for  fruit  harvesting  and  mar- 
keting. The  soils  of  the  mountains  are  rich  and  fertile  and  produce  a 
good  growth  both  of  tree  and  fruit.  Healthy  old  trees  are  growing  in 
many  parts  which  have  been  bearing  heavily  for  upwards  of  a  century. 


FLORA  AND  FAUNA  519 

In  the  deep,  rich,  alluvial  soil  of  mountain  coves  the  famous  Albemarle 
Pippin  finds  the  soil  that  brings  it  to  its  greatest  perfection.  On  the 
mountainsides,  in  many  places,  are  found  the  thermal  zones  that  are 
80  rarely  visited  by  frost  that  total  failures  of  fruit  are  practically  un- 
known. It  is  destined  to  be  the  most  noted  apple-growing  section  in  the 
whole  country.  Apples  from  the  mountain  country  have  twice  carried 
off  the  first  prize  at  the  Madison  Square  Garden  in  New  York  City  in 
competition  with  the  whole  United  States.  Peaches  attain  a  color  and 
quality  there  which  they  do  not  reach  in  the  lower  country.  They  grow 
as  handsome  as  the  California  peaches,  and  as  to  quality  the  California 
product  is  h:irdly  to  be  named  in  comparison  with  them." 

Live  Stock.  Of  the  raising  of  live  stock,  the  same  excel- 
lent authority,  in  a  pamphlet  entitled  "North  Carolina  :  A 
Land  of  Opportunity  In  Fruit  Growing,  Farming  and  Truck- 
ing," has  this  to  say,  in  a  chapter  called  "Climates"  (p.  36): 

"It  is  a  region  of  fertile  valleys  and  elevated  plateaus,  with  a  climate 
very  similar  to  that  of  the  northern  middle  states.  The  summers  are 
cool  and  pleasant  and  the  whole  region  is  an  attractive  one  to  the  sum- 
mer visitor  and  is  becoming  a  great  summer  resort.  The  winters  are  cold,  but 
shorter  than  those  of  the  middle  states  north.  In  most  mountain  regions 
the  mountainsides  are  rocky  and  sterile,  but  in  the  mountains  of  North 
Carolina,  as  a  rule,  the  mountain  slopes  are  covered  with  fertile  soil  and  in 
some  parts  of  the  mountain  country  the  treeless  'balds'  have  their  slopes 
to  their  lofty  tops  covered  with  fertile  soil  and  rich  grasses,  on  which 
great  herds  of  cattle  are  grazed  in  summer.  The  valleys  in  the  southern 
section  of  the  mountain  country  are  less  elevated  and  the  climate  is  mild 
and  pleasant,  while  the  snowfall  is  very  light.  The  clear  streams  of 
water  that  flow  everywhere  and  the  natural  growth  of  fine  grasses  mark 
this  region  for  cattle  and  the  dairy,  while  on  the  uplands  fruit  of  all 
kinds  flourishes  as  it  seldom  does  elsewhere." 

Grains  Rich  in  Proteids.  Agriculturally  the  soil  of  this 
section  is  hospitable  to  the  growth  of  all  the  fruits,  vegetables 
and  cereals  of  the  temperate  zone.  ^  Some  of  the  lands  are 
too  high  and  cold  for  maize  or  Indian  corn,  but  rye  and  buck- 
wheat can  be  grown  there  in  great  abundance.  The  soil  is 
generally  too  thin  to  produce  a  large  yield  of  corn  or  wheat 
to  the  acre,  but  the  corn  grown,  being  small  and  hard  and 
maturing  quickly,  is  richer  in  the  proteids  and  all  nutritive 
qualities  than  the  larger  and  softer  kernels  which  grow  in  such 
abundance  from  the  black  soil  of  the  prairie  states  in  the 
corn  belt  proper.  It  more  than  makes  up  in  quality  what 
it  lacks  in  abundance.  Corn  grown  on  Tuskeegee  creek  in 
Swain  county,  in  1893,  by  John  M.  Sawyer,  took  the  prize 
at  the  Columbian  E.xposition  for  being  richer  in  the  proteids 


520        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


than  any  other  corn  grown  in  the  United  States.  Col.  W.  L. 
Bryan  of  Boone  was  awarded  a  diploma  and  bronze  medal  by 
the  same  exposition  for  buckwheat  grown  in  Watauga  county 
in  1893. 

The  Home  of  the  Apple.  But,  while  most  fruits  and 
melons  thrive  in  this  soil,  it  is  the  apple  which  does  best  and 
brings  most  credit  and  notoriety  to  this  section.  Apples 
from  this  country  took  the  prize  at  the  Philadelphia  Centen- 
nial in  1876  over  all  apples  grown  in  America,  while  prizes 
have  been  awarded  to  this  fruit  at  the  Chicago  and  St.  Louis 
fairs.*  It  is  a  crop  that  rarely  fails.  There  is  a  black  soil 
in  different  localities  of  this  section  peculiarly  adapted  to  the 
growth  of  apples,  but  they  do  well  in  any  soil  and  require 
very  little  attention.  The  United  States  Geological  Survey 
publishes  maps  showing  the  different  variety  of  soils  in  the 
mountain  region  of  North  Carolina. 

Grasses  and  Stock.  In  the  counties  of  Ashe,  Alleghany, 
and  Watauga  grasses  flourish  so  abundantly  that  little  corn 
is  planted,  as  it  pays  better  to  raise  stock  on  the  rich  grass 
and  hay  and  to  buy  such  corn  as  is  needed  for  work  stock 
and  human  consumption  than  to  plough  up  the  grass  and 
raise  this  cereal.  In  all  the  mountain  region  in  these  counties 
the  land  is  not  so  steep  but  that  it  can  be  broken  up  and  planted 
in  grass,  the  result  being  that,  with  the  exception  of  a  fringe 
of  trees  upon  the  crest  of  the  ridges,  almost  the  entire  country 
is  given  up  to  grass.  Very  little  timber  is  left  hereabout.  On 
all  the  mountains,  after  the  timber  has  been  removed  and 
the  surface  ground  exposed  to  sunlight,  grasses  grow  abun- 
dantly. 

Stock  "Ranging."  In  other  counties,  where  grass  does 
not  thrive  so  well,  owing  to  the  shade  of  the  thick  timber, 
and  where  the  land  is  too  steep  to  plough,  cattle,  mules, 
horses  and  hogs  are  "ranged"  in  the  mountains  from  ]\Iay 
until  November  and  are  then  driven  in,  fat  and  sleek. 

Bear,  Deer  and  Turkey.  While,  as  has  been  said,  most 
of  the  big  game  has  been  killed,  there  are  still  a  few  black 
bear  left  in  the  more  remote  and  inaccessible  mountains,  in 
the  pursuit  of  which  much  sport  can  be  had.  There  are 
also  a  few  red  deer  scattered  here  and  there,  and  a  few  tame 
herds  maintained  in  private  parks.  Gray  squirrels,  pheas- 
ants, quail,  wild  turkey,  the  red  and  gray  fox  and  an  occasional 
wolf  can  still  be  found  in  the  more  remote  sections. 


FLORA  AND  FAUNA  521 

Mountain  and  Rainbow  Trout.  The  introduction  of 
the  California  or  Rainl)ow  trout  into  the  clear  and  cold  moun- 
tain creeks  and  rivers,  and  l)Uu'k  bass  in  the  larger  streams, 
has  proven  a  great  success;  and,  while  the  mountain  or  speckled 
trout  proper  are  being  consumed  by  their  rainbow  brothers, 
the  latter  still  atTord  groat  sport  for  the  anglers  who  visit 
these  mountains  every  spring  and  summer  in  increasing 
numbers.  But  for  the  reprehensiljle  and  unlawful  practice 
of  dynamiting  the  bass  streams  by  irresponsible  people,  this 
gamest  of  all  game  fish  would  soon  multiply  so  rapidly  as  to  afford 
sport  for  all  who  might  care  to  take  them.  There  are  no 
finer  streams  anywhere  for  bass  than  the  Cheowah,  Ten- 
nessee, Tuckaseegee,  lower  Nantahala,  upper  French  Broad, 
Hiwassee,  NoUechucky  or  Toe,  Watauga  and  New  rivers. 

Where  and  When  it  was  too  Cold  to  Raise  Corn. 
From  Col.  W.  L.  Bryan's  "Primitive  History  of  the  Moun- 
tain Region,"  we  learn  that  when  Ashe  and  Watauga  were 
first  settled  "the  seasons  would  not  mature  corn  and  the 
pioneer  settlers  had  to  get  their  corn  from  the  valley  of  the 
Yadkin  river,  carrying  the  same  on  their  backs,  for  few  had 
horses  at  that  time.  .  .  .  There  being  no  roads  save  the 
trails  which  had  been  made  by  the  Indians  and  the  great 
pioneer,  Boone,  those  who  had  horses  would  place  two  and 
a  half  bushels  of  corn  in  a  strong  homespun  and  woven  tow 
sack,  throw  it  on  their  horse's  back  and  fasten  it  by  the  use 
of  a  surcingle,  turn  the  horse  in  the  path  and  walk  behind." 

Pea  Vine.  From  the  same  authority  we  learn  that  "in 
the  earlier  days  of  our  country  there  was  a  growth  called 
pea-vine,  which  was  a  very  rich  food  for  stock,  and  had  an 
almost  limitless  range  throughout  the  entire  almost  bound- 
less forest." 

Some  Famous  Hunters  of  the  Olden  Day.  "Near 
the  headwaters  of  the  Watauga  is  the  Linville  gap  separating 
the  Grandfather  from  Hanging  Rock  mountain  and  the  waters 
of  the  Main  fork  of  Watauga  from  the  head  prong  of  the  Lin- 
ville river.  Near  this  gap  used  to  live  James  Aldrich,  a  noted 
hunter,  when  bear,  deer,  elk,  wolves  and  panther  abounded. 
Harrison  Aldrich,  James'  son,  also  lived  there,  and  was  a  great 
hunter,  having  killed  over  one  hundred  bear. "  An  encounter 
between  Aldrich  and  a  })ear  in  a  cave,  while  George  Dugger, 
"another  pioneer  hunter  and  one  of  the  very  best  of  men," 


522        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

waited  on  the  outside,  is  related  by  Col.  Bryan;  and  another 
in  which  Aldrich  shot  a  sleeping  bear  in  a  cave,  striking  him 
in  the  burr  of  the  ear  and  killing  "him  so  dead  he  never  waked 
up."  Of  like  courage  and  skill  was  Big  Tom  Wilson  of  Yan- 
cey, and  Welborn  Waters  of  Whitetop.  Near  the  branch 
where  James  Winkler  now  lives,  near  Boone,  and  when  Jordan 
Councill,  Jr.,  was  living  there,  a  dog  treed  an  unknown  animal. 
Thinking  it  was  a  coon  Jordan  Councill  went  up  the  tree  and  fol- 
lowed the  unknown  "varmint"  out  on  a  limb.  When  it 
dragged  its  tail  in  Mr.  Councill's  face  he  knew  it  was  a  pan- 
ther. He  hastened  do\vn,  got  a  torch,  "shined"  the  eyes 
of  the  great  cat  and  shot  it. 

Fire-Hunting.  According  to  Col.  Bryan,  this  sport  was 
conducted  by  hunters  during  a  certain  season  when  the  stones 
in  creeks  and  rivers  are  covered  with  a  peculiar  moss  of  which 
deer  and  elk  are  very  fond.  The  hunter  would  take  a  canoe 
or  other  small  boat,  place  a  torch  in  the  front  end  and  himself 
remain  in  the  stern.  The  boat  was  poled  or  paddled  by 
another.  The  boat  would  be  silently  floated  up  to  deer  stand- 
ing belly-deep  in  the  water  and  plunging  their  muzzles  into 
the  river  to  get  the  moss  upon  the  rocks.  Blinded  by  the 
light  the  deer  would  stand  still  till  their  eyes  reflecting  the 
light  of  the  torch  afforded  a  perfect  target.  Then  the  leaden 
missile  would  speed  upon  its  fatal  way.  Cows  also  like  this 
moss,  and  sometimes  hunters  would  kill  their  own  stock. 

Ravens.  The  ravens  which  fed  Elijah  the  Tishbite  by  the 
brook  Cherith  (1  Kings,  xvii,  6)  did  not  thereby  secure  ven- 
eration for  their  descendants  of  our  mountains  after  their  set- 
tlement by  the  whites;  for,  when  spring  opened,  they  came 
down  from  the  cliffs  and  crags  and  preyed  upon  the  young 
pigs  and  lambs  of  the  settlers,  first  plucking  out  their  eyes  and 
then  clipping  off  their  ears  and  finally  killing  and  eating  them. 
At  the  report  of  a  gun  in  the  remote  mountains  seventy-five 
years  ago  all  the  ravens  within  hearing  flocked  to  the  hunter, 
in  the  hope  of  preying  upon  whatever  he  might  have  killed  or 
wounded.  Fresh  raw  meat  was,  when  hidden  in  tree-tops, 
kept  from  their  beaks  only  by  the  wad  of  tow  which  had  been 
used  to  clean  the  foul  barrels  of  the  guns. 

Wolves.  On  the  6th  of  June,  1791,  Gideon  Lewis  entered 
68  acres  "under  the  Three  Tops  mountain,"  at  what  is  now 
Creston.     (Deed  Book  A,  Ashe  coutny,  p.  38.)     Gideon  and 


FLORA  AND  FAUNA  523 

his  family  were  great  hunters ;  but  his  sons,  Gideon  and 
Nathan,  were  for  years  the  great  wolf  hunters  of  Ashe  county. 
They  would  follow  the  gaunt  female  to  her  den,  and  while  one 
waited  outside,  the  other  brother  crawled  in  and  secured  the 
pups,  from  six  to  ten  in  each  litter,  but  allowing  the  mother  to 
escape.  The  young  were  then  skalped,  the  skalj)  of  a  young 
wolf  being  paid  for  the  same  as  that  of  the  mature  animal. 
For  each  skalp  the  county  paid  $2.50.  When  asked  why  he 
never  killed  grown  wolves,  Gideon  Lewis  answered:  "Would 
you  expect  a  man  to  kill  his  milch-cow  ?"  Wolves  had  greatly 
increased  during  the  Civil  War,  and  soon  after  its  close  the 
late  Thomas  Sutherland  of  Ashe  county,  with  other  cattle 
herders,  hired  the  late  Welborn  Waters  to  kill  all  the  wolves 
from  the  White  Top  to  the  Roan  mountain.  He  would  con- 
ceal himself  in  the  wildest  parts  of  the  mountains  and  howl  in 
imitation  of  a  wolf.  When  the  wolves  which  had  heard  him 
came,  he  shot  them  from  his  place  of  concealment.  This  soon 
exterminated  the  breed  along  the  Tennessee  line. 

Ginseng.  David  Miller,  Col.  Bryan's  grandfather,  dug 
"a  root  of  ginseng  that  weighed  one  pound,  avoirdupois,  and 
would  frequently  dig  two  bushels  and  a  half  of  this  root  in  a 
day.     The  price  then  was  only  ten  cents  per  pound." 

This  is  usually  called  "sang"  by  our  people.  Its  value, 
use  and  how  to  prepare  it  for  the  market  of  China  were  first 
taught  us  by  Andre  Michaux  on  his  first  visit  to  the  Blue 
Ridge  in  August,  1794.  ^     It  is  called  Gentian  by  some.  ^ " 

Colonel  Byrd's  Rhapsody.  In  his  "Writings"  Col.  Byrd 
of  Westover  (pp.  211-212)  thus  sings  the  praises  of  this  indig- 
enous herb  :  When  near  the  Dan  river  on  his  famous  sur- 
vey of  the  dividing  line  between  Virginia  and  North  Caro- 
hna,  he  chewed  a  root  of  ginseng,  which  "kept  up  my  spirits, 
and  made  me  trip  away  as  nimbly  in  my  half  Jack-Boots  as 
younger  men  could  in  their  shoes.  This  plant  is  now  in  high 
esteem  in  China  where  it  sells  for  its  Weight  in  Silver.  (The 
capitals  are  all  Col  Byrd's).  Indeed  it  does  not  grow  there, 
but  in  the  Mountains  of  Tartary,  to  which  place  the  Emperor 
of  China  Sends  10,000  Men  every  Year  on  purpose  to  gather 
it.  .  .  .  Indeed,  it  is  a  vegetable  of  so  many  vertues 
(sic),  that  Providence  has  planted  it  very  thin  in  every  Coun- 
try that  has  the  hapiness  to  Produce  it.  .  .  .  This  noble 
Plant  grows  Hkewise  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  where  it  is 


524        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

called  Kanna,  and  is  in  wonderful  Esteem  among  the  Hot- 
tentots. It  grows  also  on  the  northern  Continent  of  America, 
near  the  Mountains,  but  as  sparingly  as  Truth  and  Public 
Spirit.  ...  Its  vertues  are,  that  it  gives  an  uncommon 
warmth  to  the  Blood,  and  frisks  the  spirits,  beyond  any  other 
Cordial.  It  cheers  the  heart  even  of  a  Man  that  has  a  bad 
Wife,  and  makes  him  look  down  with  great  Composure  on 
the  crosses  of  the  world.  It  promotes  insensible  Perspiration, 
dissolves  all  Phlegmatic  and  Viscous  Humors  that  are  apt  to 
obstruct  the  Narrow  Channels  of  the  Nerves.  It  helps  the 
Memory  and  would  quicken  even  Helvetian  [Shades  of  Julius 
Csesar!]  dullness.  'Tis  friendly  to  the  Lungs,  much  more  than 
Scolding  itself.  It  comforts  the  Stomach,  and  Strengthens  the 
Bowels,  preventing  all  Colicks  and  Fluxes.  In  one  word,  it 
will  make  a  man  live  a  great  while,  and  very  well  while  he 
does  hve.  And  what  is  more,  it  will  make  Old  Age  amiable, 
by  rendering  it  lively,  cheerful  and  good-humored." 

The  Associated  Press  dispatches  on  August  6,  1913,  said 
that  150,000  pounds  of  ginseng  was  shipped  to  China  from  the 
United  States  for  the  past  year,  valued  at  $1,500,000 — or  ten 
dollars  a  pound,  whereas  it  used  to  be  sold  for  12^/2  cents  in 
the  mountains.  Also  that  155,000  pounds  of  the  same  herb  had 
been  exported  the  year  before,  valued  at  $7  per  pound.  It  was 
also  stated  that  before  the  wild  forest  supply  diminished 
largely  it  brought  only  40  cents  per  pound;  and  that  its  culti- 
vation began  in  1898. 

Fine  for  Dogs  But  Finer  for  Sheep  If —  In  a  country 
so  ideally  situated  for  sheep-raising  as  these  mountains,  it  is 
difficult  to  explain  why  that  industry  has  not  been  more  suc- 
cessful than  it  has  been,  unless  the  destructiveness  of  dogs  is 
the  reason.  These  faithful  canine  friends  were  indispensable 
to  the  pioneer,  but  their  possession  is  now  no  longer  necessary, 
and  the  farmers  are  getting  rid  of  all  that  are  not  required  for 
dairy  purposes.  This  eliminates  many  hounds  and  worthless 
mongrels  and  substitutes  for  them  the  intelligent  Scotch  col- 
lie and  shepherd.  All  efforts  to  tax  useless  dogs  out  of  exist- 
ence have  thus  far  failed  to  eliminate  the  superfluity  of  our 
canine  friends. 

Wild  Pigeons.  These  birds  used  to  come  in  flocks  which 
literally  darkened  the  heavens.  At  night  their  roosts  were 
visited  by  men  and  boys  bearing  torches  who  wantonly  killed 


FLORA  AND  FAUNA  525 

thousands  of  these  Hght-bHnded  birds.  They  come  no  longer. 
Pigeon  river  in  Haywood  county  and  Pigeon  Roost  creek  in 
Mitchell  have  been  named  for  these  migrants. 

Thermal  Belts.  In  the  pamphlet  of  the  N.  C.  Agricul- 
tural DepartuKMit,  called  "North  Carolina  :  A  Land  of  Op- 
portunity in  Fruit  C  J  rowing,  Farming  and  Trucking"  (Raleigh), 
is  a  most  admirable  article  on  thermal  belts  written  by  the 
late  Silas  McDowell,  of  Macon  county,  in  1858,  for  the  U.  S. 
Patent  Office  Report,  from  observations  made  near  Franklin; 
and  in  the  same  paper  are  excerpts  from  a  report  made  by  the 
late  Professor  John  LeConte  on  the  thermal  belts  or  "frost- 
less  zones  of  the  flanks  of  the  mountain  spurs  adjacent  to  the 
valleys  of  the  Blue  Ridge."  His  observations  were  made  at 
Flat  Rock,  Henderson  county,  fifty  miles  east  of  Franklin. 
"These  facts  point  out  this  region  as  the  best  place  to  be 
found  for  the  cultivation  of  celery,  cauliflower,  tomatoes  and 
other  vegetables  for  canning;  raspberries  and  strawberries,  for 
shipment  and  preserving;  for  peaches,  pears,  fine  apples,  cher- 
ries, quinces  and  currants;  also  for  the  finer  table  and  wine 
grapes." 

Milk  Sick.  In  former  years,  before  the  country  had  been 
cleared  of  its  forests,  far  more  than  at  the  present  time,  though 
the  malady  still  exists  in  certain  localities,  there  was  prevalent  a 
disease  popularly  known  as  "milk  sick, "  socalled  because  it  was 
supposed  to  be  caused  by  the  drinking  of  the  milk  of  cows 
which  had  been  pastured  on  "milk  sick"  land.  The  cows 
themselves  do  not  at  first  disclose  the  fact  that  they  were  suffer- 
ing any  ill  effects  from  having  pastured  there,  as,  if  they  did,  it 
would  be  easy  for  people  to  avoid  the  disease  by  refraining 
from  the  use  of  milk  of  such  cattle.  On  the  contrary,  such 
cows  seem  to  be  normal.  This  sickness  is  usually  fatal 
to  the  victim  unless  properly  treated.  There  were,  and  still 
are,  for  that  matter,  men  and  women  peculiarly  skilled  and 
successful  in  the  treatment  of  this  obscure  disease,  who  were 
called  "milk  sick"  doctors.  Sometimes  they  were  not  doc- 
tors or  physicians  at  all,  and  did  not  pretend  to  practice 
medicine  generally,  seeming  to  know  how  to  treat  nothing 
except  "milk  sick."  Whiskey  or  brandy  \vith  honey  is  the 
usual  remedy;  but  in  the  doses  and  proportionate  parts  of 
each  ingredient  and  when  to  administer  it  consisted  the  skill 
of  the  physician.     When  the  "patch"  of  land  supposed  to 


526        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

contain  milk  sick  had  been  located  it  was  fenced  off  and  all 
cattle  kept  from  grazing  there. 

Symptoms.  In  his  "Medicine  in  Buncombe  County  Down 
to  1885  :  Historical  and  Biographical  Sketches,"  1906,  Dr. 
Galhard  S.  Tennent,  M.  D.,  says  : 

"The  symptoms,  those  of  severe  gastro-enteritis  with  some  varia- 
tions, were  said  to  follow  the  ingestion  of  milk  or  butter  from  an  in- 
fected cow.  The  origin  was  variously  ascribed  to  some  plant  or  fungus 
growth,  or  to  some  mineral  poison  occurring  in  certain  spots." 

Disease  Cannot  Be  Accounted  For.  Here  is  what  the 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  says  on  the  sub- 
ject :'' 

"In  reply  I  beg  to  advise  you  that  many  efforts  have  been  made  to 

elucidate  the  question  regarding  the  nature  and  cause  of  milk  sickness, 
but  although  many  theories  have  been  discussed  none  of  them  have  so 
far  been  generally  accepted.  Some  investigators  hold  that  the  disease 
is  of  micro-organismal  origin,  some  that  it  is  due  to  an  autointoxication, 
while  others  think  it  is  caused  by  vegetable  or  mineral  poisons.  AH 
seem,  however,  to  agree  that  the  disease  is  limited  to  low  swampy  un- 
cultivated land,  and  that  the  area  of  the  places  where  it  occurs  is  often 
restricted  to  one  of  a  few  acres.  Furthermore,  that  when  such  land  or 
pastures  have  been  cultivated  and  drained  the  disease  disappears  com- 
pletely. 

"The  discovery  of  a  new  focus  of  this  disease  in  the  Pecos  Valley  of 
New  Mexico  in  November,  1907,  gave  Jordan  and  Harris  the  oppor- 
tunity of  studying  this  peculiar  affection  by  modern  bacteriological 
methods.  As  a  result  they  have  succeeded  in  isolating  in  pure  cultures 
from  the  blood  and  organs  of  animals  dead  of  this  disease  a  spore-form- 
ing bacillus  which  they  name  Bacillus  lactimorbi.  With  this  bacillus  they 
have  reproduced  in  experiment  animals  the  symptoms  and  lesions  pe- 
culiar to  milk  sickness  or  trembles,  and  from  these  animals  the  same 
organism  has  been  recovered  in  purity.  It  therefore  appears  to  have 
been  demonstrated  that  the  bacillus  in  question  is  the  actual  cause  of 
the  disease.  As  Jordan  and  Harris  have  already  indicated,  more  com- 
prehensive studies,  based  on  a  larger  supply  of  material,  are  desirable 
in  order  that  the  many  obscure  and  mystifying  features  connected  with 
the  etiology  of  this  rapidly  disappearing  disease  may  be  elucidated. 

"The  proper  means  of  preventing  losses  from  this  disease  is  by  ex- 
cluding access  to  such  pastures  where  the  disease  is  known  to  occur. 
This  has  been  done  with  good  results  in  many  places  by  the  use  of  barb 
wire  fences. 

"The  affected  animals  should  be  kept  as  quiet  as  possible  and  a  dose 
of  one  pound  of  Epsom  salts  dissolved  in  water  administered  as  a  drench. 
If  the  symptoms  become  alarming  a  competent  veterinarian  should  be 
employed. " 

Honey  Dew  or  Plant  Lice.  There  is  a  sugary  forma- 
tion often  observable  on  the  leaves  of  certain  trees  and  sap- 


FLORA  AND  FAUNA  527 

lin^s — usually  of  chestnut,  oak  and  hickory — which  looks  like 
a  coating  of  honey  which  has  dried  upon  the  upper  surface 
of  such  leaves.  It  has  a  sweetish  taste,  which  has  given  it 
the  name  of  honey-dew.  Many  persons  really  believe  it  is  a 
sweet  dew  which  settles  on  the  upper  surface  of  the  leaves; 
but  when  the  question  as  to  the  cause  of  this  deposit  was 
asked,  the  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  thus  ex- 
plained it  :  ^ - 

"The  honey-dew,  in  question,  is  secreted  by  plant  lice,  scale  insects, 
or  leaf-hoppers,  and  more  especially  by  plant  lice,  which  appear  early  in 
the  season  and  become  frequently  very  numerous  and  gradually  disappear 
as  the  summer  advances.  The  honey-dew  is  exuded  by  them  from  the 
anal  end  of  the  body  and  accumulates  on  the  leaves  below  them." 

NOTES. 

>T.  L.  Lowe's  " Historj-  of  Watauga  County." 

*The  facts  stated  herein  are  from  "Southern  Wild  Flowers,"  by  Alice  Loundesberry, 
and  P.  M.  Hale's  "Woods  and  Timbers  of  North  Carolina." 

'Michaux's  journal  and  facts  about  his  life  are  set  out  in  Dupfrer's  book,  pp.  2.51-259, 
and  were  taken  from  a  memoir  prepared  by  Mr.  Charles  S.  Sargent  for  the  American  Philo- 
sophical Society  of  Philadelphia. 

<J.  W.  Powell,  director,  1897-'98. 

'Ibid.,  p.  27. 

•These  berries  grow  wild,  and  it  is  surprising  that  no  effort  has  been  made  to  culti- 
vate them. 

'See  ' '  North  Carolina,  A  Land  of  Opportvmity  in  Fruit  Growing,  Farming  and  Track- 
ing," issued  by  the  Department  of  Agriculture.  Raleigh,  N.  C. 

'See  Bulletin  of  "North  Carolina  Fruit  Land  tor  Sale,"  issued  by  Department  of  Agri- 
culture, Ralcich,  1910. 

'Balsam  Groves,  248. 

••McClure,  233. 

"Letter  of  A.  D.  Melvin  to  Hon.  J.  C.  Pritchard,  February  7,  1912.  Nancy  Hanks, 
Abraham  Lincoln's  mother,  died  of  milk-sick. 

'=L.  O.  Howard  to  Hon.  J.  C.  Pritchard,  February  9,  1912. 


CHAPTER    XXIII 
PHYSICAL   PECULIARITIES 

An  Impossible  Task.  To  give  a  full  and  detailed  account 
or  description  of  all  the  peculiar  physical  features  of  this 
Land  of  the  Sky  would  be  impossible  in  the  allotted  space. 
Doubtless  there  are  many  that  are  unknown  to  the  writer. 
The  facts  given,  however,  may  be  relied  on  as  an  under — 
rather  than  as  an  over — statement. 

Was  it  Ever  "Lake  Tahkeeostee? "  "Whether  or  not 
the  valley  of  the  French  Broad  near  Asheville  was  ever,  as 
has  been  supposed,  the  head  of  a  mountain  lake,  whose  lower 
or  deepest  part  was  above  Mountain  Island  and  Hot  Springs, 
is  an  unsettled  question  for  the  geologists.  ^  Certain  it  is  that 
the  French  Broad  has  cut  its  way  through  the  mountains 
at  Mountain  Island,  as  is  apparent  to  the  most  casual  observer 
of  the  mountains  at  that  place,  not  only  in  the  obvious  signs 
that  still  remain  to  indicate  the  exact  spot  where  it  cut  through, 
but  also  in  the  unquestionable  beds  of  that  river  in  the  days 
gone  by  now  on  the  tops  of  the  mountain  ridges  which  lie  along 
its  western  banks,  probably  200  feet  higher  than  its  present 
bed,  and  only  a  short  distance  above  the  Mountain  Island. 
These  old  beds  cross  the  channel  of  the  present  stream  below 
the  Palisades  at  Stackhouse's  and  above  the  Mountain  Island. 
They  contain  many  stones  worn  smooth  and  rounded  by  the 
abrasions  to  which  their  position  in  the  river  subjected  them." 
This  is  also  true  of  the  stones  on  Battery  Park  hill.  Dr. 
Sondley  suggests  that  this  may  have  been  the  famous  lake 
mentioned  by  Lederer  in  his  account  of  exploration  into  North 
Carolina  in  1669-70,  as  it  "fits  the  description  and  Ues  near 
the  place, "  describing  his  visit  to  the  Sara  Indians  who  were 
subject  to  "a  neighbor  king  residing  upon  the  bank  of  a  great 
lake  called  the  Ushery,  environed  on  all  sides  with  mountains 
and  Wisacky  marsh."  The  water  of  this  lake  was  a  little 
brackish,  due  to  mineral  waters  flowing  into  it,  and  was  about 
ten  leagues  broad.  He  cites  Hawk's  History  of  North  Caro- 
lina, p.  49. 

Minor  Oddities.  On  the  waters  of  Meat  Camp,  Watauga, 
is  a  field  formerly  belonging  to  David  Miller  who  represented 

(528) 


PHYSICAL  PECULIARITIES  529 

AsheintheHouseof  Commons  in  1810, 1811  unci  1813, still  known 
as  the  "Sinking  Spring  Field,"  because  its  water  sinks  shortly 
after  appearing  on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  In  this  field 
was  also  the  largest  white  oak  of  which  people  still  speak,  said 
to  have  been  323  2  feet  in  circumference  and  from  50  to  60 
feet  to  the  first  limbs.  There  are  several  immense  springs 
which  gush  out  of  the  earth  in  what  is  still  known  as  The 
^leadows,  mentioned  in  the  will  of  Robert  Henry  as  having 
belonged  to  him  at  the  time  of  his  death,  but  which  is  now 
owned  by  the  heirs  of  Dr.  Hitchcock  of  Murphy.  On  a  ridge 
on  the  bank  of  Little  Santeetla,  near  where  John  Denton  used 
to  live,  is  the  largest  single  spring  in  the  mountains,  the  stream 
from  it  being  almost  a  creek.  On  the  same  ridge  at  the  point 
known  as  Howard's  Knob,  near  Boone,  and  probably  half  a 
mile  to  the  northeast,  is  a  place  about  ten  feet  in  diameter 
on  which  it  is  said  no  snow  was  ever  known  to  lie,  and  a  piece 
of  the  ore  taken  from  it  melted  into  lead.  There  is  also  still 
some  talk  of  a  Swift  and  Munday  mine,  now  long  lost,  but 
supposed  to  be  somewhere  in  Ashe.  What  metal  it  was  sup- 
posed to  contain  is  not  now  knowm. 

Cheoah  and  Nantahala  Rivers  Originally  One.  In 
the  description  of  the  Nantahala  quadrangle  (1907)  the 
United  States  Geological  survey  says  of  the  Nantahala  and 
Cheoah  rivers: 

"Nantahala  river  has  by  far  the  greatest  descent,  falling  from  4,100 
feet  on  the  Blue  Ridge  to  a  Uttle  less  than  1,600  feet  at  the  point  where 
it  joins  the  Little  Tennessee,  an  average  grade  of  about  65  feet  per  mile, 
the  greater  part  of  it  coming  in  the  upper  25  miles.  A  similarly  rapid 
fall  characterizes  the  lower  portion  of  Cheoah  river.  Originally  the  Nan- 
tahala flowed  in  a  direct  course  down  the  Cheoah  valley.  It  was  di- 
verted about  midway  in  its  course  by  a  branch  of  Little  Tennessee  river, 
working  back  along  the  soluble  Murphy  marble.  Its  old  elevation  of 
2,800  feet  is  marked  by  pebble  deposits  on  summits  one  and  one-half 
miles  nearly  west  and  three  miles  nearly  southeast  of  Nantahala.  On 
the  upper  reaches  of  both  these  streams  small  plateaus  and  terraces, 
rarely  over  a  mile  in  width,  accompany  the  watercourses.  Below  Aquone, 
on  the  Nantahala,  and  Buffalo  creek,  on  the  Cheoah,  the  channels  of  the 
rivers  descend  in  narrow  and  rapidly  deepening  canyons.  Similar  pla- 
teaus, from  two  to  four  miles  wide,  border  the  upper  parts  of  the  Little 
Tennessee  and  Tuckaseegce.  The  river  channels  have  cut  their  way  200 
to  500  feet  below  the  surface  of  these  plateaus.  Not  far  beyond  the 
junction  of  these  two  rivers  the  valley  is  hemmed  in  by  steep  mountains 
and  becomes  a  narrow  and  rocky  gorge.  The  descent  of  4,000  feet  from 
Hangover  to  the  mouth  of  Cheoah  river  is  accomplished  in  a  trifle  over 
four  miles. " 

w.  N.  c— 34 


530        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

The  Balds.  There  are  no  balds  on  the  Blue  Ridge;  but 
from  Whitetop  at  the  Virginia  line  to  the  Stratton  and  Hooper 
balds  in  Graham  county,  the  Great  Smoky  mountain  sum- 
mits, abound  in  bald  spots.  They  are  usually  above  the 
5,000-foot  mark,  and  contain  no  trees  whatever.  Instead, 
they  are  carpeted  with  rich  wdld  grass,  and  tradition  says 
that  before  white  men  turned  their  cattle  on  them  to  graze, 
this  grass  was  "saddle-high."  Some  of  the  transverse  ranges 
have  these  balds  also,  notably  the  Nantahalas  and  the  Bal- 
sams. There  must  be  a  thousand  acres  of  almost  level  and 
perfectly  bald  lands  on  the  Roan  and  Yellow  mountains,  and 
a  large  acreage  on  the  Tusquittee  and  Nantahala.  From 
Thunderhead  in  Swain  to  the  Little  Tennessee  river  there 
is  a  succession  of  bald  summits,  and  the  Andrews  bald  just 
north  of  Clingman's  Dome  covers  a  considerable  area.  There 
are  invariably  small  springs  flowing  from  the  edges  of  these 
bald  spots,  where  cattle  slake  their  thirst  in  midsummer. 
From  a  distance  these  green  patches  seem  to  be  yellow,  hence 
the  name  of  the  Yellow  mountain  just  north  of  the  Roan. 
Surrounding  these  balds  are  usually  forests  of  balsam  trees 
in  primeval  state.  The  Blacks  and  Clingman's  Dome  are 
covered  with  them,  also  the  Balsam  mountains,  in  Haywood 
county.     The  soil  is  black  and  deep. 

Stratton  and  Hooper  Balds.  At  the  head  of  Santeetla 
and  Buffalo  creeks  in  Graham  county,  near  its  junction  with 
Cherokee,  are  the  Hooper  and  Stratton  Balds,  named  for  first 
settlers  by  those  names.  Near  them  are  the  Haw  Knob  and 
Laurel  Top;  and  to  the  north  Hangover,  Hayo  and  Fodder 
Stack  mountains.  Just  below  the  Hangover  is  the  residence 
of  Dave  Orr,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  that  section  and  still  a 
famous  bear  hunter.  In  1897  a  bear  caught  his  bell-wether, 
and  the  next  day  Dave  belled  a  cowardly  young  hound  and 
left  him  to  gnaw  upon  the  carcass  of  the  dead  sheep,  and 
waited.  Soon  the  pup  came  running,  with  bruin  at  his  heels. 
Dave  had  a  "mess  of  bar  meat  for  dinner  that  day." 

Tusquittee  Balds.  The  view  from  the  balds  of  Tus- 
quittee is  unsurpassed  in  the  mountains.  There  are  several 
bald  prominences  on  this  mountain,  one  of  which  is  known 
as  the  Medlock  Bald  and  another  the  Pot  Rock  Bald,  from 
a  depression  in  the  rock  almost  the  exact  size  and  depth  of 
an  ordinary  pot.  It  is  at  least  two  miles  along  the  top  of 
this  mountain,  which  forms  an  elbow  in  its  course. 


PHYSICAL  PECULIARITIES  531 

To  the  north  of  this  range  and  scarcely  three  miles  distant 
is  the  parallel  range,  known  as  Valley  River  mountains,  and 
they  are  separated  by  Fires  creek.  They  come  together  at 
a  jwint  called  Nigger  Head.  This  is  at  the  head  of  Tunah 
and  Chogah  creeks,  and  there  is  a  higii,  narrow  ridge  running 
from  it  to  the  Weatherman  Bald,  across  which  deer  and  bear 
used  to  have  to  pass  when  driven  by  the  hunters  from  the 
head  of  Chogah  creek  or  Fires  creek.  It  was  along  this  sharp 
ridge,  scarcely  wide  enough  for  a  narrow  footpath,  that 
"Standers"  used  to  be  placed  in  order  to  get  a  shot  at  the 
fleeing  game.  The  late  Alex.  P.  Munday  of  Aquone  used  to 
be  a  famous  bear  hunter,  and  his  old  dog,  "Nig,"  and  his 
gray  stallion,  "Buck,"  knew  better  where  to  go  than  he  did 
himself  in  order  to  get  the  best  stand  for  a  shot.  It  is  near 
here  that  one  finds  the  Juckers  and  Weatherman  "roughs," 
or  rocky  places,  gro\\Ti  up  in  vines,  laurel  and  spruce  pines. 
"Roughs"  is  sufficiently  descriptive  of  them.  On  the  Valley 
River  mountains  the  principal  peaks  are  Beal's  Knob,  White 
Oak  Knob,  the  Big  Stamp  Knob  and  the  Peachtree  Knob. 

Mitchell's  Peak.  This  highest  point  east  of  the  Rocky 
mountains  is  about  thirty  miles  from  Asheville.  The  road 
used  to  go  via  what  is  now  Black  Mountain  Station  and  the 
old  Patton  house,  near  what  is  the  intake  of  the  city  water 
works  and  Gombroon,  up  the  North  Fork  of  the  Swannanoa 
river  almost  to  the  Estatoe  gap,  where  it  took  to  the  left,  and 
passing  the  Half  Way  house,  built  by  the  late  William  Pat- 
ton  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  zig-zagged  up  to  the  top.  There  is 
now  a  road  via  [Nlontreat  and  Graybeard.  Another  trail 
is  from  Pensacola,  in  Yancey,  in  trying  to  follow  which  Prof. 
Mitchell  lost  his  life,  and  another  from  South  Toe  river.  It 
is  also  possible  to  go  along  the  ridge  from  Celo  at  the  head 
of  Cattail.  In  1905  Mr.  R.  S.  Howland  constructed  a  road 
from  what  is  now  the  E.  W.  Grove  park  to  the  top  of  Sun- 
set mountain,  thence  to  Locust  gap,  thence  to  Craven's  gap, 
and  thence  to  within  half  a  mile  of  Bull  gap,  the  grade  being 
about  one  per  cent  from  Overlook  Park,  and  costing  over 
S50,000.  Later  on  Dr.  C.  P.  Ambler  constructed  a  road  from 
this  terminus  to  his  house  on  a  slope  of  Craggy,  and  known 
as  Rattlesnake  Lodge.  From  there  on,  in  1911,  a  riding  way 
was  built  via  Craggy  to  Mitchell's  Peak;  but  it  was  never 
finished.     This  is  the  road  that  will  be  converted  into  "The 


532        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Crest  of  the  Blue  Ridge"  highway,  and  will  pass  Mitchell's 
Peak  and  go  on  via  Altamont  to  Linville  gap,  over  the  Yonah- 
lossie  road  to  Blowing  Rock.  Work  was  done  on  this  road 
near  Altamont  in  the  Summer  of  1912.  The  view  from 
Mitchell's  Peak  is  somewhat  obstructed  by  the  balsam  growth 
surrounding  it,  and  as  clouds  hover  over  it  almost  constantly, 
disappointment  often  attends  a  visit  to  this  lofty  point.  In 
1877  there  was  a  hut  made  of  balsam  logs  and  covered  with 
boughs,  that  afforded  shelter  to  visitors,  in  addition  to  that 
under  the  shelving  ledge  of  rock,  beneath  which  hundreds  of 
visitors  have  shivered  and  lain  awake  for  hours.  About  1885 
the  U.  S.  Weather  Bureau  established  a  station  there,  when 
more  comfortable  quarters  were  constructed  for  the  observers. 
They  had  to  "pack"  their  supplies  up  late  in  the  fall,  and 
were  practically  isolated  till  spring.  That  house,  however, 
like  the  first  spoken  of,  was  afterwards  burned  by  vandals. 
Other  vandals,  later  on  have  shot  holes  through  the  monu- 
ment to  Prof.  Mitchell,  and  one  fiend  sank  his  axe-blade  clean 
through  one  of  its  sides.  There  is  a  good  spring  near  the 
peak.  In  1912  a  lumber  company  erected  another  shelter  on 
top,  and  quarters  can  be  secured  for  a  night's  lodging  under 
certain  conditions.  Mr.  William  Patton  of  Charleston  built 
the  first  trail  to  the  top  in  1857-58. 

The  Grandfather.  From  Linville  city  in  Avery  county, 
from  Banner  Elk,  and  from  Blowing  Rock  good  trails  run 
to  the  top  of  the  highest  of  the  five  peaks  of  the  Grandfather. 
Pinola  and  Montezuma  on  the  Linville  river  railroad  are  the 
nearest  railroad  points.  The  view  is  splendid — unsurpassed, 
in  fact.  Near  the  top  is  a  spring  which  is  said  to  be  the  cold- 
est in  the  mountains,  being  45°  in  all  seasons.  Alexander 
McRae's  and  the  Grandfather  Inn  are  the  nearest  stopping 
places.  McRea  was  born  in  Glenelg,  Inverness  county,  Scotland, 
and  came  over  to  America  in  1885,  and  has  furnished  music  on 
the  bagpipes-  to  visitors  to  the  Grandfather  ever  since.  - 

The  Roan  Mountain.  This  can  be  reached  from  Roan 
Mountain  station  on  the  East  Tennessee  and  Western  North 
Carolina  Railroad  or  from  Bakersville,  three  miles  from 
Toecane  on  the  Cincinnati,  Clinchfield  and  Ohio  Railroad. 
It  is  much  patronized  by  hay-fever  patients.  There  is  a 
fine  hotel  there.  The  view  is  better  than  any  other.  It  is 
over  6,000  feet  above  the  sea. 


PHYSICAL  PECULIARITIES  533 

Nantahala  Balds.  The  Wayah,  Wine  Sjiring,  Rocky, 
Jarrett's  and  Little  balds  are  tlie  principal  peaks.  They  can 
be  reached  from  Franklin  or  from  Aquonc,  both  in  Macon 
county.     The  view  is  splendid. 

Thundekhead.  Just  above  what  is  still  known  as  the 
Antlerson  Roail,  an  abandoned  wagon  road  from  Tennessee  to 
the  Spence  cabin  in  Swain,  stands  Thunderhead,  one  of  the 
lofty  peaks  of  the  Great  Smokies.  From  it  Miss  Mary  N. 
]\Iurfree  saw  the  picture  her  pen  painted  in  one  of  her  stories 
of  this  region  : 

A  Pen  Picture.  "On  a  certain  steep  and  savage  slope  of 
the  Great  Smoky  Mountains  the  primeval  wilderness  for  many 
miles  is  unbroken  save  one  meagre  clearing.  The  presence  of 
humanity  upon  the  earth  is  further  attested  only  by  a  log 
cabin,  high  on  the  rugged  slant.  At  night,  the  stars  seem 
hardly  more  aloof  than  the  valley  below.  By  day,  the  moun- 
tains assert  their  solemn  vicinage,  an  austere  company.  The 
clouds  that  silently  commune  with  the  great  peaks,  the  sin- 
ister and  scathing  deeds  of  the  lightnings,  the  passionate  rhet- 
oric of  the  thunders,  the  triumphant  pageantry  of  the  sunset 
tides,  and  the  wistful  yearnings  of  the  dawn  aspiring  to  the 
day — these  might  seem  only  incidents  of  this  lonely  and  ex- 
alted life.  So  august  is  this  mountain  scheme  that  it  fills  all 
the  world  wdth  its  massive  multitudinous  presence:  still 
stretching  out  into  the  dim  blue  distances  an  infinite  per- 
spective of  peak  and  range  and  lateral  spur,  till  one  may 
hardly  believe  that  the  fancy  does  not  juggle  with  the  fact.  "^ 

Hells.  There  are  many  tangles  and  thicketty  places  in 
the  coves  of  these  mountains,  and  others  where  the  laurel 
and  ivy  and  small  spruce  pines  so  cover  the  banks  of  the 
streams  as  to  render  locomotion  along  them  impossible.  Axes 
are  necessary  to  hew  a  way  in  many  places,  and  woe  to  that 
man  who  ventures  too  far  into  their  depths  by  crawling  or 
creeping  between  their  rigid  branches.  At  the  head  of  Tellico 
creek  in  Tennessee  and  in  the  Rainbow  country  of  North  Caro- 
Una,  where  the  State  line  is  now  in  dispute,  is  what  is  called 
Jeffries  Hell.  It  is  said  that  many  years  ago  a  man  named 
Jeffries  got  bewildered  in  that  place  and  spent  nine  days  there 
without  food  before  he  managed  to  effect  his  escape.  There 
are  other  hells  in  the  mountains,  but  Jeffries'  is  the  largest 
and  most  famous. 


534        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

The  Chimneys.  At  the  head  of  one  of  the  Pigeons,  and 
just  west  of  Collins  gap,  visible  from  the  Ocona  Lufty  road, 
are  three  sharp,  pyramidal  shaped  pinnacles  called  the  Chim- 
neys. They  are  covered  with  small  spruce  pines  and  rocks, 
but  how  any  soil  manages  to  cling  to  such  steep  mountain 
sides  is  a  mystery.  They  are  green  in  winter  because  of  the 
spruce  pines  covering  them,  and  present  a  striking  contrast 
to  other  peaks  around  them. 

Graphic  Pen  Pictures.  In  "The  Heart  of  the  Allcgha- 
nies"  we  have  glowing  descriptions  of  the  view  from  Cling- 
man's  Dome,  the  culminating  point  of  the  Great  Smoky  range, 
and  which  Gen.  Clingman  measured  in  1857 ;  of  the  Great  Balsam 
Divide,  the  Plott  Balsams,  and  of  the  mysterious  Juda-Culla 
Old  Field,  just  south  of  the  Old  Bald  gap  between  Richland  creek 
and  Caney  Fork  river;  which  always  "presents  a  weird  and 
unnatural  appearance.  .  .  .  Its  only  growth  presents  a 
peculiar  yellowish  look,  and  the  fact  that  no  tree  or  sapling 
has  ever  g^o^\^l  within  its  limits  has  not  been  accounted  for 
scientifically."  Here,  the  legend  says,  the  giant  Tsulkalu 
made  a  clearing  for  his  farm.  Here  flint  arrow-heads  and 
broken  pottery  have  been  found,  showing  "almost  conclu- 
sively that  some  of  the  Cherokees  themselves  .  .  .  oc- 
cupied it  as  an  abiding  place  for  years."  This  book  also 
tells  of  the  "fire-scalds,"  and  of  the  Devil's  Court  House  in  the 
Balsams,  which,  however,  is  not  his  Supreme  court  house, 
the  latter  being  on  Whiteside  mountain.  Gen.  Clingman,  in  his 
"Speeches  and  Writings,"  describes  Shining  Rock  in  the  Bal- 
sams most  strikingly;  and  says  of  the  Devil's  Old  Field  on 
the  Balsams  that  it  was  the  Devil's  chosen  resting  place.  He 
also  accounts  for  the  balds  by  saying  the  Indians  supposed 
they  were  made  by  the  devil's  footsteps  as  he  walked  over 
the  tops  of  the  mountains.  A  fine  description  of  the  Tucka- 
seegee  falls  above  Webster  is  given  in  the  "Heart  of  the 
Alleghanies." 

Other  Noted  Rocks.  Buzzards'  Rocks  and  the  Dogs' 
Ears,  near  Shull's  Mills,  Watauga  county;  Black  Rock,  above 
Horse  Cove;  Satula  (pronounced  Stooly),  near  Highlands; 
Samson's  Chimney,  near  Howard's  Knob  at  Boone;  Hawk's 
Bill  and  Table  Rock,  between  Morganton  and  Linville  moun- 
tain; Riddle's  and  Howard's  Knobs,  near  Boone;  Nigger 
Head,  near  Jefferson,  and  scores  of  others  are  objects  of  local 


PHYSICAL  PECULIARITIES  535 

interest  in  various  localities.  Hanging  Rock,  above  Banner 
Elk,  and  the  North  Pinnacle,  on  the  Beech  mountain,  in  the 
same  locality,  are  noted  rocks,  from  the  last  of  which  a  fine 
view  can  be  had  after  an  easy  climb  from  a  good  road. 

TR-A.CK  Rocks,  "Some  distance  further  to  the  west  (from 
Juda-CuUa  Old  Field)  on  the  north  bank  of  Caney  Fork,  about 
one  mile  above  Moses'  creek  and  perhaps  ten  miles  above 
Webster,  is  the  Juda-Culla  Rock,  a  large  soap-stone  slab  cov- 
ered with  rude  carvings,  which,  according  to  .  .  .  tra- 
dition, are  scratches  made  by  the  giant  in  jumping  from  his. 
farm  on  the  mountain  to  the  creek  below. "  •*  Tracks  of  elk, 
wolves,  etc.,  are  said  to  be  visible  in  a  rock  at  the  head  of 
Devil's  creek  in  Mitchell  county. 

"The  Rocks."  What  are  locally  kno^\^l  as  "The  Rocks" 
are  two  immense  masses  of  stone  standing  detached  in  a  pas- 
ture field  on  the  road  from  Plumtree  to  Bakersville.  They 
are  a  landmark.     Bynum's  Bluff  is  also  noted. 

Small  Natural  Bridge.  Just  over  the  ridge  from  the 
Caney  Fork  of  the  Tuckaseegee  river,  in  what  is  called  Can- 
ada, and  where  it  has  been  suspected  that  one  or  more  block- 
ade stills  have  existed  in  time  past,  present  and  (will)  to  come, 
is  Tennessee  creek.  It  flows  under  a  small  natural  rock  bridge 
when  it  is  normal,  and  over  it  when  it  is  "full." 

The  Triangle  Tree.  Almost  one  mile  above  Fairfax 
post  office  on  the  Little  Tennessee  river,  in  Swain  county, 
stood,  until  a  great  freshet  came  and  washed  it  away  eight 
or  ten  years  ago,  one  of  the  most  unusual  and  remarkable 
freaks  in  the  shape  of  tree  growth  in  America.  But  so  isolated 
had  it  become  by  reason  of  the  practical  abandonment  of  late 
years  of  the  wagon  road  from  Bushnel  to  Rocky  Point  that 
few  strangers  ever  saw  it,  while  to  the  few  natives  of  that 
region,  who  had  seen  it  for  years  and  years,  it  called  for  no 
marked  attention. 

It  was  a  large  spruce  pine  at  least  three  feet  in  diameter 
five  feet  above  the  ground  where  a  limb  or  branch  of  a 
diameter  of  at  least  eighteen  inches  left  the  main  trunk  at  an 
angle  of  about  forty-five  degrees  and  extended  out  toward 
the  river,  while  three  feet  above  its  point  of  departure  from  the 
main  trunk  a  second  limb  or  branch,  twelve  inches  in  diameter, 
shot  out  in  the  same  direction  as  the  first,  but  at  an  angle  of 
seventy-five  or  eighty  degrees  and  joined  itself  to  the  first  limb 


536        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

six  or  seven  feet  from  its  base  so  perfectly  that  it  grew  into 
and  had  become  a  part  thereof,  thus  forming  with  the  main 
trmik  a  perfect  triangle  of  living  wood.  It  was  easy  to  climb 
into  this  triangle  and  by  sitting  astride  the  first  or  lower  liml) 
to  hold  the  body  erect  against  the  trunk  of  the  tree  imme- 
diately under  the  second  limb.  It  is  a  pity  it  was  never  photo- 
graphed, but  the  dimensions  given  above  are  accurate,  since 
they  were  carefully  measured  and  noted  while  the  tree  was 
still  standing  in  all  its  glory. 

The  High  Rocks.  Just  below  the  mouth  of  Eagle  creek 
are  what  are  locally  called  the  "High  Rocks."  They  are  a 
tumbled  mass  of  solid  rocks,  some  of  them  larger  than  a  two- 
roomed  house,  resting  one  upon  the  other  above  the  riverside 
and  extending  almost  to  the  top  of  the  mountain.  They  are 
apparently  now  just  where  they  found  themselves  when  eons 
and  eons  ago  some  cataclysm  of  nature  tumbled  these  moun- 
tains about  as  though  they  had  been  pebbles  and  grains  of 
sand. 

The  Chimneys.  On  the  road  from  Alontezuma  to  Banner 
Elk  and  just  before  reaching  the  Sugar  Gap,  are  two  other 
large  masses  of  rock  projecting  out  of  the  side  of  the  mountain 
like  two  enormous  and  discolored  incisor  teeth.  One  of  them 
is  said  to  be  eighty  feet  in  height  and  the  other  and  further 
one  from  the  road,  nearly  as  high.  There  is  no  photograph 
of  these  immense  rock  heaps,  but  fortunately  there  is  no 
danger  of  their  destruction  by  a  freshet  or  other  cause.  They 
are  called  "The  Chimneys." 

The  Devil's  Cap.  Eight  miles  from  Altamont  and  about 
three  from  the  Cold  Spring  hotel  in  Burke  county,  on  Ginger 
Cake  mountain,  and  just  east  of  Linville  river,  below  Linville 
Falls,  is  what  is  called  the  Devil's  Cap.  It  is  a  perpendicular 
mass  of  rock  sixty  or  seventy  feet  high  and  about  twenty  feet 
in  diameter,  surmounted  by  a  large  flat  stone  so  placed  on  its 
pedestal  as  to  look  as  if  it  must  surely  soon  slide  off  and  fall  to  the 
ground.  It  is  in  a  little  swag  or  gap  in  this  ridge,  and  is  best 
seen  from  the  top  of  a  precipice  near  by,  from  which  can  also 
be  had,  through  a  rift  in  the  dense  foliage,  a  magnificent  view 
of  the  wild  and  romantic  Linville  Gorge,  the  wildest  and  most 
inaccessible  in  the  mountains,  with  the  possible  exception  of 
that  of  the  Nantahala,  between  the  "Apple  Tree"  place  and 
Jarrett's  Station  on  the  Murphy  branch  of  the  Western  North 


PHYSICAL  PECULIARITIES  537 

Carolina  Railroad.     This  freak  of  nature,  the  Devil's  Cap, 
however,  has  Ix'en  photographed. 

Dutch  Creek  Falls.  Within  half  a  mile  of  Valle  Crucis 
school,  Watauga,  are  the  Dutch  creek  falls,  which  are  about 
eighty  feet  in  height.  The  little  stream  spreads  itself  evenly 
over  the  surface  of  the  precipice  down  which  it  slides  rather 
than  falls,  forming  a  fine  picture  as  seen  from  the  gloomy 
gorge  below.  It  is  more  easy  of  access  than  falls  generally 
are,  and  is  well  worth  a  visit. 

LiNviLLE  Falls  are  at  Linville,  a  postoffice  and  village 
in  what  is  now  Avery  county.  The  falls  had  in  1876  two 
distinct  falls,  each  about  35  feet  in  height,  the  upper  falls 
pouring  into  a  small  basin  and  then  plunging  over  another 
precipice  into  the  black  pool  below.  But,  of  late  years,  the 
lower  ledge  of  rock  has  given  way  from  some  cause,  and  much 
of  the  water  passes  under  and  around  the  boulders  into  which 
it  has  been  broken,  instead  of  falling  smoothly  over  a  straight 
line  of  rock,  as  formerly.  It  is  the  most  accessible  of  all  falls 
now. 

Elk  Falls.  Three  miles  from  Cranberry  are  the  Falls  of 
Elk,  and  they  are  about  as  high  as  the  Dutch  creek  falls,  but 
carrying  more  water  in  the  descent.  The  cascades  or  rapids 
of  the  same  creek  a  few  miles  above,  at  Banner's  Elk,  are  also 
worth  a  visit. 

Watauga  Falls  are  a  few  hundred  feet  west  of  the  North 
Carolina  and  Tennessee  line.  They  are  hardly  falls,  but  rapids, 
pouring  an  immense  volume  of  water  through  a  narrow  gorge, 
and  requiring  several  hundred  feet  at  that  place  to  gain  com- 
parative smoothness.  The  scenery  around  the  falls  is  wild 
and  imposing,  the  rocks  left  bare  by  the  current  being  immense. 
It  is  only  al)out  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  Butler- Valle  Crucis 
turnpike. 

The  "Dry"  Falls.  The  Dry,  or  Pitcher  falls,  of  the  Cul- 
lasaga  river,  four  miles  from  Highlands,  are  so  called  because 
the  stream  leaps  from  the  precipice  above  and  leaves  a  clear 
dry  space  beneath,  behind  and  under  which  one  can  pass  to 
the  further  side  dry-shod.  It  is  about  seventy-five  feet  in 
height  and  the  water  pours  over  the  rock  ledge  from  which 
it  leaps  much  as  does  a  stream  poured  from  the  mouth  of  a 
pitcher. 

Hickory-Nut  Falls.  The  Hickory  Nut  Falls  are  just  east 
of  the  Hickory  Nut  gap  of  the  Blue  Ridge.     This  appears  to 


538        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

be  a  mere  ribbon  of  water  hung  from  the  top  of  the  preci- 
pice, but  in  reahty  it  is  a  creek  of  such  size  as  to  have  power 
to  turn  a  grist  mill  before  leaping  to  the  gorge  nine  hundred 
feet  below. 

Chimney  Rock.  Between  this  loftiest  waterfall  in  the  Ap- 
palachians and  the  Hickory  Nut  gap  road  is  the  Chimney 
Rock,  an  enormous  rock  mass  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the 
Blue  Ridge,  eighty  or  ninety  feet  in  height.  The  large  trees 
growing  around  it  reveal  by  contrast  its  immense  size  and 
height.  Though,  till  within  the  last  twenty  years,  no  man 
had  ever  scaled  its  height  to  let  the  plummet  down,  a  ladder- 
like stairway  now  reaches  its  summit  and  a  wooden  railing 
extends  all  the  way  around  it. 

The  Pools.  The  Pools,  just  above  the  old  Logan  hotel  or 
tavern  in  the  same  picturesque  locality,  are  three  circular 
holes  from  eight  to  fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  in  the  rock  bed 
of  the  creek,  all  of  which  are  said  to  be  bottomless.  It  is 
evident  that  they  were  made  by  the  revolution  of  small  stones 
on  the  softer  surface  of  the  creek  bed,  kept  in  constant  mo- 
tion by  the  continual  flow  of  the  creek;  but  they  are  not  bot- 
tomless, nor  is  there  any  danger  of  suction,  as  swimmers 
disport  themselves  in  their  cool  depths  every  summer. 

Esmeralda's  Cabin.  Just  across  the  road  is  the  detached 
rock  mass  locally  known  as  Esmeralda's  cabin,  because  of  the 
delightful  romance  located  in  that  region  by  the  gifted  Mrs- 
Frances  Hodgson  Burnett,  called  "Esmeralda,"  and  which 
was  popular  twenty-five  years  ago.  Indeed,  the  novel  was 
dramatized  and  successfully  played  at  that  time  in  New  York 
and  all  over  the  country. 

Shaking  Bald.  Here,  too,  is  Esmeralda  Inn,  long  kept  by 
Col.  Thomas  Turner,  a  veteran  of  the  Federal  Army,  and  now 
by  his  son,  while  not  far  away  is  Bat  Cave,  a  gloomy  cavern 
in  the  face  of  the  mountain  above  one  prong  of  the  Broad 
river;  and  Shaking  Bald,  a  mountain  top  which,  in  the  sev- 
enties, caused  considerable  newspaper  comment  because  of  the 
noises  said  to  have  been  heard  in  that  locality.  Earthquake 
shocks  and  volcanoes  even  were  predicted  for  several  years, 
but  nothing  ever  came  of  the  stories.  This  locality,  one  of 
the  most  charming  and  picturesque  in  the  mountains,  is  ade- 
quately described  in  Christian  Reid's  "Land  of  the  Sky," 
the  novel  which  gave  its  name  to  this  entire  region.     It  was 


PHYSICAL  PECULIARITIES  539 

published  in  1875 "  and  was  one  of  the  means  of  drawing  pub- 
lic attention  to  the  beautiful  scenery  of  the  mountain  region 
of  North  Carolina  and  its  unsurpassed  summer  climate.  The 
Hickory  Nut  region  is  in  what  is  called  the  Thermal  Belt. 

Hot  Springs.  Paint  Rock  and  Hot  Springs,  on  the  French 
Broad  river,  about  forty  miles  northwest  from  Ashevillc,  are 
two  other  remarkable  places  in  this  mountain  region  worthy 
of  mention,  which  the  same  gifted  author  described  with  her 
facile  pen  in  the  same  charming  story.  Hot  Springs  was  dis- 
covered in  1887  by  some  soldiers  from  the  Watauga  settle- 
ment when  in  pursuit  of  a  band  of  Cherokee  Indians,  and  has 
been  a  noted  health  resort  ever  since.  Although  its  waters 
are  strongly  impregnated  with  mineral  and  have  medicinal 
properties,  they  are  as  clear  as  crystal.  They  are  very  bene- 
ficial for  gouty  and  rheumatic  troubles.  There  is  a  large  and 
well  appointed  hotel  which  is  very  popular  every  season  of 
the  year. 

Paint  Rock.  "The  Painted  Rock"  of  old  Cherokee  days, 
or  "Paint  Rock"  of  our  times,  is  a  rock  chff  over  a  hundred 
feet  in  height  which  has  a  red  stain  on  its  outer  surface 
caused  by  the  oxidation  of  the  iron  in  its  composi- 
tion. Whatever  figures  of  men  or  animals  ever  existed  upon 
its  face  have  long  since  disappeared.  There  is  the  usual  ro- 
mantic story  of  one  or  two  lovers  throwing  himself  or  herself, 
or  themselves,  from  the  top  of  this  rock  and  from  the  top  of 
another  rock  nearly  as  high  in  the  neighborhood  of  Hot 
Springs,  called  Lover's  Leap,  but  there  is  no  tangible  evi- 
dence that  any  local  lovers  ever  were  so  foolish. 

The  Smoking  Mountain.  Twenty  years  ago  there  were  a 
series  of  newspaper  stories  of  a  smoking  mountain  above  Bee 
Tree  creek  in  Buncombe  county,  and  many  citizens  visited 
the  locality  in  question  only  to  be  disappointed,  while  none 
save  those  living  constantly  in  the  neighborhood  ever  saw  the 
smoke,  and  by  the  time  others  were  called  from  a  distance 
it  had  disappeared.  What  it  was,  if  anything  more  than 
autumn  haze  or  imagination,  was  never  established.  It, 
however,  "had  nothing  to  do  with  anything  regarding  vol- 
canic action."  ^ 

The  Walks.  A  short  distance  below  Flat  Shoals  of 
Watauga  river,  and  near  the  Tennessee  line,  are  a  series  of  im- 
movable natural  stepping  stones,  regularly  placed  across  the 


540        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

bed  of  the  river,  and  over  which  one  may  walk  dry-shod  even 
when  the  stream  is  considerably  swolen.  Hence  the  name — 
The  Walks. 

"Thus  Far."  Almost  from  the  Virginia  line  to  the  Little 
Tennessee  river  there  is  a  fringe  of  balsam  or  white  spruce 
crowning  the  crest  of  the  western  escarpment  known  as  the 
Smoky  mountains,  except  where  the  dense  blue  fringe  of  trees 
is  broken  by  the  "balds."  But,  remarkable  as  it  may  seem, 
there  is  not  a  single  tree  or  sapling  of  the  balsam  growth 
south  of  the  Little  Tennessee,  although  the  Gregory  Bald, 
only  a  few  miles  to  the  northeast,  is  fringed  by  a  dense  growth 
of  balsams  which  extend  to  both  the  Big  and  Little  Parson 
balds.  The  soil  and  climate  and,  indeed,  the  altitude  of  the 
range  south  of  the  Little  Tennessee,  are  almost  identical  with 
those  to  the  north,  but  neither  bird  nor  breeze  has  ever  car- 
ried the  balsam  seed  across  the  river  and  imbedded  it  in  the 
soil  beyond  in  a  manner  that  has  resulted  in  its  growth  across 
the  dead  line  of  that  rapid  stream. 

Hell's  Half-Acre.^  "The  bear-hunters  are  the  only  men 
familiar  with  these  head-waters  of  the  Richland  creek.  At 
the  foot  of  the  steep,  funereal  wall  lies  one  spot  kno^vn  as 
Hell's  Half-Acre.  Did  you  ever  notice,  in  places  along  the 
bank  of  a  wide  woodland  river,  after  a  spring  flood,  the  great 
piles  of  huge  drift-logs,  sometimes  covering  an  entire  field, 
and  heaped  as  high  as  a  house?  Hell's  Half-Acre  is  like  one 
of  these  fields.  It  is  wind  and  time,  however,  which  bring 
the  trees,  loosened  from  their  hold  on  the  dizzy  heights  and 
craggy  slopes,  thundering  down  into  this  pit. 

"The  Chimbleys  and  Shinies."^  The  "Chimbleys  and 
Shinies,"  as  called  by  the  mountaineers,  form  another  feature 
of  the  region  of  the  Gulfs.  The  former  are  walls  of  rock, 
either  bare  or  overgrown  with  wild  vines  and  ivy.  They  take 
their  name  from  their  resemblance  to  chimneys  as  the  fogs 
curl  up  their  faces  and  away  from  their  tops.  The  Shinies 
are  sloping  ledges  of  rock,  bare  like  the  Chimneys,  or  cov- 
ered with  great  thick  plaits  of  shrubs,  like  the  poisonous  hem- 
lock, the  rhododendron,  and  kalmia.  Water  usually  trickles 
over  their  faces.  In  winter  it  freezes,  making  surfaces  that, 
seen  from  a  distance,  dazzle  the  eye. 

"  Herrycanes.  "  The  effects  of  a  hurricane  in  the  Bal- 
sam mountains  are  described  thus  in  "The  Heart  of  the  AUe- 
ghanies": 


PHYSICAL  PECULIARITIES  541 

"For  two  miles,  along  this  sharp  ridge,  nearly  every  other  tree  had 
been  whirled  by  the  storm  from  its  footing.  They  not  only  covered  the 
path  with  their  trunks  hristliuK  with  straight  branfhes;  but,  instead  of 
being  cut  off  sliort,  tlie  wind  liad  turn  them  up  by  the  roots,  hfting  there- 
by all  the  soil  from  the  black  rocks,  and  leaving  great  holes  for  us  to 
descend  into,  cross  and  then  ascend.  It  was  a  continuous  crawl  and 
cUmb  for  this  distance." 

Violent  windstorms  are  rare  in  these  mountains,  owing  to 
the  fact  that  they  are  broken  up  as  they  approach  from  the 
lowlands  east,  west  and  south;  but  there  are  two  other  places 
called  "  herrycanes, "  one  being  on  a  branch  at  the  head  of 
Tusquittee  creek  in  Clay  county,  and  the  other  on  Indian 
creek  just  above  its  junction  with  Ugly  creek,  thus  forming 
Cataloochee  creek  in  Haywood  county.  The  Clay  hurricane 
occurred  soon  after  the  Civil  War  or  during  it,  and  the  Hay- 
wood hurricane  about  1896.  The  fallen  timber  in  Clay  is 
still  visible,  while  a  whole  mountain  side  in  front  of  Jesse 
Palmer's  residence  is  covered  with  the  rent  fragments  of  giant 
trees  which  have  been  uprooted  or  twisted  from  their  trunks 
bodily. 

Looking-Glass  Falls.  These  are  in  Transylvania  county 
and  are  on  G.  W.  Vanderbilt's  "Pisgah  Forest  tract."  In  the 
sale  of  his  timber  in  1812,  he  reserved  twenty  acres  around 
these  falls.  ^ 

NOTES. 

>From  "Asheville's  Centenarj'." 

JBalsam  Groves,  231-232. 

'From  "The  Despot  of  Broomsedge  Cove,"  by  Miss  Mary  N.  Murfree. 

'Nineteenth  Eth.  Rep.,  p.  407. 

'D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  publishers,  but  now  out  of  print. 

•Joseph  Hyde  Pratt.  State  Geologist,  to  J.  P.  A.,  April  5,  1912. 

'Zeigler  and  Gros.seup,  p.  64. 

'Bunpombe  Deed  Book,  No.  161,  p.  518. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
MINERALOGY  AND  GEOLOGY 

"The  State  publications  tell  us,  with  well  founded  pride,  that  North 
Carolina  was  the  first  government  in  America  to  order  a  geological  sur- 
vey. Can  she,  on  that  account,  afford  to  l)e  the  last  state  to  publish  a 
full  exposition  of  her  geological  structure  and  mineral  resources?" — 
"Heart  of  the  AUeghanies, "  page  198. 

Where  to  Get  the  Facts  and  Figures.  North  Caro- 
lina no  longer  deserves  this  reproach,  as  Bulletin  No.  18  of 
the  North  Carolina  Geological  and  Economic  Survey,  pub- 
lished in  1909,  is  a  bibliography  of  North  Carolina  geology, 
mineralogy  and  geography,  with  a  list  of  maps.  It  contains, 
with  an  admirable  index,  428  pages,  and  is  devoted  exclu- 
sively to  an  alphabetical  arrangement  of  the  names  of  authors, 
their  writings  on  geology  and  mineralogy,  mining  and  other 
matters  connected  with  minerals,  etc.,  of  this  region.  It  was 
prepared  by  Dr.  Francis  Baker  Laney,  Ph.D.,  assistant  cura- 
tor of  geology  of  the  U.  S.  National  Museum,  and  Katharine 
Hill  Wood.     It  is  thorough  and  exhaustive. 

In  addition  thereto  Professor  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt,  State 
Geologist,  and  Professor  Joseph  Volney  Lewis,  formerly  of 
the  Survey,  but  now  of  Rutgers  College,  N.  J.,  are  the  au- 
thors of  Volume  I  of  the  Reports  of  the  North  Carolina  Geo- 
logical Survey,  which  contains  a  description  of  the  corundum 
and  the  periodite  deposits  of  Western  North  Carohna.  It  also 
was  published  in  1905,  and  contains  maps,  drawings,  pictures  and 
designs  illustrative  of  the  subjects  treated.  It  contains,  with 
the  index,  464  pages,  and  either  or  both  of  the  above  vol- 
umes will  be  sent  on  application,  if  accompanied  with  the 
postage. 

There  are  also  several  others  of  great  value,  among  which 
are  Economic  Paper  No.  22,  on  forest  fires  and  their  pre- 
vention; Economic  Paper  No.  3,  on  talc  and  pyrophyllite  de- 
posits in  North  Carolina;  Economic  Paper  No.  1,  on  the  maple 
sugar  industry;  Economic  Paper  No.  20,  on  the  wood  using 
industries  of  North  Carolina;  Economic  Paper  No.  23,  on  the 
mining  industry  in  North  Carolina  during  1908,  1909  and 
1910,  and  No.  15  on  mineral  waters. 

(542) 


MINERALOGY  AND  GEOLOGY        543 


AvAiL,\BLE  Scientific  and  Popular  Descriptions.  A  sci- 
entific explanation  of  the  formation  of  the  Asheville  quad- 
rangle will  be  found  in  the  Asheville  Folio,  No.  116,  U.  S. 
Geological  Survey;  and  an  interesting  dissertation  on  the  geo- 
logical formation  and  age  of  the  Grandfather  mountain  is 
contained  in  "The  Heart  of  the  AUeghanies";  and  in  the 
same  volume  is  a  reference  to  Mr.  King,  the  artist,  who  made 
a  journey  through  these  mountains  in  1874,  and  gave  a  de- 
scription of  their  mineral  possibilities  in  Scribner's  for  that 
year.  September  15,  1864,  Prof.  Charles  Upham  Shepard  of  Yale 
gave  his  views  as  to  what  minerals  and  metals  might  be  dis- 
covered here,  among  which  are  gold  and  diamonds,  and  he 
is  quoted  in  Gen.  Clingman's  "Speeches  and  Writings." 

GEOLOGICAL  HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH 

CAROLINA 
By  Joseph  Hyde  Pratt 

The  State  of  North  CaroHna  is  divided  into  three  physio- 
graphic divisions,  which  have  been  designated  as  the  Coastal 
Plain,  the  Piedmont  Plateau,  and  Mountain  Region.  That 
part  of  the  State  lying  to  the  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  is  in 
the  Mountain  region.  This  includes  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the 
Great  Smokies  and  the  country  between,  which  is  cut  across 
by  numerous  cross  ranges  separated  by  narrow  valleys  and 
deep  gorges.  The  average  elevation  of  this  region  is  about 
2,700  feet  above  the  sea  level,  but  the  summits  of  a  great 
many  ridges  and  peaks  are  over  5,000  feet,  while  a  consider- 
able number  of  peaks  have  a  height  of  over  6,000,  the  highest 
of  which  is  Mount  Mitchell  with  an  elevation  of  6,711  feet. 
Over  the  larger  part  of  this  region  are  to  be  found  the  older 
crystalline  rocks,  gneisses,  granites,  schists,  and  diarite  that 
are  of  pre-Cambrian  age,  which  are  greatly  folded  and  turned 
on  their  edges.  On  the  western  and  eastern  borders  of  this 
mountain  region,  approximately  along  the  line  of  the  Blue 
Ridge  and  Great  Smokies,  there  are  two  narrow  belts  of 
younger  sedimentary  rocks,  consisting  of  limestone,  shales, 
and  conglomerates,  and  their  metamorphosed  equivalents, 
marljles,  quartzites,  and  slates  of  Cambrian  age. 

The  sedimentary  rocks  have  been  formed  from  sand, 
gravel,  and  mud  which  have  been  deposited  as  the  result  of 
alteration  and  erosion  of  the  older  rocks. 


544        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

By  the  present  position  of  the  rocks  we  are  able  to  obtain 
records  regarding  the  order  in  which  the  rocks  of  western 
North  Carolina  were  formed,  and  thus  obtain  a  geological 
history  of  the  Mountain  section.  All  the  rocks  of  western 
North  Carolina  are  amongst  the  oldest  geologic  formations, 
although  there  is  considerable  variation  in  the  time  at  which 
the  various  rocks  encountered  were  formed.  The  oldest  rock 
formation  is  kno^\^l  as  the  Carolina  gneiss,  which  consists  of 
large  areas  of  mica,  and  garnet  schists;  and  mica,  garnet  and 
cyanite  gneisses.  The  exact  origin  of  this  rock  has  not  been 
definitely  determined  :  it  may  have  resulted  from  the  meta- 
morphism  of  a  granite  rock.  Mount  Mitchell  and  the  other 
mountain  peaks  of  the  Black  mountains  are  of  Carolina 
gneiss,  as  are  also  Gray  Beard,  the  Craggies,  Sunset  Moun- 
tain, Pisgah,  Great  Hogback  (Toxaway),  and  Standing  In- 
dian (Clay  county). 

The  next  oldest  rock  formation  of  Western  North  Caro- 
lina is  known  as  the  Roan  gneiss,  which  is  not  as  extensive 
as  the  Carolina  gneiss,  but  forms  much  smaller  areas  and,  as 
a  rule,  forms  long  narrow  bands  cutting  the  Carolina  gneiss. 
They  are  also  much  less  altered  and  are  undoubtedly  younger. 
Roan,  High  Knob,  Big  Yellow  Mountain,  Cocks  Knob,  the 
eastern  slope  of  Craggy  Dome  and  Bull  Head  Mountain, 
Nofat  mountain,  and  part  of  Caesar's  Head,  are  all  of  Roan 
gneiss.  These  mountains  are,  therefore,  younger  formations 
than  those  mountains  composed  of  Carolina  gneiss. 

Another  granite  formation  has  been  intruded  into  the  Caro- 
lina and  Roan  gneisses,  forming  rather  small  areas  in  the 
northwestern  portions  of  the  mountains.  These  granites, 
known  as  the  Cranberry  and  Beech  granites,  are  observed  in 
the  vicinity  of  Blowing  Rock,  Beech  mountain.  Rich  moun- 
tains, and  part  of  Pumpkin  Patch  mountain.  A  similar  gran- 
ite, known  as  the  Henderson  granite  and  of  approximately 
the  same  age,  is  found  over  a  considerable  area  of  southeastern 
portions  of  Transylvania  and  Henderson  counties  and  south- 
western portions  of  Buncombe  county. 

All  these  rocks  referred  to  above  are  of  deep-seated  origin 
and  the  lapse  of  time  between  the  formation  of  the  different 
ones  was  undoubtedly  very  great.  They  formed  mountain 
ranges  that  were  much  higher  than  now  observed,  but  these 
have  been  subject  to  erosion  which  has  brought  them  to  their 
present  outline. 


MINERALOGY  AND  GEOLOGY        545 

The  next  formation  was  the  lava  rocks,  which  were  poured 
forth  upon  the  surface  of  the  Archean  rocks.  These  lava 
flows  are  of  considerably  later  period  than  the  granites  and 
gneisses  and  are  older  than  the  overlying  Cambrian  sedi- 
mentary rocks,  and  they  may  belong  to  the  Algonkian  age. 
Some  of  these  rocks  were  undoubtedly  of  volcanic  nature, 
the  intrusions  coming  to  the  surface  as  flows  of  lava  and 
spreading  out  over  the  Carolina  and  Roan  gneisses  and  the 
Cranberry  and  Beech  granites.  There  was  a  very  long  inter- 
val between  the  formation  of  the  last  of  the  Archean  rocks 
before  the  volcanic  activity;  and  during  this  period  these  old 
Plutonic  rocks  were  subject  to  very  excessive  erosion.  This 
volcanic  activity  probably  extended  into  the  Cambrian  time, 
and  many  of  the  lava  flows  were  probably  at  the  surface 
when  the  Cambrian  strata  were  laid  down.  The  indication 
of  this  is  the  finding  of  sheets  of  basalt  conglomerate  inter- 
stratified  with  the  lower  strata  of  the  Cambrian.  Rocks  of 
this  period  include  metadiabase,  found  just  north  of  Lin- 
ville  and  to  the  east  in  Grandmother  gap  and  crossing  the 
Yonahlossee  road  at  several  places;  blue  and  green  epidotic 
schists,  which  have  probably  been  altered  from  basalt,  such 
as  are  to  be  seen  in  the  vicinity  of  Pinola  and  Montezuma, 
Avery  county,  and  Hanging  Rock,  Caldwell  county;  a  gray 
and  black  schist  probably  formed  by  the  alteration  of  an 
andicitic  rock,  which  is  to  be  observed  on  Flat  Top  moun- 
tain and  Pine  Ridge,  Watauga  county;  and  metarhyolite, 
such  as  is  found  on  the  slopes  of  Dugger  mountain,  Sampson 
mountain  and  in  Cook's  gap,  Watauga  county. 

These  Archean  rocks,  with  the  volcanic  formations,  were 
then  subjected  to  a  long  period  of  erosion,  and  the  sea  at  the 
same  time  encroached  upon  large  areas  of  the  dry  land.  The 
sediments  deposited  formed  the  rocks  which  are  known  as 
the  Cambrian.  Portions  of  the  Archean  rocks  were  sub- 
merged and  at  times  uplifted,  and  there  was  not  a  continu- 
ous series  of  these  sedimentary  deposits. 

These  sedimentary  rocks,  formed  from  the  erosion  of  the 
Archean  and  Algonkian  rocks  and  from  salicious  and  calca- 
reous material  deposited  from  animal  life  found  in  the  sea, 
consist  of  conglomerates,  sandstones,  shale,  limestone,  and 
their  metamorphic  equivalents,  quartzite,  slate,  and  marble. 
These  are  observed  very  extensively  over  considerable  areas 

W.  X.  C— 35 


546        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

of  western  North  Carolina,  but  principally,  as  stated  above, 
near  the  western  and  eastern  sections  of  the  mountain  region. 
Grandfather  mountain  is  composed  of  one  of  these  conglom- 
erates of  the  Cambrian  age,  as  is  also  Grandmother  mountain,  a 
large  part  of  the  area  around  Linville,  and  just  to  the  east  of 
Pinola.  A  narrow  strip  of  these  rocks  is  to  be  found  extend- 
ing across  the  extreme  western  part  of  Buncombe  county, 
across  Henderson  and  Transylvania  counties.  Brevard  is 
situated  in  an  area  of  these  rocks,  as  is  also  Boylston,  Mills 
River,  and  Fletcher,  Henderson  county.  Practically  all  of 
Cherokee  and  Graham  counties  is  composed  of  Cambrian 
rocks  and  the  western  parts  of  Clay,  Macon,  and  Haywood 
counties.  Swain  county  is  composed  largely  of  these  Cam- 
brian rocks,  with  the  exception  of  an  area  of  Archean  rocks 
that  is  exposed  around  Bryson  and  for  some  distance  to  the 
northeast.  West  of  Asheville  these  Cambrian  rocks  are 
observed  in  the  vicinity  of  Stackhouse,  Hot  Springs,  and 
Paint  Rock.  They  include  all  the  limestones,  such  as  are 
being  mined  at  Fletchers,  Mills  River,  and  other  places  in 
Henderson  and  Transylvania  counties;  the  limestones  of 
Madison  county;  and  the  marbles  of  Cherokee,  Graham,  and 
Swain  counties. 

From  the  above  it  will  be  seen  that  the  larger  part  of  the 
area  of  western  North  Carolina  is  composed  of  the  Archean 
rocks,  representing  the  oldest  geologic  formations. 

Associated  with  the  rocks  described  above  are  various 
minerals  of  economic  importance,  the  history  of  which  may 
be  of  interest  in  connection  with  the  geologic  history  of  western 
North  Carolina.  The  precious  metals  occur  very  sparingly 
in  nearly  all  the  counties  of  this  section  of  the  state,  but  in 
only  a  very  few  places  has  any  attempt  been  made  to  system- 
atically produce  them,  and  this  has  been  largely  by  placer 
mining.  Both  the  rocks  of  the  Archean  and  Cambrian  ages 
apparently  contain  minute  quantities  of  gold,  but  in  none  of 
these  have  deposits  been  found  of  sufficient  richness  to  be 
profitably  mined.  In  the  early  history  of  western  North 
Carolina  it  was  customary  for  many  of  the  inhabitants  to  pan 
the  various  streams  for  gold  and  to  pay  their  taxes  in  native 
gold.  Just  how  much  gold  has  been  taken  from  western 
North  Carolina  in  this  way  is  not  known;  but  it  evidently 
was  several  hundred  thousand  dollars. 


MINERALOGY  AND  GEOLOGY        547 

Iron  was  discovered  in  western  North  Carolina  almost  as 
soon  as  the  country  began  to  be  settled,  and  the  manufacture 
of  iron  dates  back  before  the  Revolutionary  War.  These 
early  iron  works  consisted  of  the  primitive  Catalan  forge 
blown  by  the  water  trompe.  Such  forges  were  in  operation 
in  Ashe,  Mitchell,  and  Cherokee  counties,  and  as  late  as  1893 
one  of  these,  the  Pasley  forge  on  Helton  creek  in  Ashe  county, 
was  in  operation.  These  early  forges  supplied  iron  for  all 
local  uses  and  the  forges  in  Cherokee  county  shipped  a  good 
deal  into  Tennessee.  The  most  celebrated  iron  mine  of  west- 
ern North  Carolina  is  the  Cranberry,  and  this  iron  was  worked 
in  Catalan  forges  as  early  as  1820.  The  following  forges  made 
iron  from  the  Cranberry  ore :  ^ 

"Cranberry  Bloomery  Forge,  on  Cranberry  creek;  built  in  1820; 
rebuilt  in  1856;  two  fires  and  one  hammer;  made  17  tons  of  bars  in  1857. 

"Toe  river  Bloomery  Forge,  situated  five  miles  south  of  Cranberry 
forge;  built  in  1843;  two  fires  and  one  hammer;  made  about  four  tons 
of  bars  in  1856. 

"Johnson's  Bloomery  Forge,  six  miles  east  of  south  from  Cranberry; 
built  in  1841;  had  two  fires  and  one  hammer;  made  one  and  one-half 
tons  of  bars  in  1856." 

This  ore  made  an  excellent  quality  of  iron  and  soon  became 
known  and  attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention  throughout 
the  United  States.  Since  1882  the  mine  has  been  worked 
almost  continuously,  and  the  ore  was  treated  in  a  modern 
blast  furnace 

Similar  grades  of  iron  ore  are  found  in  Ashe  county,  and  the 
following  is  a  summary  of  the  history  of  the  Catalan  forges 
that  were  operated  on  these  Ashe  county  magnetic  ores: 

"The  Pasley  forge  was  built  by  John  Ballou  at  the  mouth  of  Helton 
creek  in  1859;  in  1871  it  was  rebuilt  by  the  present  owner,  W.  J.  Pasley, 
and  is  now  sadly  in  need  of  repairs. 

"Helton  Bloomery  Forge,  on  Helton  creek,  12  miles  N.  N.  W.  of 
Jefferson;  built  in  1829;  two  fires  and  one  hammer;  made  in  1856  about 
15  tons  of  bars.  Washed  away  in  1858.  Another  forge  was  built  one 
and  one-fourth  miles  lower  down  the  creek  in  1902,  but  did  not  stand 
long. 

"Harbard's  Bloomery  Forge  was  situated  near  the  mouth  of  Helton 
creek;  built  in  1807  and  washed  away  in  1817. 

"Ballou's  Bloomery  Forge  was  situated  12  miles  N.  E.  of  JefTerson, 
at  the  falls  of  North  Fork  of  New  river;  built  in  1817;  washed  away  in 
1832  by  an  ice  freshet. 

"North  Fork  Bloomery  Forge  was  situated  on  North  Fork  of  New 
river,  8  miles  N.  W.  of  Jefferson;  built  in  1825;  abandoned  in  1829; 
washed  away  in  1840. 


548        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

"Laurel  Bloomery  Forge,  on  Laurel  creek,  15  miles  west  of  Jefferson; 
built  in  1847;  abandoned  in  1853.  ' 

"New  River  Forge,  on  South  Fork  of  New  river,  one-half  mile  above 
its  junction  with  North  Fork;  built  in  1871;  washed  away  in  1878." 

The  brown  hematite  ores  of  Cherokee  county  which  occur 
in  the  Cambrian  rocks  were  worked  in  forges  as  early  as  1840, 
supplying  the  surrounding  country  with  bar  iron.  We  have 
record  of  the  following  forges: 

"Lovinggood  Bloomery  Forge,  situated  on  Hanging  Dog  creek,  two 
miles  above  Fain  forge;  built  from  1845  to  1853;  two  fires  and  one  ham- 
mer; made  in  1856  about  13  tons  of  bars. 

"Lower  Hanging  Dog  Bloomery  Forge,  on  Hanging  Dog  Creek,  five 
miles  northwest  from  Murphy;  built  in  1840;  two  fires  and  one  hammer; 
made  in  1856  about  four  tons  of  bars.  ' 

"Killian  Bloomery  Forge,  situated  one-half  mile  below  the  Lower 
Hanging  Dog  Forge;  built  in  1843;  abandoned  in  1849. 

"Fain  Bloomery  Forge,  on  Owl  creek,  two  miles  below  the  Loving- 
good  forge;  built  in  1854;  two  fires  and  one  hammer;  made  in  1856  about 
24  tons  of  bars. 

"Persimmon  Creek  Bloomery  Forge,  situated  on  Persimmon  creek, 
12  miles  southwest  from  Murphy;  built  in  1848;  two  fires  and  one  ham- 
mer; made  in  1855  about  45  tons  of  bars. 

"Shoal  Creek  Bloomery  Forge,  situated  on  Shoal  creek,  five  miles 
west  of  the  Persimmon  Creek  Forge;  built  about  1854;  one  fire  and  one 
hammer;  made  in  1854  about  one-half  ton  of  bars." 

With  the  exception  of  the  blast  furnace  at  Cranberry  which 
uses  the  magnetic  iron  ore  from  the  Cranberry  mine,  no  other 
furnace  has  been  erected  in  western  North  Carolina  for  the 
treatment  of  iron  ores;  and  when  the  Pasley  forge  on  Helton 
creek  went  out  of  commission,  there  was  no  other  point  in 
western  North  Carolina,  except  Cranberry,  where  iron  was 
being  made.  A  small  amount  of  ore  has  been  shipped  from 
time  to  time  from  various  locaUties. 

Copper  mining  at  one  time  was  a  prominent  industry  of 
western  North  Carolina;  and  while  I  have  no  definite  data  as 
to  when  copper  mines  were  first  operated  in  western  North 
Carolina,  we  do  know  that  copper  properties  were  worked 
before  the  Civil  War,  principally  in  Ashe  and  Alleghany 
counties.  The  most  noted  mine  was  the  Ore  Knob,  which 
is  in  the  southeast  corner  of  Ashe  county  near  the  top  of  the 
Blue  Ridge  and  about  two  miles  from  New  river.  This  mine 
was  first  opened  sometime  before  the  War,  but  it  was  not 
until  some  years  after  the  war  that  it  was  developed  to  any 
great  extent.     The  ore  deposit  was  worked  to  a  depth  of  400 


MINERALOGY  AND  GEOLOGY        549 

feet  by  means  of  numerous  shafts  antl  ilrifts.  The  mine  was 
equipped  with  a  smelter  for  producing  a  high  grade  of  copper. 
The  amount  of  copper  produced  and  shipped  from  January 
1879  to  April  1880,  which  was  the  time  the  mine  was  fully 
operated,  was  something  over  1,040  tons.  The  cost  to  pro- 
duce and  market  this  copper  was  ten  and  thirty-nine  one- 
hundredth  cents  a  pound.  The  mine  has  not  been  worked 
since  about  1882.  Other  copper  properties  that  were  worked 
were  the  Copper  Knob  or  Gap  Creek  mine  in  the  southeast 
part  of  Ashe  county;  the  Peach  Bottom  mine  on  Elk  creek, 
Alleghany  county;  the  Cullowhee  mine  on  Cullowhee  moun- 
tain, and  Savannah  mine  on  Savannah  creek,  Jackson  county. 

Another  mineral  for  which  western  North  Carolina  is  noted 
is  corundum.  In  1870,  Mr.  Hiram  Crisp  found  the  first  co- 
rundum that  attracted  attention  to  the  present  mining  region 
of  North  Carolina,  at  what  is  now  the  Corundum  Hill  mine. 
A  specimen  was  sent  to  Prof.  Kerr,  then  state  geologist,  for 
identification,  and  considerable  interest  was  aroused  when  it 
was  discovered  that  it  was  corundum.  In  the  same  year  Mr. 
J.  H.  Adams  found  corundum  in  a  similar  occurrence  at  Pel- 
ham,  Massachusetts. 

In  1870-71  much  activity  was  displayed  in  the  search  for  co- 
rundum in  the  periodite  regions  of  the  southwestern  coun- 
ties of  North  Carolina,  and  new  localities  were  soon  brought 
to  light  in  ]\Iacon,  Jackson,  Buncombe,  and  Yancey  coun- 
ties. About  this  time  Mr.  Crisp  and  Dr.  C.  D.  Smith  began 
active  work  on  the  Corundum  Hill  propertjs  and  obtained 
about  a  thousand  pounds  of  corundum,  part  of  which  was 
sold  to  collectors  for  cabinet  specimens.  Some  of  the  masses 
that  were  found  weighed  as  much  as  40  pounds. 

Systematic  mining  for  corundum  did  not  begin  until  the 
fall  of  1871,  when  the  Corundum  Hill  property  was  pur- 
chased by  Col.  Chas.  W.  Jenks,  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and 
Mr.  E.  B.  Ward,  of  Detroit,  ^lichigan,  and  work  was  soon 
begun  under  the  superintendence  of  Col.  Jenks.  This  was  the 
first  systematic  mining  of  common  corundum,  as  distinguished 
from  emery  and  the  gem  varieties,  ever  undertaken,  while,  the 
first  mining  of  the  emery  variety  of  corundum  in  America  was 
at  Chester,  Massachusetts.  The  Corundum  Hill  mine  pro- 
duced corundum  almost  continuously  from  1872  to  1901. 
Other   mines   that   have   produced   corundum   are   the   Buck 


550        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Creek  mine  in  Clay  county;  the  EUijay  mine  in  Macon  county; 
the  Carter  mine  in  Madison  county;  and  the  Higden  mine  and 
Behr  mine  in  Clay  county. 

Mica  mining  in  North  Carolina  began  about  1870,  and  for 
the  first  five  years  practically  all  the  mica  mined  was  handled 
by  Heap  and  Clapp,  and  was  obtained  from  the  mines  of 
Mitchell  and  Yancey  counties.  Mica  has  continued  to  be 
mined  almost  constantly  since  that  time  not  only  in  Yancy 
and  Mitchell  counties,  but  in  Ashe,  Buncombe,  Haywood, 
Jackson,  and  Macon  counties.  There  are  a  great  many  old 
workings  on  these  mica  deposits,  and  before  they  had  been 
investigated  and  the  mica  discovered  they  were  supposed  to 
be  old  workings  of  the  Spaniards  who  were  hunting  for  silver. 
It  is  now  supposed  that  these  old  workings  were  made  by  the 
Indians  for  these  sheets  of  mica;  and  it  is  known  that  mica 
has  been  found  in  Indian  mounds  and  was  used  by  the  In- 
dians who  inhabited  what  is  now  Ohio  in  the  manufacture  of 
their  beads.  North  Carolina  mica  is  still  known  as  standard 
mica,  as  it  was  reckoned  from  the  beginning. 

Several  other  minerals  should  be  mentioned  in  connection 
with  the  descriptions  given  above,  as  they  were  first  identified 
in  North  Carohna.  The  mineral  that  stands  out  most  strik- 
ingly is  the  rhodolite,  a  gem  mineral  which  was  discovered  in 
Macon  county  about  1894  and  was  given  its  name  from  the 
resemblance  of  its  color  to  that  of  certain  rhododendrons. 

MiTCHELLiTE,  a  Variety  of  chromite,  was  discovered  near 
Webster,  Jackson  county,  in  1892,  and  was  named  in  honor 
of  the  late  Prof.  Elisha  Mitchell  of  North  Carolina. 

Wellsite,  one  of  the  minerals  of  the  zeolite  group,  was  dis- 
covered in  1892  at  the  Buck  Creek  mine,  Clay  county,  and 
was  named  in  honor  of  Prof.  H.  L.  Wells  of  Yale  University. 

The  following,  belonging  to  the  vermiculite  group  of  miner- 
als, have  been  found  associated  with  corundum,  and  w^ere  de- 
scribed by  Doctor  Genth;  they  were  all  discovered  about  the 
same  time  in  1872  or  1873  :  Culsageeite,  a  variety  of  Jef- 
ferisite,  found  at  the  Corundum  Hill  mine  and  named  for  a 
postofl&ce  near  that  place;  Kerrite,  found  at  Corundum  Hill 
mine,  and  named  in  honor  of  Mr.  W.  C.  Kerr,  former  State 
Geologist  of  North  Carolina;  Maconite,  found  at  the  Corun- 
dum Hill  mine  and  named  after  Macon  county;  Lucasite, 
found  at  the  Corundum  Hill  mine  and  named  after  Dr.  H.  S. 


MINERALOGY  AND  GEOLOGY        551 

Lucas,  who  owned  the  Corundum  Hill  mine;  Willcoxite,  found 
at  the  Buck  creek  (Cullakeene)  mine,  Clay  county,  and  named 
after  Joseph  Willcox  of  Philadelphia;  Aurelite,  found  at  the 
Freeman  mine.  Green  river,  Henderson  county,  about  1888 — 
it  is  a  thorium  mineral,  and  was  named  for  Dr.  Carl  Auer  vott 
Welsbach;  Hatchettolite,  a  tantalium-uranium,  was  found  at 
the  Wiseman  Mica  mine,  Mitchell  county,  about  1877,  and 
was  named  after  the  Enghsh  chemist,  Charles  Hatchett;  phos- 
phuranylite,  a  uranium  mineral,  found  at  the  Flat  Rock  mine,. 
Mitchell  county,  about  1879,  and  named  from  the  chemical 
composition  of  the  mineral;  and  Rogersite,  a  niobium  min- 
eral, found  at  the  Wiseman  Mica  mine,  Mitchell  county,  about 
1877,  named  after  Prof.  W.  B.  Rogers." 

NOTES. 

iFrom"The  Iron  Manufacturer's  Guide,"  1859,  by  J.  P.  Lesley. 

Note  :  The  United  States  Geological  Survey  has  ready  for  distribution,  upon  the 
receipt  of  25  cents  each,  the  following  geologic  folios  each  of  which  contains  descriptive  text, 
topographic  map,  areal  geology  map,  economic  geology  map,  structure  section  sheet  and 
columnar  section  sheet.  All  information  as  to  the  geology  and  mineralogy  of  the 
quadrangles  treated  ran  be  found  in  theje  folios: 

Cranberrj-  Folio,  No.  90,  issued  1903. 

Ashe\'ille  Folio,  No.  116,  issued  1904. 

Mount  Mitchell  Folio,  No.  124,  issued  1905. 

Nantahala  Folio,  No.  143,  issued  1907. 

Pisgah  Folio,  No.  147,  issued  1907. 

Roan  Mountain  Folio,  No.  151,  issued  1907. 


CHAPTER  XXV 
MINES  AND  MINING 

Prehistoric  Workings.  Evidences  of  the  early  working 
of  mines  in  this  mountain  region  are  so  frequent  and  unmis- 
takable as  to  leave  no  doubt  that  in  several  places  mining 
was  carried  on  at  least  three  hundred  years  ago.  But  by  whom 
is  the  problem. 

The  Andrews  Sun  of  January  4,  1912,  having  stated  that 
Tristan  de  Velazquez  carried  on  mining  in  Cherokee  county, 
the  matter  was  submitted  to  the  Librarian  of  Congress  with 
the  following  result: 

Not  Tristan  de  Velasquez.  "We  have  been  unable 
to  find  any  mention  of  Tristan  de  Velazquez  in  the  histories 
of  early  Spanish  explorations  in  the  southeastern  states.  It 
seems  probable  that  the  article  quoted  has  confused  the  names 
of  Don  Luis  de  Velasco  and  Don  Tristan  de  Luna  y  Arellano. 
Velasco,  as  viceroy  of  New  Spain,  sent  out  an  expedition  in 
1559  under  command  of  Luna  y  Arellano  to  establish  a  colony 
in  Florida.  One  of  the  latter's  Ueutenants  appears  to  have 
led  an  expedition  into  northeastern  Alabama  in  1560.  Ac- 
cording to  Charles  C.  Jones,  in  his  'Hernando  de  Soto,'  1880, 
Luna's  expedition  penetrated  into  the  Valley  river  valley  in 
Georgia  and  there  mined  for  gold,  but  this  statement  is  ques- 
tioned by  Woodbury  Lowery  in  his  'Spanish  settlements 
within  the  present  Umits  of  the  United  States,'  New  York, 
1901,  p.  367.  There  appears  to  be  no  authority  for  the  state- 
ment that  this  expedition  entered  the  present  limits  of  North 
Carolina.  A  Spanish  account  of  this  expedition  will  be  found 
in  Garcilasco  de  la  Vega's  'La  Florida  del  Inca,'  Lisbon, 
1605."  1 

A  brief  history  of  early  gold  mining  in  the  Southern  states 
may  be  found  in  George  F.  Becker's  "Gold  fields  of  the  South- 
ern Appalachians, "  in  16th  annual  report  of  the  United  States 
Geological  Survey,  1894-95.  Some  historical  notes  of  interest 
are  given  in  Nitze  and  Wilkins'  "Gold  Mining  in  North  Caro- 
lina," Raleigh,  1897.  (North  Carolina  Geological  Survey 
Bulletin,  No.  10.)  ^ 

(552) 


MINES  AND  MINING  553 

"The  Specimen"  State.  There  are  a  great  many  kinds 
of  minerals  in  North  Carolina,  especially  in  the  mountain 
region.  But,  with  few  exceptions,  the  veins  or  deposits  are 
in  small  quantities — so  small  in  fact  as  to  have  given  the 
State  the  title  of  the  "Specimen  State."  Iron,  copper,  mica, 
talc,  kaolin,  barytes,  corundum,  garnet,  and  lime,  however, 
have  been  found  in  paying  quantities. 

Ancient  Diggings.  In  his  "Speeches  and  Writings" 
(p.  130)  Gen.  Clingman  gives  an  account  of  his  work  at  the 
Sink  Hole  mines  in  Mitchell  county  in  1867.  He  thought 
there  was  silver  ore  there  and  exhibited  some  of  it  to  several 
western  miners  in  New  York  City,  who  declared  it  would 
assay  three  hundred  dollars  to  a  ton;  but  it  produced  only 
about  three  dollars.  Gen.  Clingman,  however,  had  caused  a 
shaft  to  be  sunk  and  two  tunnels  to  be  carried  entirely  below 
the  old  excavations,  but  found  nothing  but  mica.  In  the 
same  chapter  he  speaks  of  a  tradition  among  the  Indians  that 
long  ago  white  men  came  on  mules  from  the  South  during 
the  summer  and  carried  off  a  white  metal  with  them,  and 
thinks  the  remains  of  old  works  in  Cherokee  give  countenance 
to  the  report. 

Sink  Hole  Mines.  These  are  about  seven  miles  south- 
west from  Bakersville  and  two  miles  from  Galax,  From 
present  appearances  it  Avould  seem  that  a  large  number  of 
men  had  been  at  work  there  for  years.  The  mines  are  on  a 
ridge  in  front  of  D.  Pinkney  Chandler's  home,  and  are  from 
sixty  to  eighty  feet  in  diameter  at  the  top.  They  extend 
along  a  ridge  for  one-third  of  a  mile.  They  seem  to  have  been 
a  series  of  concentric  holes,  all  of  which  have  long  since  filled 
up  from  the  debris  which  had  been  removed  from  them.  But, 
standing  with  their  roots  on  some  of  this  waste  originally 
taken  from  these  holes  are  several  large  trees  nearly  three 
feet  in  diameter.  "Timber,"  says  Gen.  Clingman,  "which 
I  examined,  that  had  grown  on  the  earth  thrown  out,  had  been 
growing  as  long  as  three  hundred  years."  He  speaks  also  of 
"a  slab  of  stone  near  one  of  these  workings  that  had  evi- 
dently been  marked  by  blows  of  a  metalic  tool."  But  Mr. 
Chandler,  who  has  lived  there  and  worked  in  the  mines,  thinks 
the  miners  carried  the  waste  from  these  holes  on  their  heads 
or  shoulders,  and  dug  do^vnward  only  so  long  as  the  inclined, 
cone-like  sides  would  bear  a  narrow,  spiral  track  used  to  remove 


554        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

the  earth.  The  walls  are  not  perpendicular,  but  sloping, 
making  a  hole  in  the  shape  of  an  inverted  cone.  The  marks 
of  tools  are  still  visible  on  these  sloping  sides  when  the  dirt 
that  has  fallen  back  is  thrown  out;  for  this  earth  that  once 
had  been  removed  is  still  loose,  and  one  can  tell  the  moment 
he  gets  outside  the  original  excavation  by  the  increased  hard- 
ness of  the  ground.  Stone  tools  five  or  six  inches  in  length, 
flattened,  and  two  or  three  inches  broad  are  still  there,  and 
some  have  been  found  at  the  bottom  of  these  holes.  Mr. 
Charles  D.  Stewart  of  Pinola  dug  out  one  of  the  highest  of  these 
sink  holes  in  1872  to  a  depth  of  42  feet,  removing  therefrom 
a  tree  that  had  grown  in  the  hole,  with  three  hundred  rings 
in  its  trunk.  He  also  got  stone  tools  out  of  this  hole.  While 
Gen.  Clingman  was  at  work  there  a  tinner  named  Heap  hap- 
pened in,  and  taking  a  block  of  the  mica,  which  had  been 
thrown  out  as  worthless,  to  Knoxville  found  that  there  was 
a  market  for  it,  and  returned  with  a  partner  named  Clapp, 
and  these  worked  the  mine  profitably  several  years.  William 
Silver,  about  this  time,  ran  a  tunnel  under  this  ridge  seventeen 
hundred  feet  to  drain  the  mine  on  his  land,  which  was  about 
halfway  the  length  of  the  ridge.  J.  K.  Irby  and  D.  K.  Young 
also  worked  there.  Others  are  working  there  now,  but  get- 
ting only  small  returns.  At  the  bottom  of  these  mines  the 
ground  is  too  hard  for  stone  tools.  Gen.  Clingman  also  mined 
for  silver  on  Clingman's  branch  of  Beech  creek  in  1871. 
(Watauga  County  Deed  Book  No.  3,  page  595.) 

The  Garrett  Ray  Mines.  These  are  near  Bakersville, 
and  when  a  boy  Mr.  Ray  observed  a  line  of  stone  posts  about 
fifteen  feet  apart  on  a  mountain  slope  of  his  father's  farm, 
and  years  afterward  found  that  they  marked  a  valuable  mica 
mine,  whose  limits  did  not  extend  beyond  them.  They  had 
never  been  worked,  though  there  were  a  series  of  round  basin- 
like holes  in  the  soil  of  the  slope. 

Ancient  Mining  in  Clay  County.  On  a  ridge  on  the 
left  bank  of  Toonah  creek,  in  Clay  county,  are  many  evidences 
of  early  mining,  the  surface  of  the  earth  having  been  left  in 
many  small  but  distinct  ridges.  Gold  in  small  quantities  is 
found  in  the  creek  bed,  and  the  character  of  the  white  quartz 
rock  and  pebbles  still  tempts  searchers  after  gold  to  pan  and 
wash  the  sand  and  gravel  from  the  nearby  hills.  It  has  never 
paid,  however. 


MINES  AND  MINING  555 

Mica  Mines  in  Ashe.  Of  the  mica  niiiics  in  A.-she  county 
the  Director  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey  says 
(1909): 

"Hamilton  Mine  is  on  the  west  slope  of  a  mountain 
two  miles  northwest  of  Beaver  creek.  It  was  reopened  by  the 
Johnson-Hardin  Company  in  1007.  Two  tunnels  were  run  into 
the  hillside  along  the  vein."  The  character  and  quality  of  the 
mica  are  stated. 

The  North  Hurdin  mine  is  on  a  ridge  about  one  and  a  half 
miles  west  of  Beaver  creek  and  has  been  worked  on  a  large 
scale.  It  was  operated  by  two  open  cuts  and  other  pits,  etc., 
which  have  proved  the  continuity  of  the  pigmatite  for  over 
100  yards  and  shown  the  thickness  to  vary  from  three  to  eight 
feet.  "  The  mica  has  a  beautiful  rum  color  and  is  of  the  best 
grade." 

The  South  Hardin  mine  is  near  the  top  of  a  small  moun- 
tain or  hill  about  one  and  one-half  miles  southwest  of  Beaver 
creek.  "  The  color  of  the  mica  obtained  was  a  clear  rum  color 
and  the  quality  the  best."  The  quartz  streaks  along  the  foot 
wall  of  the  pigmatite  contained  beryl  crystals  from  less  than 
an  inch  to  six  to  eight  inches  in  diameter. 

Other  Noted  Mica  Mines.  There  are  other  noted  mica 
mines  in  what  was  formerly  Mitchell  county,  among  them 
being  Clarissa,  the  Seeb  Miller  mine  near  Flat  Rock,  where 
Ray  and  Anderson  killed  two  men  in  a  fight  over  the  prop- 
erty in  1884,  and  the  Deake  mine,  near  Spruce  Pine.  There  are 
several  mica  mines  in  Yancey  and  Macon,  from  one  of  the 
latter,  the  lotla  Bridge  kaolin  and  mica  mine,  a  block  of 
mica  was  taken  "in  1907,  which  measured  about  29  by  36 
inches  across  and  was  about  four  feet  thick.  "^  There  are 
numerous  other  mica  mines,  in  Jackson,  Madison  and  Transyl- 
vania.    In  1910  there  were  over  150  producers. 

Uses  for  Mica.  Mica  is  used  in  sheet  and  ground  form — 
sheet  mica  for  stoves  and  lamps  and  for  glazing,  and  it  is  also 
punched  into  disks  and  washers  or  cut  by  shears  for  use  in 
stoves  and  electrical  apparatus.  Ground  mica  is  used  as  an 
insulating  material  in  electrical  machinery,  wall  paper,  etc. 
The  value  of  the  production  of  mica  in  North  Carohna  in 
1910  was  §230,460,"  as  compared  with  $148,424  in  1909. 
The  average  price  of  sheet  mica  in  the  United  States  in  1910 
was  11.5  cents  per  pound,  as  compared  with  12.9  in  1909;  but 


556        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

the  average  price  of  sheet  mica  in  North  CaroUna  was  42.5 
per  pound,  by  far  the  highest  price  paid. 

"Among  the  many  varieties  of  mica  only  two  are  considered  of  eco- 
nomic importance  because  of  their  physicial  i)ropcrties;  i.  e.,  muscovite 
and  phlogopite.  Of  these  two  varieties  muscovite  alone  is  found  in 
quantities  of  commercial  importance  in  North  Carolina.  Small  quanti- 
ties of  biotite  mica  (black  mica)  have  been  used  for  commercial  purposes 
within  the  last  few  years,  however,  and  another  variety,  the  lepidohte, 
has  been  used  as  a  source  of  lithium  salts.  Chemically,  muscovite  is  a 
silicate  of  aluminum  and  potash  with  a  small  amount  of  water;  phlogo- 
phite  is  a  silicate  of  magnesium,  aluminum  and  potassium;  and  piotite  is 
a  silicate  of  magnesium,  iron,  aluminum,  and  potassium.  The  three 
micas  are  very  similar  in  physical  properties  except  color." 

Corundum  and  Emery.  These  minerals  are  found  in  Clay, 
Macon,  Swain,  Jackson,  Transylvania,  Buncombe,  Madison, 
Yancey  and  Mitchell  counties.  The  following  facts  are  from 
Vol.  I  of  the  N.  C.  Geological  Survey,  1905,  on  Corundum  and 
the  Periodites.  It  contains  464  pages  and  is  devoted  entirely 
to  this  subject.  It  can  be  had  by  paying  the  postage.  It 
covers  the  ground  fully. 

Corundum  was  first  discovered  in  Madison  county  in  1847, 
about  three  miles  below  Marshall,  at  the  mouth  of  Little 
Pine  creek.  The  late  Dr.  C.  D.  Smith  of  Franklin,  discov- 
ered corundum  on  both  sides  of  Buck  creek  in  Clay  county 
prior  to  1875,  and  Major  Bryson  did  some  prospecting  there 
in  that  year,  followed  two  years  later  by  Frank  Meminger,  who 
worked  six  months  and  removed  about  30  tons.  In  1887  a  INIr. 
Ernst  did  some  work  at  Buck  creek,  but  from  then  till  about 
1891  the  mine  lay  idle.  About  this  time,  however,  Mr.  Greg- 
ory Hart  of  Detroit,  Mich.,  worked  it  on  a  larger  scale  for 
about  eighteen  months.  About  1893  the  Hamden  Emery  and 
Corundum  Company  purchased  the  mine  and  worked  it  to  some 
extent,  sending  the  mined  product  to  the  Corundum  Hill  works 
to  be  cleaned.  It  is  now  owned  by  the  International  Emery  and 
Corundum  Company  of  New  York.  There  is  every  indication  of 
an  almost  inexhaustible  amount  of  corundum  at  this  mine.  It 
is  said  to  be  too  far  from  the  nearest  railroad  point  to  justify 
its  operation.  The  completion  of  a  short  logging  road  from 
Andrews  to  Chogah  gap  will  considerably  lessen  this  distance. 
Just  across  the  mountain,  on  the  head  of  Shooting  creek  is  the 
Isbel  mine  and  factory,  where  considerable  work  was  done 
about  1897-1898.     It  is  now  idle. 


MINES  AND  MINING  557 

Corundum  Hill.  Corundum  Hill  mine,  seven  miles  from 
Franklin  on  Cullasaja  creek,  was  worked  as  early  as  1871  by 
the  late  Col.  C.  W.  Jonks.  From  1878  to  1900  from  200  to 
300  tons  of  corundum  were  cleaned  up  there  every  year,  since 
which  time  only  a  small  amount  has  been  mined.  It  is  owned 
by  the  International  Emery  and  Corundum  Company  of  New 
York.  The  late  Dr.  H.  S.  Lucas  was  active  in  mining  these 
minerals  in  ]\Iacon  county  for  several  years,  and  is  credited 
with  having  made  money  in  the  business.  The  Buck  creek 
and  Corundum  Hill  mines  are  the  most  important  as  they  have 
been  the  most  productive  mines  in  the  State. 

Cranberry  Ore  Bank.  "The  Cranberry  Ore  Bank  in  Mitchell 
[now  Avery]  is  pronounced  by  Professor  Kerr  '  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  iron  deposits  in  America.'  Its  location  is  on  the 
western  slope  of  Iron  mountain,  in  the  northwest  part  of  the 
county,  about  three  miles  from  the  Tennessee  line.  It  takes 
the  name  Cranberry  from  the  creek  which  flows  near  the  out- 
crop at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  The  surrounding  and  asso- 
ciated rocks  are  gneisses  and  gneissoids,  hornblende,  slate  and 
syenite.  The  ore  is  a  pure,  massive  and  coarse  granular  mag- 
netite. The  steep  slope  of  the  mountain  and  ridges,  which  the 
bed  occupies,  are  covered  with  blocks  of  ore,  some  weighing 
hundreds  of  pounds,  and  at  places  bare,  vertical  walls  of  mas- 
sive ore,  10  to  15  feet  thick,  are  exposed,  and  over  several 
acres  the  solid  ore  is  found  everywhere  near  the  surface.  The 
length  of  the  outcrop  is  1,500  feet,  and  the  width  200  to  800 
feet"  (State  Geological  Report).  It  was  worked  in  1820^ 
b\'  the  Dugger  family.  (See  Chapter  XVI,  "Notable  Cases 
and  Decisions,"  section  headed  "Carter  v.  Hoke.") 

Cranberry's  Antecedents.  Dayton  Hunter,  Esq.,  a 
lawj^er  of  Elizabethton,  Tenn.,  owns  the  land  on  which  stood 
the  first  iron  works  of  Tennessee,  a  deed  now  in  Jonesboro, 
Tenn.,  calling  in  1778  for  Landon  Carter's  Forge  Race.  This 
forge  stood  about  700  feet  east  of  the  present  court  house  of 
Carter  county.  This  Landon  Carter  was  the  father  of  S.  P. 
Carter,  who  was  both  an  admiral  in  the  navy  and  a  lieuten- 
ant general  in  the  army  of  the  United  States.  Dayton  Hunter 
married  a  daughter  of  Rev.  W.  B.  Carter,  a  Presbyterian 
minister  and  a  noted  Greek  and  Latin  scholar.  Whether 
Charles  Asher  had  anything  to  do  with  this  forge  is  not  knoum, 
but  on  the  18th  of  December,  1795,  he  and  his  wife  Mollv 


558        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

conveyed  to  Julius  Dugger  for  seventy  pounds,  "current  money 
of  Virginia,"  (Deed  Book  A,  p.  178),  88^  acres  on  the  south 
side  of  Watauga  river,  being  part  of  a  grant  from  North  Caro- 
lina to  said  Charles  Asher;  and  in  May,  1802,  John  Asher  con- 
veyed to  the  same  Dugger  45  additional  acres  on  the  same 
side  of  the  same  river  (Deed  Book  C,  p.  421).  On  the  20th  of 
November,  1822,  John  Asher  (a  son  of  Charles  and  Molly)  con- 
veyed to  William  Dugger  (Deed  Book  C,  p.  577)  one-fourth 
of  all  the  land  on  Watauga  river,  "including  the  Forge," 
beginning  on  a  mulberry  tree  on  the  north  side  of  the  Forge 
dam,  and  containing  three  acres  and  54  poles,  "which  bar- 
gained land  and  one -fourth  of  the  same,  including  the  iron 
works,  with  all  appurtenances  thereunto  belonging,  or  in 
anywise  appertaining,  with  free  privilege  of  roads  for  the 
use  of  said  iron  works,  together  with  the  building  or  repair- 
ing timber  for  the  use  of  said  Forge,  and  free  course  for  water 
to  said  Iron  Works,"  is  the  first  reference  on  the  records  to 
the  old  Dugger  Forge,  four  miles  above  Butler,  Tenn.,  on 
the  north  side  of  Watauga  river.  This  would  also  indicate, 
what  tradition  preserves,  that  Asher  was  the  original  iron 
master,  and  that  he  took  the  Duggers  in  with  him.  Joshua 
Perkins,  who  is  said  to  have  built  the  Cranberry  forge  for 
the  Duggers,  was  a  son  of  Jacob  Perkins  to  whom  on  the  18th 
of  September,  1811,  Richard  White,  of  Washington  county, 
Va.,  conveyed,  for  $1,500,  250  acres  on  the  north  side  of 
Watauga  river  opposite  the  mouth  of  Elk  creek,  reserving  to 
himself  a  right  of  way  over  the  land  conveyed,  "up  the  hollow," 
in  order  to  avoid  the  jutting  rock-cliff  which  formerly  blocked 
the  passage  of  the  road  on  the  right  bank.  This  is  the  time 
that  Richard  White  left  for  Missouri,  according  to  the  tradi- 
tion of  that  locality.  So  it  would  seem  that  Landon  Carter 
was  the  forefather  of  Cranberry  Forge,  that  he  was  succeeded 
by  Charles  and  John  Asher,  and  the  Duggers,  while  Joshua 
Perkins  was  the  real  builder  of  Cranberry  Forge  in  1820. 

Magnetic  City.  Soon  after  the  Civil  War  John  L.  Wilder 
and  associates  started  a  forge  on  Big  Rock  creek,  and  a  town, 
which  received  the  name  of  Magnetic  City.  But  it  was  too 
far  at  that  time  from  a  railroad,  and  the  forge  was  abandoned. 
The  white  houses  around  Magnetic  City  and  the  little  valley 
in  which  they  are  situated  afford  a  pleasant  surprise  to  the 
traveler  when  he  first  catches  a  glimpse  of  them. 


MINES  AND  MINING  559 

The  Davidson  River  Iron  Works.  Charles  Moore, 
grandfather  of  Judge  Charles  A.  Moore  of  Asheville,  James  W. 
Patton  and  Thomas  Miller  of  Henderson  county,  many  years 
before  the  Civil  War,  made  a  contract  with  George  Shuford,  a 
millwright,  father  of  Judge  George  A.  Shuford,  to  build  a  forge 
or  furnace  and  a  mill  on  Davidson  River,  some  of  the  iron  ore 
being  hauled  from  Boylston  creek,  although  some  was  brought 
only  three  or  four  miles  from  a  mine  on  the  Boylston  road. 
The  hammer  used  in  connection  with  this  iron  forge  or  fur- 
nace was  operated  by  water.  These  owners  afterwards  be- 
came incorporated  as  the  Davidson  River  Iron  Works.  It 
was  in  operation  until  after  the  commencement  of  the  Civil 
War,  when  the  Confederate  Government  took  charge  of  it  and 
operated  it  till  its  collapse.  After  the  war  it  was  reopened 
and  Judge  Shuford  remembers  seeing  from  fifty  to  sixty  hands 
at  work  there  as  late  as  186G.  ^ 

The  Sutton  Forge.  There  was  also  another  iron  forge  or 
furnace  on  Mills  river,  kno\vn  as  the  Sutton  forge,  because  it 
was  owned  by  a  man  named  Sutton.  This,  however,  was  not 
on  so  large  a  scale  as  that  on  Davidson  river. 

Meredith  Ballou,  Pioneer  Miner.  From  Mr.  V.  E. 
Ballou  of  Grassy  creek  we  learn  that  there  are  valuable  iron 
mines  from  eight  to  twelve  miles  from  Jefferson  and  about 
fifteen  miles  from  Troutdale,  Va.,  the  nearest  railroad  sta- 
tion. ^  They  were  first  discovered  by  Meredith  Ballou,  the 
great-grandfather  of  V.  E.  Ballou  who  came  to  Ashe  from 
Virginia  among  the  first  settlers.  These  iron  properties  are 
still  owned  principally  by  natives  of  Ashe  county,  among 
whom  are  J.  U.  Ballou,  Dr.  Thos.  J.  Jones,  the  Gentry  heirs, 
B.  Sturgill  and  J.  U.  Ballou.  Napoleon  B.  Ballou  was  the 
son  of  Meredith  and  the  father  of  J.  U.  Ballou  "who  built 
the  first  bloomery  forge  and  made  the  first  iron  in  the  State, 
which  industry  was  carried  on  till  about  the  year  1890  or 
1891.  Since  that  time  there  has  been  expended  in  Ashe 
county  some  .S275,000  or  $300,000  in  the  way  of  purchase 
money  and  development  work.  This  work  has  proven  that 
there  are  large,  well  defined  veins  of  ore  of  a  superior  quality 
in  this  section  of  the  State,  but  only  one  of  these  properties 
has  been  transferred  to  any  large  capitalist."  (See  J.  H, 
Pratt's  "Geological  History  of  Western  North  Carolina," 
in  Chapter  XXIV  of  this  history.) 


560        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Iron  Production.  ^  The  Cranberry  Iron  mine  has  pro- 
duced almost  all  the  iron  that  has  been  produced  in  North 
Carolina  for  years.  It  produces  a  pig  iron  of  exceptional 
quality,  commanding  a  high  price.  It  is  magnetic,  and  the 
crude  ore  is  shipped  to  Knoxville  for  reduction.  It  has  been 
a  constant  producer  for  twenty-five  years.  Nearly  one  hun- 
dred years  ago  iron  was  made  there  by  the  old  Bloomery 
methods,  and  no  better  iron  has  since  been  made  by  any 
method. 

Authentic  Information.  From  "The  Iron  Manufactur- 
er's Guide"  (1859,  by  J.  P.  Lesley),  quoted  by  Prof.  Joseph 
Hyde  Pratt  in  his  "Geological  History  of  Western  North 
Carolina,"  in  the  chapter  preceding  this  in  this  history, 
we  get  what  is  otherwise  a  matter  of  conjecture  and  doubt 
as  to  the  date  and  names  of  the  different  "bloomeries"  and 
iron  works  of  this  region.  There  is  also  a  mass  of  valuable 
information  concerning  other  mines  and  mining  bj'^  Prof.  Pratt 
in  that  article,  to  which  reference  is  particularly  invited. 

Ore  Knob  Copper  Mine  of  Ashe  County.  (Informa- 
tion by  Messrs.  John  Dent  and  H.  D.  Baker.)  About  nine  miles 
east  of  Jefferson,  is  the  Ore  Knob  Copper  mine  in  Ashe  county, 
which  was  first  opened  and  worked  for  iron  by  Meredith 
Ballou,  a  Frenchman,  many  years  ago.  He  mined  the  ore 
and  hauled  it  to  his  forge  at  the  mouth  of  Helton  creek,  and 
made  wrought  iron  of  it;  but  it  was  found  to  contain  too  much 
copper  and  sulphur,  coating  up  the  tools  with  copper,  and 
was  not  so  good  as  that  from  the  North  fork  of  the  New  river. 
About  four  years  before  the  Civil  War  a  Virginia  corporation, 
known  as  the  Buckhannon  Company,  operated  Ore  Knob 
for  copper,  and  hauled  the  richest  ore  to  Wytheville,  Va., 
sixty  miles  away,  by  wagons,  drawn  by  shod  oxen.  These  men 
had  bought  it  from  Jesse  Reeves,  and  after  working  the  mine 
a  year  or  more,  sold  it  to  George  S.  Miller  and  associates,  who, 
after  the  Civil  War,  sold  it  to  the  Clayton  Co.,  of  Baltimore, 
Md.  This  company,  under  the  management  of  John  Dent, 
now  a  resident  of  Jefferson,  developed  the  mine  scientifically, 
had  the  best  of  machinery  installed,  and  established  a  smelter 
at  the  mine.  They  began  work  about  1873  and  continued 
it  till  about  1877,  when  the  price  of  copper  declined.  They 
shipped  the  manufactured  sheet  copper  to  Baltimore,  via 
Marion,  Va.,  and  worked  from  300  to  600  hands.     Work  seems 


MINES  AND  MINING  561 

to  have  continued  in  a  smaller  way  till  1880,  when  it  stopped 
altogether,  ]Mr.  Dent  leaving  there  in  December,  1883.  This 
is  the  first  place  in  North  Carolina  where  copper  was  made 
from  the  ore  and  refined  up  to  the  Lake  Superior  grade.  The 
ore  was  piled  on  burning  wood  heaps  and  burned  from  five  to 
to  seven  weeks,  by  which  time  most  of  the  sulphur  would 
have  been  driven  off,  after  which  the  roasted  ore  was  smelted 
with  charcoal  in  shaft  furnaces  and  refined  down  to  99}/^  per 
cent  pure  copper.  The  vein's  general  direction  is  northeast 
and  southwest,  with  nearly  a  vertical  dip.  Among  the  prin- 
cipal stockholders  of  the  company  were  James  E.  and  S.  S. 
Clayton  and  J.  S.  and  Herman  Williams.  ^  The  land  in  which 
the  mine  lay  had  belonged  to  John  W.  Martin,  who  conveyed 
his  interest  therein  to  the  Clayton  Company,  the  mineral 
rights  therein  having  been  sold  under  execution  at  the  court 
house  door  and  bought  in  by  the  same  company.  Work 
was  commenced  on  the  17th  day  of  March,  1873.  Some 
suppose  that  this  was  a  mere  pocket;  but  its  distance  from  a 
railroad  was  probably  the  true  reason  of  its  abandonment. 
There  is  an  undeveloped  copper  mine  on  Gap  creek,  near  the 
line  between  Ashe  and  Watauga. 

Elk  Knob  Copper  Company.  ^ "  In  1899  this  company 
entered  into  a  contract  with  J.  A.  Zinns  and  Joseph  Bock  of 
^Minnesota  for  the  operation  of  a  copper  mine  on  Elk  Knob, 
and  bought  the  engine  of  Vassas  Brothers,  who  had  failed  at 
making  pipes  out  of  laurel  roots  in  Boone,  which  business 
the}'  had  started  in  1897  in  a  building  in  the  rear  of  Blackburn's 
hotel.  ^  ^  The  copper  mine  was  abandoned  in  a  few  years, 
and  litigation  ensued  between  Zinns  and  Bock. 

CuLLOWHEE  Copper  Mine.  This  is  in  Jackson  county, 
where  some  copper  was  produced  in  1909  and  1910;  but  it  is 
almost  too  far  from  a  railroad  to  pay.  It  has  a  shaft  177 
feet  deep  and  a  tunnel  4,000  feet  in  length. 

Adams- Westfeldt  Copper  Mine.  This  is  on  Hazel  creek 
in  Swain  county;  but  the  property  has  been  in  litigation  since 
1900.  It  is  on  the  lead  from  Ducktown,  and  is  said  to  be  rich. 
(See  this  case  in  Chapter  XVI.) 

Graphite.  The  Connally  mine  at  Graphiteville,  between 
Round  Knob  and  the  Swannanoa  tunnel  is  in  McDowell 
county.  It  was  operated  a  few  years  prior  to  1907,  but,  owing 
to  the  difficulty  of  extracting  the  ore  economically,  it  was 

\V.  N.  C— 36 


562        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

abandoned.     There  is  said  to  be  an  inexhaustible  quantity 
on  the  land. 

Kaolin.  Is  obtained  principally  from  Jackson,  Mitchell 
and  Swain  counties.  Over  $100,000  of  this  mineral  has  been 
produced  in  this  State  in  a  year. 

Amethyst  has  been  found  in  Macon,  especially  on  Tes- 
sentee  creek.  The  Connally  mine  on  this  creek  has  been 
worked  by  the  American  Gem  and  Pearl  Company  of  New  York, 
and  the  Rhodes  mine  by  the  Passmore  Gem  Company  of 
Boston. 

Talc  and  Pyrophylite  Deposits.  There  are  talc  deposits 
in  Swain  and  Cherokee  counties.  A.  A.  Campbell  of  Cher- 
okee was  the  pioneer  in  this  mining,  having  shipped  it  by 
wagons  before  the  days  of  railroads  to  Cleveland,  Tennessee. 
It  was  then  $80  per  ton,  however.  It  was  used  as  early  as 
1859  to  line  the  copper  furnaces  at  Ducktown,  Tenn.  The 
principal  talc  mines  are  the  North  Carolina  Talc  and  ]\  lining 
Company  at  Hewitts,  Swain  county ;  the  Alba  Mineral 
Company  near  Kinsey,  Cherokee  county ;  the  American 
Talc  Company,  and  the  Glendon  Mining  and  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  at  Glendon,  Moore  county.  Hewitts  mine  is 
the  largest  and  best.  Water  interfered  with  the  operation 
some  years  ago,  but  that  has  since  been  remedied.  There  is  also 
a  talc  mine  in  Mitchell  county,  near  Spruce  Pine. 

Barytes.  Crude  barytes  has  been  produced  in  the  vicinity 
of  Marshall,  Stackhouse,  Sandy  Bottom  and  Hot  Springs  in 
JVIadison  county.  This  substance  has  been  produced  in  this 
county  since  1884.  The  value  of  the  product  in  1910  was 
$145,315.  Owing  to  its  weight,  it  is  called  "heavy  spar." 
There  was  a  mill  for  crushing  barytes  at  Warm  Springs  (now 
Hot  Springs)  in  August,  1884.     ("  On  Horseback,"  page  139.) 

Thulite  was  mined  in  North  Carolina,  in  the  Flat  Rock 
mine,  in  1908.  It  furnishes  attractive  gems  when  cut  en 
cahochon  with  the  enclosing  feldspar. 

Zircon  was  produced  in  1909  from  the  Jones  mine  near 
Zirconia,  Henderson  county,  when  operated  by  M.  C.  and  C. 
F.  Toms.     Two  thousand  pounds  in  1909  was  valued  at  $250. 

Precious  Stones.  During  1908,  1909  and  1910  there  was 
little  systematic  mining  for  gems  in  this  region. 

Marble  and  Limestone.  The  main  marble  outcropping 
begins  on  the  Nantahala  river  below  Hewitts  and  extends 


MINES  AND  MINING  563 

southward  down  to  ^'alley  river,  a  distance  of  over  25  miles. 
A  shorter  and  parallel  band  extends  from  the  head  of  Peach- 
tree  creek  nearly  ten  miles  southwestward  and  up  Little 
Brasstown  creek.  The  North  Carolina  Mining  and  Talc 
Comjiany  are  developing  their  marble  deposits  at  Hewitts. 
High  freight  rates  prevent  the  development  of  this  property. 

The  Casperis  Marble  Company.  The  Casperis  Marble 
Company  is  now  operating  marble  quarries  at  Regal,  a  few 
miles  east  of  Murphy,  and  is  supplying  stone  to  several  rail- 
roads. Mr.  S.  Casperis  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  is  one  of  the 
largest  stone  operators  in  the  United  States.  An  extensive 
finishing  plant  employing  about  50  men  is  operated  in  con- 
nection with  the  quarry.  The  quality  of  what  this  company 
calls  the  "Regal  Blue,"  now  being  quarried,  is  said  to  be 
unexccled  in  the  United  States.  The  possibilities  of  marble 
production  near  Andrews  and  Brasstown  appear  to  be  almost 
limitless. 

Chasing  Petroleum  Rainbows.  Notwithstanding  the 
opinion  of  scientists  that  "there  is  no  petroleum  to  be  found 
in  the  area  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  in  North  Carolina,  as  the 
rocks  were  formed  long  before  the  period  of  time  at  which 
those  carrjang  petroleum  were  formed,"  in  the  year  of  grace 
1902,  in  the  county  of  Buncombe,  and  within  two  miles  of 
Asheville,  W.  A.  Baird  and  wife  and  many  others  on  Beaver- 
dam  creek  in  Buncombe  county,  gave  W.  T.  Sidell  and  E. 
E.  Stewart  of  West  Virginia,  leases  to  mine  oil  and  gas  for 
one-eighth  part  of  the  oil  and  $200  a  year  for  the  use  of  all 
the  gas  that  might  be  discovered  or  produced.  (Deed  Book, 
124,  p.  73.) 

Oil  Excitement  on  Cove  Creek.  Soon  after  the  Big 
Freshet  of  May,  1901,  indications  of  oil  appeared  near  N.  L. 
Mast's  store  on  Cove  creek,  Watauga  county;  and  A.  J. 
McBride,  a  reputable  citizen,  collected  the  oily  film  on  top  of 
a  pool  of  water  by  absorbing  it  with  blotting  paper.  This 
burned  brilliantly;  and  in  July,  1902,  W.  R.  Lovill,  Esq.,  a 
lawyer  of  Boone,  obtained  options  on  the  lands  of  J.  T.  Combs 
and  members  of  his  family,  B.  F.  Bingham,  T.  B.  Fletcher  and 
others,  for  one  year.  Mr.  Lovill  interested  Gen.  J.  S.  Carr  of 
Durham  in  the  matter,  and  the  latter  sent  Major  Hamlet  of 
Roanoke  to  investigate.  The  flat  formation  of  the  rock  strata 
indicates  unmistakably  the    presence  of  oil,  but  the  ancient 


564        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

character  of  the  rocks  contradicted  these  indications,  they 
being  gneiss  of  the  oldest  character.  But,  during  the  year 
1907,  the  Carohna  Valley  Oil  and  Gas  Company,  composed 
of  men  from  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  put  dowm  a  hole 
near  N.  L.  Mast's  store  800  feet  deep,  and  then  abandoned 
the  work,  claiming  that  the  drill  had  begun  to  take  a  slant- 
ing course.  This  company  had  a  map  prepared  which  indi- 
cated that  there  is  oil  in  many  places  in  Watauga  and  Avery 
counties.  It  is  certain  that  the  formation  of  the  rock  strata 
along  the  lower  part  of  Cove  creek  and  below  its  entrance 
into  Watauga  river  is  as  nearly  flat  as  it  is  possible  to  be. 
Oil  leases  were  also  taken  on  lands  around  Sutherland,  Ashe 
county. 

Age  of  Our  Rock  Formation.  From  Professor  Pratt's 
Geological  History  of  Western  North  Carohna,  Chapter  XXIV, 
in  this  work,  it  is  clear  that  ''all  the  rocks  of  Western  North 
Carolina  are  amongst  the  oldest  geologic  formations,"  from 
which  we  may  conclude  that  we  are  occupying  land  that  is 
more  ancient  than  that  of  the  Euphrates,  the  Nile,  •  or  the 
Jordan,  so  long  associated  in  our  minds  with  the  Garden  of 
Eden,  the  Ptolemys  and  Old  Testament  stories. 

High  Honor  for  Our  Native  Gems.  In  the  "Carolina 
Mountains"  we  learn  that  the  finest  specimens  of  emerald 
green  crystalized  corundum  in  the  world,  measuring  43^x2x 
1^  inches,  is  now  in  the  Morgan-Bemet  collection  in  New  York. 
It  was  taken  from  Corundum  Hill,  near  Franklin,  in  1871. 
From  Cowee  creek  comes  the  new  gem  Rhodolite,  "remark- 
able for  its  transparency  and  great  brilhancy  (p.  268),"  large 
sea-blue  aquamarines,  and  beryls,  both  sea-green  and  j^el- 
low,  tourmalines,  purple  amethyst,  discovered  on  Tessen- 
tee  creek  by  a  landshde,  and  "smoky  and  citron-green 
quartz  crystals  in  the  Black  mountains,  .  .  .  from 
which  have  been  cut  many  beautiful  objects  by  the 
Tiffany  lapidaries  of  New  York"  (p.  272).  Salmon-pink 
chalcedony,  agates,  green  chrysoprase  and  red  and  yellow  jas- 
per, also  are  mentioned.  North  Carolina  minerals  "are  treas- 
ured in  the  greatest  collections  in  the  world,  in  this  country 
very  fine  ones  being  on  exhibition  in  the  Metropolitan  jNIu- 
seum  of  Art  and  the  American  Museum  of  Natural  History 
(N.  Y.),  in  the  U.  S.  National  Museum  at  Washington,  D.  C, 
in  the  Field  Columbian  Museum,  Chicago,  as  well  as  many 
smaller  museums." 


MINES  AND  MINING  565 


Value  of  Mineral  Production  in  Followinq  Counties.'^ 

County  1909  1910 

Alleghany $        400  $  500 

Ashe 155  500 

Buncombe 82,844  64,505 

Cherokee 31 ,283  22,325 

Clay 

Graham 

Haywood 1,550  7,075 

Henderson 99,480  60,882 

Jaekson 51,599  53,804 

Macon 45,732  50,300 

Madison ,....       21,785  20,224 

MitcheU 191,777  259,127 

Swain 99,564  80,983 

Transylvania 7 ,  337  6 ,  771 

Watauga  and  Wayne 46,338  59,810 

Yancey 32,660  59,284 

NOTES. 

tH.  H.  B.  Meyer,  Chief  Bibliographer  Congressional  Library,  to  J.  P.  A.,  January  16, 
1912. 

nbid.' 

'Economic  Paper  No.  23,  N.  C.  Geo.  and  Econ.  Survey,  1911. 

«Ibid. 

sprom  "The  Iron  Manufacturer's  Guide,"  1859,  by  J.  P.  Lesley. 

•Not  mentioned  in  "The  Iron  Manufacturer's  Guide,"  1S59,  by  J.  P.  Lesley. 

'Harbard's  Bloomery  Forge  at  the  mouth  of  Holton  creek  was  built  in  1807,  and  washed 
awav  in  1817;  "Iron  Manufacturer's  Guide,"  1859. 

^Economic  Papei  No.  23,  N.  C.  G.  and  E.  Survey,  1911,  p.  30. 

The  Ore  Knot)  Mining  Co.  was  incorporated  by  Ch.  29,  Pr.  Laws  of  N.  C,  1881,  John 
S.  WiUiams,  Washington  Booth,  James  E.  Tyson  and  others  of  Baltimore  and  James  E. 
Clayton  and  others  of  Ashe  incorporators. 

"lODeed  Book  V,  Watauga,  p.  238. 

"Ibid,  T,  p.  472. 

»2From  25th  Annual  Report  of  the  Department  of  Labor,  1911. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
THE  CHEROKEES 

The  Origin  of  the  Indians.  William  Penn  saw  a  strik- 
ing likeness  between  the  Jews  of  London  and  the  American 
Indians.  Some  claim  that  the  stories  of  the  Old  Testament 
are  legends  in  some  Indian  tribes.  In  the  Jewish  Encyclo- 
pedia it  is  said  that  the  Hebrews,  after  the  captivity,  separated 
themselves  from  the  heathen  in  order  to  observe  their  peculiar 
laws;  and  Manasseh  Ben  Israel  claims  that  America  and 
India  were  once  joined,  at  Bering  strait,  by  a  peninsula,  over 
which  these  Hebrews  came  to  America.  All  Indian  legends 
affirm  that  they  came  from  the  northwest.  When  first  visited 
by  Europeans,  Indians  were  very  religious,  worshiping  one  Great 
Spirit,  but  never  bowing  down  to  idols.  Their  name  for  the  deity 
was  Ale,  the  old  Hebrew  name  for  God.  In  their  dances  they 
said  "Hallelujah"  distinctly.  They  had  annual  festivals,  per- 
formed morning  and  evening  sacrifices,  offered  their  first  fruits 
to  God,  practiced  circumcision,  and  there  were  "cities  of 
refuge,"  to  which  offenders  might  fly  and  be  safe;  they  reck- 
oned time  as  did  the  Hebrews,  similar  superstitions  mark 
their  burial  places  "and  the  same  creeds  were  the  rule  of  their 
lives,  both  as  to  the  present  and  the  future."  They  had 
chief -ruled  tribes,  and  forms  of  government  almost  identical 
with  those  of  the  Hebrews.  Each  tribe  had  a  totem,  usually 
some  animal,  as  had  the  Israelites,  and  this  explains  why, 
in  the  blessing  of  Jacob  upon  his  sons,  Judah  is  surnamed  a 
lion,  Dan  a  serpent,  Benjamin  a  wolf,  and  Joseph  a  bough.  ^ 
There  are  also  resemblances  in  their  language  to  the  Latin 
and  Greek  tongues,  Chickamauga  meaning  the  field  of  death, 
and  Aquone  the  sound  of  water. 

The  Cherokees  a  Superior  Tribe.  ^  They  have  been 
known  as  one  of  the  largest  and  most  noteworthy  of  the  abo- 
riginal tribes,  and  formed  an  important  factor  in  both  English 
and  Spanish  pioneering.  Those  who  dwelt  in  the  mountains 
were  known  as  the  Otari  or  Overhill  Cherokees,  while  those 
dwelling  in  the  lowlands  were  called  the  Erati  ^  or  Low- 
land Cherokees.  They  had  their  own  national  govern- 
ment, and  numbered  from  20,000  to  25,000  persons.     They 

(566) 


THE  CHEROKEES  567 

are  "well  advanced  along  the  white  man's  road."  What  is 
now  knouTi  as  the  Eastern  band,  in  the  heart  of  the  Carolina 
mountains,  outnumbers  today  such  well-kno\vn  Western  tribes 
as  the  Omaha,  Pawnee,  Comanche  and  Kiowas,  and  it  is  among 
these,  "the  old  conservative  Kituhwa  element,  that  the 
ancient  things  have  been  preserved."  In  the  forests  of  Nan- 
tahala  and  Oconaluftee,  "the  Cherokee  priest  still  treasures 
the  legends  and  repeats  the  mystic  rituals"  of  his  ancestors. 
The  original  boundary  embraced  about  40,000  square  miles, 
from  the  head  streams  of  the  Kanawha  to  Atlanta,  and  from, 
the  Blue  Ridge  to  the  Cumberland  range,  with  Itsati,  or 
Echota,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Little  Tennessee  river,  a  few 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  Tellico  creek,  in  Tennessee,  as  its 
capital.  This  was  called  the  "City  of  Refuge."  They  call 
themselves  the  Yunwiga,  or  real  people,  and  on  ceremonial 
occasions  speak  of  themselves  as  Ani-Kituhwagi,  or  people 
of  Kituhwa,  an  ancient  settlement  on  the  Tuckaseegee  river, 
and  apparently  the  original  nucleus  of  the  tribe.  The  name 
by  which  they  are  now  known — Cherokee — has  no  meaning 
in  their  language,  and  the  form  among  them  is  Tsalagi  or 
Tsargi.  It  first  appears  as  Chalaque  in  the  Portugese  nar- 
rative of  DeSoto's  expedition,  while  Cheraqui  appears  in  a 
French  document  in  1699.  It  got  its  present  form  in  1708, 
thus  having  an  authentic  history  at  this  time  (1913)  of  275 
years.  They  admit  that  they  built  the  mounds  on  Grave 
creek  in  Ohio,  and  the  mounds  near  Charlottesville,  Va. 
They  had  also  lived  at  the  Peaks  of  Otter,  Va.  But  they 
disclaim  all  knowledge  of  the  mounds  and  petroglyphs  in 
North  Carolina,  Tennessee  and  Georgia. 

Traditions  of  White  and  Lilliputian  Races.  There 
is  a  dim  but  persistent  tradition  of  a  white  race  having  pre- 
ceded the  Cherokees  ;  and  of  a  tril)e  of  Lilliputians  or  very 
small  people,  who  once  lived  on  the  site  of  the  ancient  mound 
on  the  northern  side  of  Hiwassee  river,  at  the  mouth  of  Peach- 
tree  creek,  and  afterwards  went  west.  This  was  long  before 
the  normal  sized  whites  came.  Miss  Murphrey  has  preserved 
this  tradition  in  her   "In  the  Stranger  Peoples'   Country." 

Introduction  of  Small  Arms  and  Smallpox.  About 
1700  the  first  guns  were  introduced  among  the  Cherokees, 
and  in  1738  or  1739  smallpox  nearly  exterminated  the  tribe 
within  a  single  year.  It  had  been  brought  to  Charleston, 
S.  C,  on  a  slave  ship. 


568        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Other  Early  Incidents.  About  1740  a  trading  path 
from  Augusta  to  the  Cherokee  towns  at  the  head  of  the  Savan- 
nah, and  thence  to  the  west  was  marked  out  by  this  tribe, 
and  in  that  year  the  Cherokees  took  part  under  their  war 
chief,  "The  Raven,"  in  Oglethorpe's  expedition  against  the 
Spaniards  at  St.  Augustine.  In  1736  Christian  Priber,  a  Jesuit, 
acting  in  French  interest,  became  influential  among  them. 
He  was  a  most  worthy  member  of  that  illustrious  order  whose 
scholarship,  devotion  and  courage  have  been  exemplified 
from  the  days  of  Jogues  and  ^Marquette  down  to  DeSmet 
and  Mengarini.  In  1756  Fort  Prince  George  was  built  at 
the  head  of  the  Savannah,  and  Fort  Loudon  near  the  junction 
of  Tellico  creek  and  the  Little  Tennessee  river,  beyond  the 
mountains.  Disagreements  between  the  Cherokees  and  the 
South  Carolina  colonists  finally  resulted  in  the  seizure  of  Ocon- 
ostota,  a  young  war  chief,  and  his  retention  at  Fort  Prince 
George  as  a  hostage.  This  led  to  war,  and  the  Cherokees 
besieged  Fort  Loudon.  In  June,  1760,  Col.  Montgomery, 
with  1,600  men,  crossed  the  Indian  frontier  and  drove  the 
Cherokees  from  about  Fort  Prince  George,  and  then  de- 
stroyed every  one  of  the  Lower  Cherokee  to\\Tis,  killing  more 
than  a  hundred  Indians  and  driving  the  whole  population 
into  the  mountains.  He  then  crossed  the  mountains  without 
opposition  till  he  came  near  Echoe,  a  few  miles  above  the 
sacred  town  of  Kikwasi,  now  Franklin,  N.  C,  where  he  met 
their  full  force,  which  compelled  Montgomery  to  retire  in  a 
battle  fought  June  27,  1760.  He  retreated  to  Fort  Prince 
George  after  losing  100  men  in  killed  and  wounded. 

Massacre  at  Fort  Loudon.  This  retreat  sealed  the  fate 
of  the  garrison  at  Fort  Loudon,  which  had  been  reduced  to 
the  necessity  of  eating  horses  and  dogs,  though  Indian  women, 
who  had  found  sweethearts  among  the  soldiers,  brought  them 
what  food  they  could.  On  August  8,  Capt.  Demere  surren- 
dered his  garrison  of  about  200  to  Oconostota  upon  promise 
that  they  should  be  allowed  to  retire  with  sufficient  arms 
and  ammunition  for  the  march.  The  garrison  made  a  day's 
march  up  Tellico  creek  and  camped,  while  the  Cherokees 
plundered  the  fort.  It  was  then  that  they  discovered  ten 
bags  of  powder  and  a  large  quantity  of  ball  that  the  garrison 
had  secretly  buried  in  the  fort  before  surrendering.  Cannon 
and  small  arms  also  had  been  thrown  into  the  river,  which 


THE  CHEROKEES  569 

was  a  breach  of  the  terms  of  the  capituhition.  Enraged  at 
this  duplicity  the  Indians  attacked  the  retiring  garrison  at  sun- 
rise the  next  morning,  killing  Demere  and  25  others  at  the  first 
fire,  and  taking  the  rest  prisoners,  to  be  ransomed  some  time 
later  on.  Capt.  Stuart,  second  in  command,  was  claimed  by 
Ata-kullakulla,  a  Cherokee  chief,  who  managed  to  conduct 
him,  after  nine  days'  march,  to  his  friends  in  \'irginia.  A  treaty 
was  concluded  at  Augusta,  November  10,  17G3,  by  which  the 
Cherokees  lost  all  north  of  the  present  Tennessee  line  and 
east  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  Savannah.  A  royal  proclama- 
tion was  issued  this  year  barring  the  whites  from  occupying 
Indian  lands  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge;  while  in  1768  a  treaty 
fixed  the  northern  limit  as  downward  along  the  New  and 
Kanawha  rivers  from  the  North  Carolina  line.  This  treaty 
was  made  at  Hard  Labor,  S.  C;  while  on  March  17,  1775,  a 
treaty  cut  off  the  Cherokees  from  the  Ohio  and  their  rich 
Kentucky  hunting  grounds. 

Three  States  Combine  Against  the  Cherokees.  But 
the  constant  encroachments  of  the  whites  upon  the  Indian 
territory  resulted,  in  1776,  in  an  agreement  between  Virginia, 
North  and  South  Carolina  b}'  which  each  sent  a  punitive 
expedition  into  the  Cherokee  country,  and  laid  it  waste  for 
miles,  killing  men  and  even  women,  and  driving  many  into 
the  mountains  for  refuge.  In  August  Gen.  Griffith  Ruther- 
ford, with  2,400  men,  crossed  Swannanoa  gap,  and  after  fol- 
lo\^^ng  the  present  line  of  railroad  to  the  French  Broad,  out 
Hominy  creek  and  following  up  the  Richland,  struck  the  first 
Indian  town  at  Stecoee,  the  present  site  of  Whittier,  on  the  Tuck- 
aseegee.  This  he  burned,  and  then  destroyed  all  towns  on 
Oconaluftee,  Tuckaseegee  and  the  upper  part  of  Little  Ten- 
nessee; also  those  on  the  Hiwassee  below  the  junction  of  Val- 
ley river,  making  36  towns  in  all.  He  also  destroyed  all 
crops.  The  chaplain  of  this  expedition  was  Rev.  James 
Hall,  D.  D.,  a  Presbyterian.  At  Sugartown  (Kuletsiyi),  east 
of  the  present  Franklin,  a  detachment  sent  to  destroj^  it  was 
surprised  by  the  Cherokees  and  escaped  only  through  the 
aid  of  another  force  sent  to  its  rescue.  Rutherford  himself 
encountered  a  force  in  Wayah  gap  of  the  Nantahalas,  between 
Franklin  and  Aquone,  where  he  lost  forty  killed  and  wounded, 
but  finally  repulsing  the  Indians.  ■*  An  Indian  killed  in  this 
fight  proved  to  have  been  a  woman  dressed  as  a  man.     An 


570        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

account  of  the  route  followed  by  Rutherford,  with  many  other 
facts,  can  be  found  m  the  North  Carolina  Booklet,  Vol.  IV,  No. 
8,  for  December,  1904;  from  which  it  appears  that  William- 
son of  South  Carolina  was  to  have  joined  Rutherford  at  Cowee, 
but  as  he  did  not  appear,  Rutherford,  without  a  proper  guide, 
crossed  the  Nantahalas  at  an  unusual  place,  thus  missing 
the  Wayah  gap,  where  500  braves  had  assembled  to  oppose 
him  and  that  two  days  later  Williamson,  hurrying  up  Car- 
toogachaye  creek,  crossed  at  the  usual  place,  and  fell  into 
the  ambush  which  had  been  prepared  for  Rutherford;  and  that 
Rutherford  lost  but  three  men  in  the  entire  expedition.  This 
latter  account  is  probably  the  true  one.  Williamson  joined 
Rutherford  on  the  Hiwassee.  It  was  considered  unnecessary 
to  await  the  arrival  of  Col.  Christian  from  Virginia,  who  was 
coming  via  the  Holston  river,  as  all  the  Cherokee  to^vns  had 
been  destroyed.  Col.  Andrew  Williamson's  force  of  South 
Carolinians  was  1,860  strong,  including  a  number  of  Catawl)as, 
and  came  through  Rabun  gap  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  ^  It  was 
near  Murphy  that  Rutherford  and  Williamson's  forces  joined 
September  26,  1776.  Among  Christian's  men  was  a  regiment 
from  Surry  county,  N.  C,  under  Colonels  Joseph  Williams  and 
Love,  and  Major  Winston.  They  had  assembled  on  the  Hol- 
ston and  pressed  cautiously  along  the  great  warpath  to  the 
crossing  of  the  French  Broad  in  Tennessee,  and  thence  advanced 
without  opposition  to  the  Little  Tennessee,  where,  early  in  No- 
vember, Christian  was  proceeding  to  destroy  their  towns,  when 
the  Indians  sought  peace.  Col.  Christian,  hoping  to  draw 
trade  from  the  South  Carolina  Indians,  accepted  the  promise 
of  the  Cherokees  to  "surrender  all  their  prisoners  and  to 
cede  all  the  disputed  territorj^  ...  in  the  Tennessee 
settlements,"  suspended  hostilities  and  withdrew,  but  not 
till  he  had  burned  the  town  of  Tuckaseegee  because  its  in- 
habitants had  been  concerned  in  the  burning  of  a  white  boy, 
named  Moore,  who  had  been  captured  with  a  Mrs.  Bean; 
but  he  spared  the  peace  town  of  Echota.  But  Col.  Williams 
of  Surry  was  not  pleased  with  Christian's  leniency,  and  on  the 
22d  of  November,  1776,  wrote  to  the  North  Carolina  Con- 
gress from  Surry,  enclosing  documents  which  he  claimed 
proved  conclusively  "that  some  of  the  Virginia  gentlemen 
are  desirious  of  having  the  Cherokees  under  their  protection, " 
which  Williams  did  not  think  right  as  most  of  the  territory 


THE  CHEROKEES  571 


was  within  North  CaroHiui  aiul  should  he  under  licr  pro- 
tection. In  this  warfare  every  Indian  was  scalped  and  even 
women  were  shot  down  and  afterwards  "lielped  to  their  end." 
Prisoners  were  "taken  and  put  up  at  auction  as  slaves,  when 
not  killed  on  the  spot." 

HOLSTON    AND    Hoi'EWELL    TREATIES.       At    LoUg    IsUlud    of 

the  Hoist  on  a  treaty  was  concluded  July  20,  1777,  by  which 
the  Middle  and  Upper  Cherokees  ceded  everything  east  of 
the  Blue  Ridge,  and  all  disputed  territory  on  the  Watauga, 
Nollechucky,  upper  Holston  and  New  rivers.  This  ended 
the  treaties  with  the  separate  States.  The  first  treaty  made 
with  the  United  States  was  at  Hopewell,  S.  C,  November 
28,  1785,  by  which  the  whole  country  east  of  the  Blue  Ridge, 
w4th  the  Watauga  and  Cumberland  settlements,  was  given 
to  the  whites,  but  leaving  the  whole  of  western  North  Carolina 
to  the  Cherokees. 

Treaties  of  White's  Fort  and  Tellico.  In  the  summer 
of  1791  the  Cherokees  made  a  treaty  at  White's  Fort,  now 
Knoxville,  by  which  they  ceded  a  "triangular  section  of  Ten- 
nessee and  North  Carolina  extending  from  the  Clinch  river 
almost  to  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  including  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  French  Broad  and  lower  Holston  and  the  sites  of  the 
present  Knoxville,  and  Greeneville,  Tenn.,  and  Asheville,  N.  C, 
most  of  which  territory  was  alreadj^  occupied  by  the  whites. 
Permission  was  also  given  for  a  road  from  the  eastern  set- 
tlements to  those  of  the  Cumberland,  with  free  navigation 
of  the  Tennessee  river."  This  treaty  was  signed  by  41  prin- 
cipal chiefs  and  was  concluded  July  2,  1791,  and  probably 
gave  legal  title  to  the  whites  to  as  far  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge 
as  the  Pigeon  river  in  Haywood  county.  There  were  four 
treaties  of  Tellico,  the  first  having  been  signed  October  2,  1798, 
by  39  chiefs,  by  which  were  ceded  a  tract  between  the  Clinch  river 
and  the  Cumberland  ridge,  another  along  the  northern  bank 
of  the  Little  Tennessee,  extending  up  to  the  Chilhowie  moun- 
tains, and  a  third  in  North  Carolina  on  the  head  of  the  French 
Broad  and  Pigeon  rivers,  and  including  what  are  now  Waynes- 
ville  and  Henderson ville ;  thus  making  the  Balsam  mountains 
the  western  boundary.  In  1804  and  1805,  three  additional 
treaties  were  concluded  at  Tellico  by  Return  J.  Meigs,  by 
which  the  Cherokees  were  shorn  of  8,000  square  miles,  not 
affecting  the  limits  of  North  Carolina;  but  it  was  then  that 


572        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Meigs  originated  what  he  termed  a  "silent  consideration," 
by  which  a  smaller  amount  was  named  in  the  public  treaty, 
to-wit:  $2,000 — while  he  had  agreed  that  "one  thousand 
dollars  and  some  rifles"  in  addition  should  be  given  to  some 
of  the  chiefs  who  signed  it.  This  treaty  however  was  con- 
cluded at  Washington,  D.  C,  January  7,  1806.  In  1813  the 
Cherokees  agreed  that  a  company  should  lay  off  and  build  a 
free  public  road  from  the  Tennessee  river  to  the  head  of  nav- 
igation of  the  Tuggaloo  branch  of  the  Savannah;  and  this 
road  was  completed  within  the  next  three  years,  and  became 
the  great  highway  from  the  coast  to  the  Tennessee  settle- 
ments. The  road  began  where  Toccoa  creek  enters  the  Sa- 
vannah, and  passed  through  Clarksville  and  Hiwassee  in 
Georgia,  and  Hayesville  and  Murphy,  N.  C,  though  those 
towns  had  not  been  established  by  the  whites  at  that  time. 
From  Murphy  it  passed  over  the  Unaka  or  White  mountains 
into  Tennessee  to  Echota,  the  capital  town  of  the  Cherokees.  It 
was  officially  styled  the  Unicoi  Turnpike,  but  was  commonly 
known  in  North  Carolina  as  the  Wachese  or  Watsisa  trail, because 
it  passed  near  the  home  of  a  noted  Indian  who  lived  near  the  place 
at  which  it  crossed  Beaverdam  creek — his  name  having  been 
Watsisa — and  because  this  portion  of  the  road  followed  the  old 
trail  which  already  bore  that  name. 

Nanakatahke  and  Junaluska.  The  former  was  a  sister 
of  Yonaguska,  and  the  mother-in-law  of  Gid.  F.  Morris,  a 
South  Carolinian  who  came  to  Cherokee  county  about  the 
same  time  that  Betty  Bly  or  Blythe,  came  there,  according 
to  the  statement  of  the  late  Col.  A.  T.  Davidson,  who  said 
that  Nanakatahke  told  him  that  she  was  the  mother  of  Wac- 
hesa,  or  Grass-hopper.  Junaluska,  spelled  Tsunulahunski 
in  Cherokee,  is  the  best  remembered  of  the  Cherokee  chiefs, 
of  whom  a  full  account  will  be  found  in  Chapter  XII,  pp. 
292-293. 

The  Removal  Treaties.  On  the  8th  of  July,  1817,  at  the 
Cherokee  agency  (now  Calhoun,  Tenn.),  a  treaty  was  made  by 
which,  in  return  for  land  in  Georgia  and  Tennessee,  the  Chero- 
kees were  to  receive  a  tract  within  the  present  limits  of  Arkansas, 
and  payment  for  any  substantial  improvements  they  had  made 
on  the  ceded  lands  they  would  abandon  by  going  to  Arkansas. 
Each  warrior  who  left  no  improvements  behind  was  to  be 
given  for  his  abandoned  field  and  hut  a  rifle,  ammunition,  a 


THE  CHEROKEES  573 

blanket,  a  kettle  or  a  beaver  trap.  Boats  and  provisions 
for  the  journey  were  also  to  be  furnished  the  Indians  who 
might  go.  It  was  also  provided  that  those  who  chose  to 
remain  might  do  so  and  become  citizens,  the  amount  of  land 
occupied  by  such  to  be  deducted  from  the  total  cession.  But 
the  majority  of  the  Cherokees  opposed  removal  bitterly,  and 
only  31  of  the  principal  men  of  the  eastern  band  and  15  of 
the  western  signed  for  the  tribe.  A  protest  signed  by 
67  chiefs  and  headsmen  was  presented  to  the  commissioners 
for  the  government;  but  it  was  ignored  and  the  treaty  ratified. 
In  fact,  the  authorities  for  the  United  States  did  not  even 
wait  for  the  ratification,  but  at  once  took  steps  for  the  removal 
of  all  who  desired  to  go  west,  and  before  1819,  six  thousand 
had  been  removed,  according  to  the  estimate.  This,  how- 
ever, did  not  effect  North  Carolina  territory;  but  on  February 
27,  1819,  a  treaty  was  made  at  Washington  by  which  the 
Indians  ceded  to  the  United  States,  among  other  tracts  in 
Alabama,  Tennessee  and  Georgia,  "nearly  everything  remain- 
ing to  them"  in  North  Carolina  east  of  the  Nantahala  moun- 
tains; though  individual  reservations  one  mile  square  within 
the  ceded  area  were  allowed  a  number  of  families,  who  pre- 
ferred to  remain  and  become  citizens.  In  order  to  conform 
to  the  laws  of  civilization,  those  who  were  to  remain  adopted 
a  regular  republican  form  of  government  modeled  after  that 
of  the  United  States,  with  New  Echota,  a  few  miles  above 
the  present  Calhoun,  Ga.,  as  the  capital.  John  Ross  was 
the  first  Cherokee  president.  They  passed  laws  for  the  col- 
lection of  taxes,  and  debts,  for  repairs  of  roads,  for  the  support 
of  schools  and  for  the  regulation  of  the  liquor  traffic ;  to  punish 
horse  stealing  and  theft,  and  to  compel  all  marriages  between 
white  men  and  Indian  women  to  be  celebrated  according  to 
regular  legal  or  church  form,  and  to  discourage  polygamy. 
By  a  special  decree  the  right  of  Blood  Revenge,  or  capital 
punishment,  was  taken  from  the  seven  clans  and  vested  in 
the  authorities  of  the  Indian  nation.  Death  was  the  pun- 
ishment to  individual  Indians  who  might  sell  lands  to  the 
whites  without  the  consent  of  the  Indian  authorities.  White 
men  were  not  allowed  to  vote  or  hold  office  in  the  nation. 

YoNAGUSKA,  THE  Blood  Avenger.  The  late  Col.  Allen 
T.  Davidson  told  the  writer  that  John  Welch,  a  half-breed 
Frenchman,  killed  Leech,  a  full-blooded  Cherokee,  near  old 


574        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ValleytowTi  in  Cherokee  county,  and  as  Yonaguska  was 
Leech's  next  of  kin,  he  was  therefore  his  blood  avenger,  and 
not  only  entitled  to  kill  Welch,  but  the  custom  of  the  tribe 
made  it  his  duty  to  do  so.  He,  therefore,  followed  Welch 
first  to  the  Smoky  mountains,  and  then  to  Paint  Rock;  thence 
to  the  New  Found  range  west  of  Asheville,  and  to  Pickens, 
S.  C,  where  Welch  stopped  and  rested.  Here  it  was,  though, 
that  Welch  became  infatuated  with  a  white  girl  named  Betty 
Bly,  and  told  Betty  that  he  feared  that  Yonaguska,  whom 
he  had  seen  loitering  near,  was  seeking  a  chance  to  kill  him. 
She  then  sought  out  Yonaguska  and  persuaded  him  to  let 
Welch  off. 

The  Baptists  Establish  the  First  Cherokee  Mission. 
In  1820  the  Baptists  founded  five  principal  missions,  one  of 
which  was  in  Cherokee  county,  on  the  site  of  the  old  Nachez 
town  on  the  north  side  of  Hiwassee  river,  just  above  the  mouth 
of  Peachtree  creek.  It  was  established  at  the  instance  of 
Currahee  Dick,  a  prominent  mixed -blood  chief,  and  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  Rev.  Evan  Jones,  known  as  the  trans- 
lator of  the  New  Testament  into  the  Cherokee  language, 
with  James  D.  Wafford,  a  mixed-blood  pupil,  who  compiled 
a  spelling  book  in  the  same  language,  as  his  assistant.  The 
late  Rev.  Humphrey  Posey  afterwards  became  principal  of 
this  mission,  and  did  a  wonderful  amount  of  work  for  the 
improvement  and  education  of  the  Cherokees.  The  place  is 
still  known  as  "The  Mission  Farm,"  and  is  one  of  the  most 
productive  and  desirable  in  the  mountains.  Worcester  and 
Boudinot's  translation  of  Matthew,  first  pubhshed  at  New 
Echota,  Ga.,  in  1829,  was  introduced  to  the  Kituwas  Chero- 
kees, and  in  the  absence  of  missionaries,  was  read  from  house 
to  house,  after  which  Rev.  Ulrich  Keener,  a  Methodist, 
began  to  preach  at  irregular  intervals,  and  was  soon  followed 
by  Baptists. 

Sequoya  and  His  Syllabary.  About  this  time  (1821) 
Sikwayi  (Sequoya)  a  half  or  quarter  breed  Cherokee,  kno'\\ni 
among  the  whites  as  George  Gist  or  Guest  or  Guess,  invented 
the  Cherokee  syllabary  or  alphabet,  which  was  "soon  recog- 
nized as  an  invaluable  invention  for  the  elevation  of  the  tribe, 
and  within  a  few  months  thousands  of  hitherto  iUiterate 
Cherokees  were  able  to  read  and  write  their  own  language, 
teaching  each  other  in  the  cabins  and  along  the  roadside. 


THE  CHEROKEES  575 


.      .      .      It  luul  ail  iinniediate  and  wonderful  effect  on  Chero- 
kee development,  and  on  account  of  the  remarkable  adaj^tation 
of  the  syllabary  to  the  language,  it  was  only  necessary  to  learn 
the  I'haracters  to  be  able  to  read  at  once.     ...      In  the 
fall  of  1824  Atsi  or  John  Arch,  a  young  native  convert,  made 
a  manuscript  translation  of  a  portion  of  St.  John's  gospel,  in 
the  syllal)ary,  this  being  the  first  Bible  translation  ever  given 
to  the  Cherokee."     On   the    21st    of    February,    1828,    "the 
first    numl)er    of    the    newspaper    Taslagi    Tsidehisanun,   the 
Cherokee  Phoenix,  'printed'  in  English  and  Cherokee,  was  pub- 
lished at  New  Echota  from  type  cast  for  that  purpose  in  Bos- 
ton under  the  supervision  of  the  noted  missionary,  Worces- 
ter.    Sequoya  was  born,  probably  about  1760  at  Luck-a-See- 
gee  town  in  Tennessee,  just  outside  of  old  Fort  Loudon,  near 
where  old  Choto  had  stood."     Here   his  mind  dwelt  also  on 
the  old  tradition  of  a  lost  band  of  Cherokee  living  somewhere 
toward  the  western  mountains.     In   1841   and   1842,  with  a 
few  Cherokee  companions  and  with  his  provisions  and  papers 
loaded  in  an  ox  cart,  he  made  several  journeys  into  the  west,  and 
was  received  everywhere  with  kindness  by  even  the  wildest  tribes. 
Disappointed  in  his  philologic  results,  he  started  out  in  1843 
in  quest  of  the  lost  Cherokees,  who  were  believed  to  be  some- 
where in  northern  Mexico,  but,  being  now  an  old  man  and 
worn  out  by  hardship,  he  sank  under  the  effort  and  died  alone 
and  unattended,  it  is  said,  near  the  village  of  San  Fernando, 
Mexico,  in  August  of  that  year.     The  Cherokees  had  voted 
him  a  pension  of  three  hundred  dollars  which  was  continued 
to  his  widow,  "the  only  literary  pension  in  the  United  States." 
The  great  trees  of  California  (Sequoia  gigantea)  were  named  in 
his  honor  and  preserve  his  memory. 

Outrages  Follow  Dahlonega  Gold  Discovery.  The 
discovery  of  gold  in  the  Dahlonega  district  caused  the  Georgia 
legislature  on  the  20th  of  December,  1828,  to  annex  that  part 
of  the  Cherokee  country  to  Georgia  and  to  annul  all  Cherokee 
laws  and  customs  therein.  This  act  was  to  take  effect  June 
1,  1830,  the  land  was  mapped  into  counties  and  divided  into 
"land  lots"  of  160  acres  and  "gold  lots"  of  40  acres,  which 
were  to  be  distributed  among  the  white  citizens  of  Georgia  by 
pul)lic  lottery.  Provision  was  made  for  the  settlement  of 
contested  lottery  claims  among  the  white  citizens,  but  no 
Indian  could  bring  a  suit  or  testify  in  court.     "About  the 


576        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

same  time  the  Cherokees  were  forbidden  to  hold  councils,  or 
to  assemble  for  any  public  purpose  or  to  dig  for  gold  upon 
their  own  lands."  The  outrages  which  followed  are  disgrace- 
ful to  the  white  men  of  that  section  and  time. 

Treaty  of  Removal  of  1835.  On  the  29th  of  December, 
1835,  by  the  treaty  of  New  Echota,  "the  Cherokee  nation 
ceded  to  the  United  States  its  whole  remaining  territory  east 
of  the  Mississippi  for  the  sum  of  .S5,000,000  and  a  common 
joint  interest  in  the  territory  already  occupied  by  the  western 
Cherokees  in  what  is  now  the  Indian  Territory,  with  an  addi- 
tional smaller  tract  on  the  northeast  in  what  is  now  Kansas. 
Improvements  were  to  be  paid  for,  and  the  Indians  were  to 
be  removed  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States,  and  sub- 
sisted for  one  year  after  their  arrival  in  the  new  country. 
The  removal  was  to  take  place  within  two  years.  ..."  It  was 
also  distinctly  agreed  that  a  limited  number  of  Cherokees 
might  remain  behind  and  become  citizens  after  they  had  been 
adjudged  "qualified  or  calculated  to  become  useful  citizens," 
together  with  a  few  who  held  individual  reservations  under 
former  treaties.  But  this  provision  was  struck  out  by  Presi- 
dent Jackson,  who  insisted  that  the  "whole  Cherokee  people 
should  remove  together."  The  treaty  was  ratified  by  the 
senate  May  23,  1836,  the  official  census  of  1835  having  fixed 
the  number  of  Cherokees  in  North  Carolina  at  3,644. 

The  Pathetic  Story  of  the  Removal.  This  story  ex- 
ceeds in  weight  of  grief  and  pathos  any  in  American  history; 
for  notwithstanding  that  nearly  16,000  out  of  a  total  of  16.- 
542  Indians  in  North  Carohna,  Tennessee,  Georgia  and  Ala- 
bama, had  signed  a  protest  against  the  ti^eaty,  Gen.  Wool 
was  sent  to  carry  the  treaty  into  effect;  but  so  fixed  was  the 
determination  of  the  Cherokees  to  remain  that  Gen.  Win- 
field  Scott  was  sent  to  remove  them  by  force.  He  took  com- 
mand, his  forces  amounting  to  7,000  men — regulars,  niihtia 
and  volunteers,  with  New  Echota  as  his  headquarters.  May 
10,  1838,  only  2,000  Cherokees  having  gone  voluntarily.  Old 
people  tell  of  the  harrowing  scenes  which  accompanied  the 
hunting  down  and  removal  of  these  brave  people  who  clung 
to  their  homes  with  all  the  passion  of  the  Swiss. 

Removal  Forts.  The  following  forts  or  stockades  were 
built  for  the  collection  of  the  unwilling  Cherokees  :  Fort 
Lindsay,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Little  Teimessee  at  the 


THE  CHEROKEES  577 


junction  of  the  Nantahala;  Fort  Scott,  at  Aquone,  twenty 
miles  furtlier  up  the  Nantahahi;  Fort  Alontgouier}',  at  wliat 
is  now  Robbinsville;  Fort  Hembrie,  at  what  is  now  Hayes- 
ville;  Fort  Delaney,  at  Old  Valley  town,  and  Fort  Butler,  at 
Murphy. 

Why  Some  Were  Allowed  to  Remain.  Old  man  Tsali,  or 
Charley,  with  his  wife,  his  brother  and  his  three  sons  and 
their  families,  was  seized  and  taken  to  a  stockade  near  the 
junction  of  the  Tuckaseegee  and  the  Little  Tennessee  rivers, 
where  they  spent  the  night,  during  which  their  squaws  con- 
cealed knives  and  tomahawks  about  their  clothing.  When 
this  band,  escorted  by  soldiers,  reached  the  mouth  of 
what  is  now  called  Paine's  branch,  opposite  Tuskeegee 
creek,  in  the  Little  Tennessee,  the  squaws  passed  the 
knives  and  hatchets  to  the  men,  and  they  fell  upon 
the  soldiers  and  killed  two  of  them  upon  the  spot, 
and  so  mortally  wounded  a  third,  Geddings  by  name,  that 
he  died  at  Calhoun,  Tenn.  Still  another  soldier  was  struck 
on  the  back  of  his  head  with  a  tomahawk,  and  so  hurt  that 
although  he  retained  his  seat  upon  his  horse,  he  died  three 
miles  below  at  what  is  now  called  Fairfax,  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Little  Tennessee.  Two  stones  still  mark  his  grave, 
while  the  two  who  were  killed  at  Paine's  branch  were  buried 
there.  If  the  skirts  of  the  coat  of  the  Heutenant  in  charge 
had  not  torn  away  when  he  was  seized  on  each  side  by 
an  Indian,  it  is  likely  that  he  would  have  been  dragged  from 
his  horse  and  killed,  too.  But  he  escaped,  and  the  Indians 
went  immediately  to  the  Great  Smoky  mountains  scarcely  ten 
miles  away,  and  their  recapture  by  the  heavy  dragoons  sent 
after  them  within  a  short  time  was  impossible.  These  sol- 
diers camped  just  below  where  Burton  Welch  used  to  live, 
one  and  a  half  miles  below  Bushnel,  and  a  mountain  peak 
nearby  on  which  they  stationed  sentinels,  is  still  called  Watch 
Mountain.  In  fact,  these  escaping  Indians  had  spent  the 
night  at  the  house  of  Burton  Welch's  father  when  their 
squaws  hid  the  weapons  in  their  skirts.  It  is  said  that  the 
late  Col.  W.  H.  Thomas  had  accompanied  this  party  as  far 
as  the  mouth  of  Noland's  creek,  where  he  left  them  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  another  small  party  to  join  them  the  next 
day;  and  that  if  he  had  continued  with  Old  Charley's  party 
it  is  probable  that  no  attempt    would  have  been  made  to 

W.  N.  C— 37 


578        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

escape,  such  was  his  influence  over  them.  The  names  of 
the  male  Indians  who  escaped  were  Charley,  Alonzo,  Jake, 
George  and  a  boy  named  Washington,  but  pronounced  by 
the  Cherokees  Wasituna.  Old  Charley's  squaAv  was  named 
Nancy. 

Terms  of  Compromise.  Mr.  James  Mooney's  account 
in  the  Nineteenth  Ethnological  report  states  that  after  Gen. 
Scott  became  convinced  that  his  soldiers  could  not  recapture 
Old  Charley  and  his  band,  he  made  an  agreement  with  Col. 
Thomas  to  the  effect  that  if  he  would  cause  the  arrest  of  Old 
Charley  and  his  adult  sons  he  would  use  his  influence  at  Wash- 
ington to  get  permission  that  all  who  had  not  yet  been  removed 
should  remain.  Also,  that  Col.  Thomas  went  to  the  leader 
of  those  who  had  not  been  captured,  Utsala  or  "Lichen,"  by 
name,  who  had  made  his  headquarters  at  the  head  of  Ocona- 
luftee,  and  told  him  that  if  he  assisted  in  bringing  in  Charley 
and  his  band,  Utsah  and  his  followers,  1,000  in  number, 
would  be  allowed  to  remain.  Utsali  consented  and  Thomas 
returned  and  reported  to  Gen.  Scott,  who  offered  to  furnish 
an  escort  for  Thomas  on  a  proposed  visit  to  Charley,  who 
was  hiding  in  a  cave  of  the  Great  Smoky  mountains.  But 
Thomas  declined  the  escort  and  went  alone  to  the  cave  and 
got  Charley  to  consent  to  surrender  voluntarily,  which  he 
did  shortly  afterwards,  thus  making  a  vicarious  sacrifice  for 
the  rest  of  his  people. 

An  Eye  Witnesses'  Account.  But  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Burton 
Welch  used  to  tell  an  altogether  different  story.  They  were 
living  there  at  the  time,  and  presumably  knew  much  more 
than  those  who  got  their  information  at  second  hand  sixty 
years  later.  Their  account  is  that  Utsali  and  his  followers 
ran  Old  Charley  and  his  sons  down  and  brought  them  to  Gen. 
Scott's  soldiers;  but  insisted  on  killing  them  themselves  instead 
of  having  them  shot  by  the  soldiers.  But  they  had  not  been 
captured  together,  Alonzo,  Jake  and  George  having  been 
caught  first  at  the  head  of  Forney's  creek,  and  shot  at  a  point 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Little  Tennessee  nearly  opposite 
the  mouth  of  Panther  creek,  and  just  below  Burton  Welch's 
home,  where  Jake  gave  a  soldier  ten  cents  to  give  to  his  squaw, 
that  being  all  he  had  on  earth  to  leave  her.  The  three  trees 
to  which  they  were  tied  are  now  dead,  but  Burton  Welch, 
who  when  a  boy  witnessed  the  execution,  used  to  declare  that 


THE  CHEROKEES  579 


these  trees  never  grew  any  larger  after  having  been  made  to 
serve  as  stakes  for  the  shedding  of  human  blood.  These 
three  Indians  are  bm-ied  in  one  grave  near  by,  but  there  is 
now  nothing  to  mark  the  spot. 

Old  Charley  Is  Killed  and  His  Squaw  Mourns.  It 
was  some  time  afterwards  that  Old  Charley  was  caught  in 
the  Smokies,  brought  to  within  a  short  distance  below  what 
is  now  Bryson  City  and  shot  by  Indians.  Mrs.  Welch,  who 
was  a  first  cousin  of  Captain  James  P.  Sawyer  of  Asheville, 
saw  Old  Charley  killed.  This  was  before  her  marriage  to  Bur- 
ton Welch,  and  she  remembers  that  Charley  had  a  white  cloth 
tied  around  his  forehead,  and  that  she  saw  it  stain  red  before 
she  heard  the  report  of  the  guns  of  the  firing  squad.  The 
fugitive  squaws  were  never  punished.  But  Charley's  squaw 
came  to  Mrs.  Welch's  father's  house,  where  she  was  shown 
Old  Charley's  grave.  She  sat  down  beside  it  and  piled  up  the 
sand  with  her  hands  until  she  made  a  mound,  and  then  rocked 
herself  to  and  fro  and  cried.  Mrs.  Welch  went  shortly  after- 
wards to  Old  Charley's  former  home,  one  mile  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Nantahala  river.  She  spoke  of  the  deserted  look  of 
the  place,  the  Httle  cabin  with  its  open  door,  and  old  Nancy's 
spinning-wheel,  her  loom  and  warping  bars,  while  outside,  in 
the  chimney  corner,  was  Old  Charley's  plough-stock  and 
harness,  the  traces  of  which  had  been  made  of  hickory  bark. 

Did  the  Government  Wink  at  this  Compromise?  As 
it  seemed  exceedingly  improl^able  that  the  government  would 
deliberately  violate  the  terms  of  a  treaty  that  had  been  sol- 
emnly made  with  the  Cherokees  without  the  approval  of  the 
Senate,  and  allow  a  thousand  Cherokees  to  remain  behind, 
especially  after  General  Jackson  had  emphatically  refused 
to  allow  any  of  them  to  remain  on  any  terms,  the  Commissioner 
of  Indian  Affairs  was  asked  for  any  official  information  that 
might  be  on  file  in  his  office  concerning  this  matter,  with  this 
result:  "It  is  true  that  by  supplemental  articles  of  agree- 
ment pre-emption  rights  and  reservations  provided  for  the 
Cherokees  who  remained  east  of  the  Mississippi  were  relin- 
quished and  declared  void.  (See  7  Stat.  L,  488)  However, 
many  of  the  Indians  did  remain  east  of  the  Mississippi  and 
the  Act  of  July  29,  1848,  (9  Stat.  L.,  264)  provided  for  the  set- 
ting aside  of  a  fund  for  these  Indians,  the  interest  of  which 
was  to  be  paid  them  annually  until  their  removal  west  of  the 


580        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Mississippi,  when  the  principal  was  to  be  paid  them."  This 
letter  is  dated  January  29,  1913,  and  was  supplemental  to 
another  of  January  21,  1913,  in  which  this  language  is  used: 
"You  are  advised  that  nothing  has  been  found  in  the  files 
of  this  office  regarding  the  alleged  agreement  of  General  Scott 
to  allow  part  of  the  Cherokees  to  remain  in  North  Carolina 
on  condition  that  they  surrender  Old  Charlie  and  his  sons." 
Again,  on  February  27,  1913,  he  wTote:  "I  have  of  course 
no  objection  to  your  quoting  all  or  any  part  of  office  letters 
to  you  on  this  subject.  As  to  your  following  these  letters 
with  the  quotation  given  in  your  letter,  I  would  rather  not 
express  an  opinion,  since  I  had  a  search  of  the  records  made 
and  found  nothing  about  the  alleged  agreement  to  allow 
certain  of  the  Cherokees  to  remain  east  of  the  Mississippi. 
I  would  not  be  warranted  in  saying  that  such  an  agreement 
was  not  made,  since  there  were  many  things  happening  in  the 
Indian  country  about  that  period  of  which  this  office  has  no 
record. " 

Recognition  of  the  Rights  of  the  Eastern  Band.  On 
August  6,  1846,  a  treaty  was  concluded  at  Washington  by 
which  the  rights  of  the  Eastern  Cherokees  to  a  participation 
in  the  benefits  of  the  New  Echota  treaty  of  1835  were  dis- 
tinctly recognized,  and  provision  made  for  the  final  adjust- 
ment of  all  unpaid  and  pending  claims  due  under  that  treaty; 
the  government  having  insisted  before  that  time  that  those 
rights  were  conditional  upon  their  removal  to  the  West.  Col. 
W.  H.  Thomas  then  took  charge  of  the  Eastern  Band.  ^ 

William  Holland  Thomas.  He  was  born  in  1805  in 
Haywood  county.  His  father  was  of  a  Welch  family, 
fought  at  Kings  Mountain  under  Col.  Campbell,  and  was 
related  to  Zachary  Taylor.  His  mother  was  descended  from 
a  Maryland  family  of  Revolutionary  stock.  He  was  an  only 
and  posthumous  child,  his  father  having  been  accidentally 
drowmed  a  short  time  before  he  was  born.  When  twelve 
years  old  he  was  engaged  to  tend  an  Indian  trading  store  on 
Soco  creek  by  Felix  Walker,  son  of  the  congressman  who  made 
a  national  reputation  by  ''talking  for  Buncombe."  Here 
he  studied  law,  and  was  duly  admitted  to  practice.  He  was 
adopted  by  Yonaguska,  the  Cherokee  chief,  and  was  called 
Will-Usdi,  or  "Little  Will."  He  learned  the  spoken  and  writ- 
ten language,  acquiring  the  Sequoya  syllabary  shortly  after  its 


THE  CHEROKEES  581 

invention.  Soon  after  the  removal  of  tlic  Cherokees  Thomas 
bought  a  fine  farm  near  Whittier,  and  built  a  home  which  he 
calletl  Stekoa,  after  the  Indian  town  on  the  same  site  which  had 
been  destroyed  by  Rutherford  in  1776.  At  the  time  of  the  removal 
he  owned  five  trading  stores,  viz :  at  Quallato\vn,  at  Murphy, 
at  Charleston,  Tenn.,  at  Robbinsville  and  at  Webster.  As 
agent  for  the  Cherokees  he  bought  the  five  towns  for  them 
at  Bird-town,  Paint-town,  Wolf-town,  Yellow-hill,  and  Big 
Cove.  He  drew  up  a  simple  form  of  government  for  them, 
which  was  executed  by  Yonaguska  till  his  death  and  after- 
wards In'  Thomas.  In  1848  he  entered  the  State  Senate,  and 
inaugurated  a  system  of  road  improvement  and  was  the 
father  of  the  Western  North  Carolina  railroad.  He  voted 
for  secession  in  1861,  and  in  1862  organized  the  Thomas 
Legion,  composed  of  Cherokees  and  white  citizens.  After 
the  war  his  health  failed.  His  conduct  of  Cherokee  affairs 
was  settled  by  arbitrators,  and  it  was  found  that  the  Indians 
had  lost  nothing,  and  had  gained  largely  under  his  leader- 
ship. Col.  Thomas,  with  300  Indians  and  Col.  James  R. 
Love  with  300  white  soldiers,  confronted  Col.  Bartlett  of  New 
York  in  April,  1865,  near  Waynesville.  At  sight  of  the  Indians 
and  after  hearing  their  yells  Bartlett  agreed  to  surrender, 
and  Col.  Thomas  paroled  his  men,  allowing  them  to  retain 
their  side  arms.  ^     Col.  Thomas  died  May  12,  1893. 

The  Late  Captain  James  W.  Terrell.  "  In  1852  (Capt.) 
James  W.  Terrell  was  engaged  by  (Col.  W.  H.)  Thomas,  then 
in  the  State  Senate,  to  take  charge  of  his  store  at  Qualla,  and 
remained  associated  with  him  and  in  close  contact  with  the 
Indians  from  then  until  after  the  close  of  the  war,  assisting, 
as  special  United  States  Agent,  in  the  disbursement  of  the 
interest  payments,  and  afterward  as  a  Confederate  officer  in 
the  organization  of  the  Indian  companies,  holding  a  commis- 
sion as  captain  of  Company  A,  Sixty-ninth  North  Carolina 
Confederate  infantry.  Being  of  an  investigating  bent.  Cap- 
tain Terrell  was  led  to  give  attention  to  the  customs  and 
mythology  of  the  Cherokee,  and  to  accumulate  a  fund  of 
information  on  the  subject  seldom  possessed  by  a  white  man." 

North  Carolina  Gives  Permission.  "In  1855  Congress 
directed  the  per  capita  payment  to  the  East  Cherokees  of 
the  removal  fund  established  for  them  in  1848,  provided  that 
North  Carolina  should  first  give  assurance  that  they  would 


582        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

be  allowed  to  remain  permanently  in  that  State.  This  assur- 
ance, however,  was  not  given  mitil  1866,  and  the  money  was 
therefore  not  distributed,  but  remained  in  the  treasury  until 
1875,  when  it  was  made  applicable  to  the  purchase  of  lands 
and  the  quieting  of  titles  for  the  benefit  of  the  Indians." 

Lanman,  Daniel  Webster's  Secretary.  In  the  spring 
of  1848  the  author,  Lanman,  visited  the  East  Cherokees  and 
has  left  an  interesting  account  of  their  condition  at  the  time, 
together  with  a  description  of  their  ball-plays,  dances,  and 
customs  generally,  having  been  the  guest  of  Colonel  Thomas, 
of  whom  he  speaks  as  the  guide,  counselor,  and  friend  of  the 
Indians,  as  well  as  their  business  agent  and  chief,  so  that  the 
connection  was  like  that  existing  between  a  father  and  his 
children.  He  puts  the  number  of  Indians  at  about  800  Cher- 
okee and  100  Catawba  on  the  "Quallatown"  reservation  — 
the  name  being  in  use  thus  early — with  200  more  Indians 
residing  in  the  more  westerly  portion  of  the  State.  Of  their 
general  condition  he  says  : 

Condition  of  Indians  in  1848.  "About  three-fourths  of 
the  entire  population  can  read  in  their  own  language,  and, 
though  the  majority  of  them  understand  English,  a  very  few 
can  speak  the  language.  They  practice,  to  a  considerable 
extent,  the  science  of  agriculture,  and  have  acquired  such  a 
knowledge  of  the  mechanic  arts  as  answers  them  for  all  ordi- 
nary purposes,  for  they  manufacture  their  o^vn  clothing,  their 
own  ploughs,  and  other  farming  utensils,  their  own  axes,  and 
even  their  own  guns.  Their  women  are  no  longer  treated  as 
slaves,  but  as  equals;  the  men  labor  in  the  fields  and  their 
wives  are  devoted  entirely  to  household  employments.  They 
keep  the  same  domestic  animals  that  are  kept  by  their  white 
neighbors,  and  cultivate  all  the  common  grains  of  the  coun- 
try. They  are  probably  as  temperate  as  any  other  class  of 
people  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  honest  in  their  business  inter- 
course, moral  in  their  thoughts,  words,  and  deeds,  and  dis- 
tinguished for  their  faithfulness  in  performing  the  duties  of 
religion.  They  are  chiefly  Methodists  and  Baptists,  and  have 
regularly  ordained  ministers,  who  preach  to  them  on  every 
Sabbath,  and  they  have  also  abandoned  many  of  their  more 
senseless  superstitions.  They  have  their  own  court  and  try 
their  criminals  by  a  regular  jury.  Their  judges  and  lawyers 
are  chosen  from  among  themselves.     They  keep  in  order  the 


THE  CHEROKEES  583 

public  roails  loading  through  their  settlement.  By  a  law  of 
the  State  they  have  a  right  to  vote,  but  seldoni  exercise  that 
right,  as  they  do  not  like  the  idea  of  being  identified  with 
any  of  the  political  parties.  Excepting  on  festive  days,  they 
dress  after  the  manner  of  the  white  man,  but  far  more  pic- 
turesquely. They  live  in  small  log  houses  of  their  o\\ni  con- 
struction, and  have  everything  they  need  or  desire  in  the 
way  of  food.  They  are,  in  fact,  the  happiest  community  that 
I  have  yet  met  with  in  this  southern  country." 

Salali.  Among  the  other  notables  Lanman  speaks  thus  of 
Salili,  "Squirrel,"  a  born  mechanic  of  the  band,  who  died 
only  a  few  years  since  : 

"He  is  quite  a  young  man  and  has  a  remarkably  thoughtful  face 
He  is  the  blacksmith  of  his  nation,  and  with  some  assistance  suppHes 
the  whole  of  Qualla  town  with  all  their  axes  and  plows;  but  what  is  more, 
he  has  manufactured  a  number  of  very  superior  rifles  and  pistols,  includ- 
ing stock,  barrel,  and  lock,  and  he  is  also  the  builder  of  grist  mills,  which 
grind  all  the  corn  which  his  people  eat.  A  specimen  of  his  workman- 
ship in  the  way  of  a  rifle  may  be  seen  at  the  Patent  Office  in  Washing- 
ton, where  it  was  deposited  by  Mr.  Thomas;  and  I  believe  Salali  is  the 
first  Indian  who  ever  manufactured  an  entire  gun.  But  when  it  is  re- 
membered that  he  never  received  a  particle  of  education  in  any  of  the 
mechanic  arts,  but  is  entirely  self-taught,  his  attainments  must  be  con- 
sidered truly  remarkable." 

Colonel  Thomas  Thwarts  General  Kirby  Smith.  "From 
1855  until  after  the  Civil  War  we  find  no  official  notice  of 
the  East  Cherokees,  and  our  information  must  be  obtained 
from  other  sources.  It  was,  however,  a  most  momentous 
period  in  their  history.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war  Thomas 
was  serving  his  seventh  consecutive  terra  in  the  State  Senate. 
Being  an  ardent  Confederate  sympathizer,  he  was  elected  a 
delegate  to  the  convention  which  passed  the  secession  ordi- 
nance, and  immediately  after  voting  in  favor  of  that  measure 
resigned  from  the  Senate  in  order  to  work  for  the  Southern 
cause.  As  he  was  already  well  advanced  in  years  it  is  doubt- 
ful if  his  effort  would  have  gone  beyond  the  raising  of  funds 
and  other  suppUes  but  for  the  fact  that  at  this  juncture  an 
effort  was  made  by  the  Confederate  General  Kirby  Smith  to 
enlist  the  East  Cherokees  for  active  service. 

Kirby  Smith's  Emissary.  "The  agent  sent  for  this  pur- 
pose was  Washington  Morgan,  kno\vn  to  the  Indians  as  Agan- 
stata,  son  of  that  Colonel  Gideon  Morgan  who  had  commanded 


584        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

the  Cherokee  at  the  Horseshoe  Bend.  By  virtue  of  his  Indian 
blood  and  historic  ancestry  he  was  deemed  the  most  fitting 
emissary  for  the  purpose.  Early  in  1862  he  arrived  among 
the  Cherokee,  and  by  appealing  to  old-time  memories  so 
aroused  the  war  spirit  among  them  that  a  large  number  de- 
clared themselves  ready  to  follow  wherever  he  led.  Con- 
ceiving the  question  at  issue  in  the  war  to  be  one  that  did 
not  concern  the  Indians,  Thomas  had  discouraged  their  par- 
ticipation in  it  and  advised  them  to  remain  at  home  in  quiet 
neutrality.  Now,  however,  knowing  Morgan's  reputation  for 
reckless  daring,  he  became  alarmed  at  the  possible  result  to 
them  of  such  leadership.  Forced  either  to  see  them  go  from 
his  own  protection  or  to  lead  them  himself,  he  chose  the  lat- 
ter alternative  and  proposed  to  them  to  enlist  in  the  Con- 
federate legion  which  he  was  about  to  organize.  His  object, 
as  he  himself  has  stated,  was  to  keep  them  out  of  danger  so 
far  as  possible  by  utilizing  them  as  scouts  and  home  guards 
through  the  mountains,  away  from  the  path  of  the  large 
armies.  Nothing  of  this  was  said  to  the  Indains,  who  might 
not  have  been  satisfied  Avith  such  an  arrangement.  Morgan 
went  back  alone  and  the  Cherokee  enrolled  under  the  com- 
mand of  their  white  chief. 

Formation  of  Thomas's  Legion.  "The  '  Thomas  Legion,' 
recruited  in  1862  by  William  H.  Thomas  for  the  Confederate 
service  and  commanded  by  him  as  colonel,  consisted  origin- 
ally of  one  infantry  regiment  of  ten  companies  (Sixty-ninth 
North  Carolina  Infantry),  one  infantry  battalion  of  six  com- 
panies, one  cavalry  battalion  of  eight  companies  (First  North 
Carolina  Cavalry  Battahon),  one  field  battery  (Light  Battery) 
of  103  officers  and  men,  and  one  company  of  engineers;  in  all 
about  2,800  men.  The  infantry  battalion  was  recruited 
toward  the  close  of  the  war  to  a  full  regiment  of  ten  companies 
and  two  other  companies  of  the  infantry  regiment 
recruited  later  were  composed  almost  entirely  of  East  Cher- 
okee Indians,  most  of  the  commissioned  officers  being  white 
men.  The  whole  number  of  Cherokee  thus  enlisted  was 
nearly  four  hundred,  or  about  every  able-bodied  man  in  the 
tribe." 

One  Secret  of  Col.  Thomas's  Success.  Many  have  won- 
dered how  Col.  Thomas  could  so  soon  have  obtained  com- 
plete control  of  all  the  affairs  of  the  Eastern  Band  of  Chero- 


THE  CHEROKEES  585 


kees,  and  how  he  could  have  obtained  from  the  Confederate 
government  its  consent  for  the  organization  of  these  Indians 
into  an  independent  legion,  subject  almost  entirely  to  his 
control,  and  required  to  operate  only  in  the  restricted  terri- 
tory immediately  surrounding  their  reservation  at  Qually- 
town.  But  when  it  is  remembered  that  his  mother  was 
Temperance  Calvert,  and  that  he  himself  was  closely  related 
to  Zachary  Taylor,  President  of  the  United  States,  whose 
daughter  became  the  wife  of  Jefferson  Davis,  President  of 
the  Southern  Confederacy,  much  that  was  incomprehensible 
becomes  plain.  Indeed,  all  the  so  called  Colvards  of  Ashe, 
Graham  and  Haywood  counties  claim  that  their  real  name 
was  originally  Calvert;  that  they  are  descendants  of  the 
Calverts  of  Maryland;  and  the  late  Captain  James  W.  Terrell 
always  insisted  that  Temperance  Calvert  was  a  grand-niece 
of  Lord  Baltimore  himself.  Col.  Thomas  was  also  first 
cousin  to  John  Strother,  whose  family  was  one  of  influence 
and  standing  in  Virginia  in  former  days.  (See  N.  C.  Uni- 
versity :Magazine  for  May,  1899,  pp.  291  to  295.) 

Cherokee  Scouts  and  Home  Guards.  "In  accordance 
with  Thomas's  plan  the  Indians  were  employed  chiefly  as  scouts 
and  home  guards  in  the  mountain  region  along  the  Tennessee- 
Carolina  border,  where,  according  to  the  testimony  of  Colonel 
Stringfield,  they  did  good  work  and  service  for  the  South. 
The  most  important  engagement  in  which  they  were  concerned 
occurred  at  Baptist  gap,  Tennessee,  September  15,  1862,  where 
Lieutenant  Astugataga,  a  splendid  specimen  of  Indian  man- 
hood, was  killed  in  a  charge.  The  Indians  were  furious  at 
his  death,  and  before  they  could  be  restrained  they  scalped 
one  or  two  of  the  Federal  dead.  For  this  action  ample  apol- 
ogies were  afterwards  given  by  their  superior  officers.  The 
war,  in  fact,  brought  out  all  the  latent  Indian  in  their  nature. 
Before  starting  to  the  front  every  man  consulted  an  oracle 
stone  to  learn  whether  or  not  he  might  hope  to  return  in  safety. 
The  start  was  celebrated  with  a  grand  old-time  war-dance 
at  the  townhouse  on  Soco,  .  .  .  the  Indians  being 
painted  and  feathered  in  good  old  style,  Thomas  himself 
frequently  assisting  as  master  of  ceremonies.  The  ball-play, 
too,  was  not  forgotten,  and  on  one  occasion  a  detachment  of 
Cherokees,  left  to  guard  a  bridge,  became  so  engrossed  in  the 
excitement  of  the  game  as  to  narrowly  escape  capture  by  a 


586        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

sudden  dash  of  the  Federals.  Owing  to  Thomas's  care  for 
their  welfare,  they  suffered  but  slightly  in  actual  battle, 
although  a  number  died  of  hardship  and  disease.  When  the 
Confederates  evacuated  eastern  Tennessee,  in  the  winter  of 
1863-64,  some  of  the  white  troops  of  the  legion,  with  one  or 
two  of  the  Cherokee  companies,  were  shifted  to  western  Vir- 
ginia, and  by  assignment  to  other  regiments  a  few  of  the 
Cherokee  were  present  at  the  final  siege  and  surrender  of 
Richmond.  The  main  body  of  the  Indians,  with  the  rest 
of  the  Thomas  Legion,  crossed  over  into  North  Carolina  and 
did  service  protecting  the  western  border  until  the  close  of 
the  war,  when  they  surrendered  on  parole  at  Waynesville, 
North  Carolina,  in  May  1865,  all  those  of  the  command  being 
allowed  to  keep  their  guns.  It  is  claimed  by  their  officers 
that  they  were  the  last  of  the  Confederate  forces  to  surrender. 
About  fifty  of  the  Cherokee  veterans  still  survive(in  1899), nearly 
half  of  whom,  under  conduct  of  Colonel  Stringfield,  attended 
the  Confederate  reunion  at  Louisville,  Kentucky,  in  1900, 
where  they  attracted  much  attention. 

Confederate  Congress  Provides  Funds.  "In  1863, 
by  resolution  of  February  12,  the  Confederate  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives called  for  information  as  to  the  number  and 
condition  of  the  East  Cherokee,  and  their  pending  relations 
with  the  Federal  government  at  the  beginning  of  the  war, 
with  a  view  to  continuing  these  relations  under  Confederate 
auspices.  In  response  to  this  inquiry  a  report  was  submitted 
by  the  Confederate  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  S.  S.  Scott, 
based  on  information  furnished  by  Colonel  Thomas  and  Captain 
James  W.  Terrell,  their  former  disbursing  agent,  showing 
that  interest  upon  t^e  'removal  and  subsistence  fund'  estab- 
lished in  1848  had  been  paid  annually  up  to  and  including 
the  year  1859,  at  the  rate  of  $3.20  per  capita,  or  an  aggregate, 
exclusive  of  disbursing  agent's  commission,  of  $4,838.40  an- 
nually, based  upon  the  original  Mullay  enumeration  of  1,517. 

"Upon  receipt  of  this  report  it  was  enacted  by  the  Con- 
federate Congress  that  the  sum  of  $19,352.36  be  paid  the 
East  Cherokee  to  cover  the  interest  period  of  four  years  from 
May  23,  1860  to  May  23,  1864. 

Captured  Cherokees  Desert  Confederacy.  "In  a 
skirmish  near  Bryson  City  (then  Charleston),  Swain  county. 
North  Carolina,  about  a  year  after  enlistment,  a  small  party 


THE  CIIEROKF.ES  587 

of  Chorokees — perhaps  a  dozen  in  uiiniber — were  captured 
by  a  detachment  of  Union  troops  and  carried  to  Knoxville, 
where,  having  become  dissatisfied  with  their  experience  in 
the  Confederate  service,  they  were  easily  i)ersuu(led  to  go 
over  to  the  Union  side.  Through  the  influence  of  their  prin- 
cipal man,  Diganeski,  several  others  were  induced  to  desert 
to  the  Union  army,  making  aljout  thirty  in  all.  As  a  part  of 
the  Third  North  Carolina  Mounted  Volunteer  Infantry, 
they  served  with  the  Union  forces  in  the  same  region  until 
the  close  of  the  war,  when  they  returned  to  their  homes  to 
find  their  tribesmen  so  bitterly  incensed  against  them  that 
for  some  time  their  lives  were  in  danger.  Eight  of  these  were 
still  alive  in  1900. 

After  Civil  War.  "Shortly  after  this  event  Colonel 
Thomas  was  compelled  by  physical  and  mental  infirmity  to 
retire  from  further  active  participation  in  the  affairs  of  the 
East  Cherokee,  after  more  than  half  a  century  spent  in  inti- 
mate connection  with  them,  during  the  greater  portion  of 
which  time  he  had  been  their  most  trusted  friend  and  adviser. 
Their  affairs  at  once  became  the  prey  of  confusion  and  fac- 
tional strife,  which  continued  until  the  United  States  stepped 
in  as  arbiter. 

Cherokees  Adopt  New  Government,  1870.  "On  De- 
cember 9,  1868,  a  general  council  of  the  East  Cherokee  assem- 
bled at  Cheowa,  in  Graham  county.  North  Carolina,  took 
preliminary  steps  toward  the  adoption  of  a  regular  form  of 
tribal  government  under  a  constitution.  N.  J.  Smith,  after- 
ward principal  chief,  was  clerk  of  the  council.  The  new  gov- 
ernment was  formally  inaugurated  on  December  1,  1870. 

Status  of  Indian  Lands.  "The  status  of  the  lands  held 
by  the  Indians  had  now  become  a  matter  of  serious  concern. 
As  has  been  stated,  the  deeds  had  been  made  out  by  Thomas 
in  his  own  name,  as  the  State  laws  at  that  time  forbade 
Indian  o\\-nership  of  real  estate.  In  consequence  of  his  losses 
during  the  war  and  his  subsequent  disability,  the  Thomas 
properties,  of  which  the  Cherokee  lands  were  technically  a 
part,  had  become  involved,  so  that  the  entire  estate  had 
passed  into  the  hands  of  creditors,  the  most  important  of 
whom,  William  Johnston,  had  obtained  sheriff's  deeds  in  1869 
for  all  of  these  Indian  lands  under  three  several  judgments 
against  Thomas,  aggregating  833,887.11.     To  adjust  the  mat- 


588        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ter  so  as  to  secure  title  and  possession  to  the  Indians,  Con- 
gress in  1870  authorized  suit  to  be  brought  in  their  name  for 
the  recovery  of  their  interest.  This  suit  was  begun  in  May, 
1873,  in  the  United  States  Circuit  Court  for  western  North 
Carolina.  A  year  later  the  matters  in  dispute  were  submit- 
ted by  agreement  to  a  board  of  arbitrators,  whose  award  was 
confirmed  by  the  court  in  November,  1874. 

Land  Status  Settled  by  Arbitration.  "The  award  finds 
that  Thomas  had  purchased  with  Indian  funds  a  tract  esti- 
mated to  contain  50,000  acres  on  Oconaluftee  river  and  Soco 
creek,  and  knoA\Ti  as  the  Qualla  boundary,  together  with  a 
number  of  individual  tracts  outside  the  boundary;  that  the 
Indians  were  still  indebted  to  Thomas  toward  the  purchase 
of  the  Qualla  boundary  lands  for  the  sum  of  $18,250,  from 
which  should  be  deducted  $6,500  paid  by  them  to  Johnston 
to  release  titles,  with  interest  to  date  of  award,  making  an 
aggregate  of  $8,486,  together  \^^th  a  further  sum  of  $2,478, 
which  had  been  intrusted  to  Terrell,  the  business  clerk  and 
assistant  of  Thomas,  and  by  him  turned  over  to  Thomas,  as 
creditor  of  the  Indians,  under  power  of  attorney,  this  latter 
sum,  with  interest  to  date  of  award,  aggregating  $2,697.89; 
thus  leaving  a  balance  due  from  the  Indians  to  Thomas  or 
his  legal  creditor,  Johnston,  of  $7,066.11.  The  award  declares 
that  Johnston  should  be  allowed  to  hold  the  lands  bought  by 
him  only  as  security  for  the  balance  due  him  until  paid,  and 
that  on  the  payment  of  the  said  balance  of  $7,066.11,  with 
interest  at  six  per  cent  from  the  date  of  the  award,  the  In- 
dians should  be  entitled  to  a  clear  conveyance  from  him  of 
the  legal  title  to  all  the  lands  embraced  within  the  Qualla 
boundary. 

Part  of  Subsistence  Fund  Used  to  Clear  Title.  "To 
enable  the  Indians  to  clear  off  this  lien  on  their  lands  and  for 
other  purposes,  Congress  in  1875  directed  that  as  much  as 
remained  of  the  'removal  and  subsistence  fund'  set  apart  for 
their  benefit  in  1848  should  be  used  'in  perfecting  the  titles 
to  the  lands  awarded  to  them,  and  to  pay  the  costs,  expenses, 
and  HabiHties  attending  their  recent  litigations,  also  to  pur- 
chase and  extinguish  the  titles  of  any  white  persons  to  lands 
within  the  general  boundaries  alotted  to  them  by  the  court, 
and  for  the  education,  improvement,  and  civilization  of  their 
people.'     In  accordance  with  this  authority  the  unpaid  bal- 


THE  CHEROKEES  589 


ance  and  interest  clue  Johnston,  amounting!;  to  S7,242.76,  was 
paid  him  in  the  same  year,  ami  shortly  afterwartl  there  was 
purchased  on  l)ehalf  of  the  Indians  some  fifteen  thousand 
acres  additional,  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  being  con- 
stituted trustee  for  the  Indians.  For  the  better  protection  of 
the  Indians  the  lands  were  made  inalienable  except  by  assent 
of  the  council  and  upon  approval  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States. 

Department  of  Indian  Affairs  Assumes  Control.  "The 
titles  and  boundaries  having  been  adjusted,  the  Indian  Office 
assumed  regular  supervision  of  East  Cherokee  affairs,  and  in 
June,  1875,  the  first  agent  since  the  retirement  of  Thomas  was 
sent  out  in  the  person  of  W.  C.  McCarthy.  He  found  the 
Indians,  according  to  his  report,  destitute  and  discouraged, 
almost  without  stock  or  farming  tools.  There  were  no 
schools,  and  very  few  full-bloods  could  speak  English, 
although  to  their  credit  nearly  all  could  read  and  write  their 
own  language,  the  parents  teaching  the  children.  Under  his 
authority  a  distribution  was  made  of  stock  animals,  seed 
wheat,  and  farming  tools,  and  several  schools  were  started. 
In  the  next  year,  however,  the  agency  was  discontinued  and 
the  educational  interests  of  the  band  turned  over  to  the 
State    School  Superintendent. 

The  Old  Indian  Friends',  the  Quakers.  "The  neglected 
condition  of  the  East  Cherokee  having  been  brought  to  the 
attention  of  those  old  time  friends  of  the  Indian,  the  Quak- 
ers, through  an  appeal  made  in  their  behalf  by  members  of 
that  society  residing  in  North  Carolina,  the  Western  Yearly 
IMeeting,  of  Indiana,  volunteered  to  undertake  the  v/ork  of 
civilization  and  education.  On  May  31,  1881,  representatives 
of  the  Friends  entered  into  a  contract  with  the  Indians,  sub- 
ject to  approval  by  the  Government,  to  establish  and  con- 
tinue among  them  for  ten  years  an  industrial  school  and  other 
common  schools,  to  be  supported  in  part  from  the  annual 
interest  of  the  trust  fund  held  by  the  Government  to  the 
credit  of  the  East  Cherokee  and  in  part  by  funds  furnished 
by  the  Friends  themselves.  Through  the  efforts  of  Barnabas 
C.  Hobbs,  of  the  Western  Yearly  Meeting,  a  yearly  contract 
to  the  same  effect  was  entered  into  with  the  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affairs  later  in  the  same  year,  and  was  renewed  by 
successive  commissioners  to  cover  the  period  of  ten  years  end- 


590        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ing  June  30,  1892,  when  the  contract  system  was  terminated 
and  the  Government  assumed  direct  control.  Under  the  joint 
arrangement,  with  some  aid  at  the  outset  from  the  North 
Carohna  Meeting,  work  was  begun  in  1881  by  Thomas  Browoi 
with  several  teachers  sent  out  by  the  Indiana  Friends,  who 
established  a  small  training  school  at  the  agency  headquar- 
ters at  Cherokee,  and  several  day  schools  in  the  outlying  set- 
tlements. He  was  succeeded  three  years  later  by  H.  W. 
Spray,  an  experienced  educator,  who,  with  a  corps  of  efficient 
assistants  and  greatly  enlarged  facilities,  continued  to  do  good 
work  for  the  elevation  of  the  Indians  until  the  close  of  the 
contract  system  eight  years  later.  After  an  interregnum,  dur- 
ing which  the  schools  suffered  from  frequent  changes,  he  was 
reappointed  as  government  agent  and  superintendent  in  1898, 
a  position  which  he  still  holds  in  1901.  To  the  work  con- 
ducted under  his  auspices  the  East  Cherokee  owe  much  of 
what  they  have  today  of  civilization  and  enlightenment. 

Eastern  Band  Sues  in  Court  of  Claims.  "The  East 
Cherokee  had  never  ceased  to  contend  for  a  participation  in 
the  rights  and  privileges  accruing  to  the  western  nation  under 
treaties  with  the  government.  In  1882  a  special  agent  had 
been  appointed  to  investigate  their  claims  and  in  the  following 
year,  under  authority  of  Congress,  the  eastern  band  of  Cher- 
okee brought  suit  in  the  Court  of  Claims  against  the  United 
States  and  the  Cherokee  Indians.  .  .  .  The  case  was 
decided  adversely  to  the  eastern  band,  first  by  the  Court  of 
Claims  in  1885,  and  finally,  on  appeal,  by  the  Supreme  Court 
on  March  1,  1886,  that  court  holding  in  its  decision  that  the 
Cherokee  in  North  Carohna  had  dissolved  their  connection 
with  the  Cherokee  nation  and  ceased  to  be  a  part  of  it  when 
they  refused  to  accompany  the  main  body  at  the  Removal, 
and  that  if  Indians  in  North  Carolina  or  in  any  state  east  of 
the  Mississippi  wished  to  enjoy  the  benefits  of  the  common 
property  of  the  Cherokee  Nation  in  any  form  whatever  they 
must  be  readmitted  to  citizenship  in  the  Cherokee  Nation  and 
comply  with  its  constitution  and  laws. 

Eastern  Band  Incorporated.  "In  order  to  acquire  a 
more  definite  legal  status,  the  Cherokee  residing  in  North 
Carolina — being  practically  all  those  of  the  eastern  band 
having  genuine  Indian  interests — became  a  corporate  body 
under  the  laws  of  the  state  in  1889.     In  1894  the  long-stand- 


THE  CHEROKEES  591 


ing  litigation  betwoon  the  East  Clierokce  and  a  nuinlier  of 
creditors  and  claimants  to  Indian  lands  within  and  adjoining 
the  Qualla  boinidary  was  finally  settled  by  a  compromise 
by  which  the  several  white  tenants  and  claimants  within  the 
boundary  agreed  to  execute  a  quitclaim  and  vacate  on  pay- 
ment to  them  b}'  the  Indians  of  sums  aggregating  S24,552, 
while  for  another  disputed  adjoining  tract  of  33,000  acres  the 
United  States  agreed  to  pay,  for  the  Indians,  at  the  rate  of 
$1.25  per  acre.  The  necessary  government  approval  having 
been  obtained,  Congress  appropriated  a  sufficient  amount  for 
carrying  into  effect  the  agreement,  thus  at  last  completing 
a  perfect  and  unencumbered  title  to  all  the  lands  claimed  by 
the  Indians,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  outlying  tracts  of 
comparative  unimportance. 

Exact  Legal  Status  Still  in  Dispute.  "The  exact 
legal  status  of  the  East  Cherokee  is  still  a  matter  of  dispute, 
they  being  at  once  wards  of  the  government,  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  and  (in  North  Carolina)  a  corporate  body 
mider  state  laws.  They  pay  real  estate  taxes  and  road  ser- 
vice, exercise  the  voting  privilege  and  are  amenable  to  local 
courts,  but  do  not  pay  poll  tax  or  receive  any  pauper  assist- 
ance from  the  counties;  neither  can  they  make  free  contracts 
or  alienate  their  lands.  Under  their  tribal  constitution  they 
are  governed  by  a  principal  and  an  assistant  chief,  elected  for 
a  term  of  four  years,  with  an  executive  council  appointed  by 
the  chief,  and  sixteen  councilors  elected  by  the  various  settle- 
ments for  a  term  of  two  years.  The  annual  council  is  held 
in  October  at  Cherokee,  on  the  reservation,  the  proceedings 
being  in  the  Cherokee  language  and  recorded  by  their  clerk 
in  the  Cherokee  alphabet,  as  well  as  in  English. 

Present  ^Material  Conditions.  "The  majority  are 
fairly  comfortable,  far  above  the  condition  of  most  Indian 
tribes,  and  but  little,  if  any,  behind  their  white  neighbors. 
In  literary  ability  they  may  even  be  said  to  surpass  them, 
as  in  addition  to  the  result  of  nearly  twenty  years  of  school 
work  among  the  younger  people,  nearly  all  the  men  and  some 
of  the  women  can  read  and  WTite  their  own  language.  All 
wear  civilized  costumes,  though  an  occasional  pair  of  mocca- 
sins is  seen,  while  the  women  find  means  to  gratify  the  racial 
love  of  color  in  the  wearing  of  red  bandanna  kerchiefs  in  place 
of  bonnets.     The  older  people  still  cling  to  their  ancient  rites 


592        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

and  sacred  traditions,  but  the  dance  and  the  ballplay  wither 
and  the  Indian  day  is  nearly  spent." 

Eastern  Band  Try  to  Sell  Timber.  Since  Mr.  Moody's 
concluding  words  were  written  the  courts  have  managed  still 
more  to  confuse  the  legal  status  of  the  Cherokees,  for  in  Sep- 
tember, 1893,  the  Eastern  Band  of  Cherokee  Indians,  acting 
as  a  corporation  of  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  by  virtue  of 
Chapter  211,  Private  Laws  of  1889,  sold  and  conveyed  to 
David  L.  Boyd  certain  timber  on  the  Cathcart  tract  of  the 
Qualla  boundary,  containing  about  30,000  acres.  In  January, 
1894,  David  L.  Boyd  sold  said  trees  to  H.  M.  Dickson  and  Wil- 
liam T.  Mason,  who  afterwards  conveyed  thern  to  the  Dick- 
son-Mason Lumber  Company.  Before  beginning  to  cut 
these  trees  the  Dickson-Mason  Company  was  apprised  of  the 
fact  that  the  Department  of  the  Interior  of  the  United  States 
had  not  sanctioned  the  sale  of  this  timber,  and  refused  to  ratify 
the  contract.  This  company,  on  the  other  hand,  had  been 
advised  that  the  band  of  Indians  were  citizens  of  North  Caro- 
lina and  not  tribal  Indians,  and,  therefore,  had  the  right  to 
convey  the  trees;  and  desiring  to  have  the  question  tested 
by  the  courts,  put  a  few  men  to  work  cutting  the  timber,  at 
the  same  time  notifying  the  agents  of  the  Government  and  the 
United  States  District  Attorney  of  the  fact.  The  government 
instituted  a  suit  in  which  it  asked  a  perpetual  injunction 
against  the  Dickson-Mason  Company;  but  at  the  next  term 
of  the  United  States  Court  at  Asheville,  in  November,  1894, 
the  government  voluntarily  took  a  nonsuit  in  the  cause, 
the  Attorney  General  holding  that  "the  legal  status  of  the 
Indians  in  question  is  that  of  citizens  of  North  Carohna;  that 
they  have  been  in  all  respects  citizens  since  the  date  of  or 
soon  after  the  treaty  with  the  Cherokees  of  1885  [1835?], 
and  this  with  the  consent  of  the  United  States  expressed  in 
that  treaty,  by  the  election  of  the  Indians  and  the  consent 
of  North  Carolina.  They  have  voted  at  all  elections  for 
half  a  century,  and  are  citizens  of  the  United  States.  It  seems 
clear  that  Congress  could  not,  by  the  Act  of  July  27,  1868, 
or  otherwise  (if  such  was  the  intention)  make  of  them  an 
Indian  tribe  or  place  them  under  the  control  of  the  United 
States  as  Indians,  any  more  effectually  than  if  they  had  been 
white  citizens  of  Massachusetts  or  Georgia  (Eastern  Band 
Cherokee  Indians  v.   the   United  States  and  Cherokee  Nation, 


THE  CHEROKEES  593 


117  U.  S.  228).     Neither  could  such  citizens  of  North  Carohna 
make  themselves  a  tribe  of  Indians  within  that  State. " 

Interior  Department  Intervenes.  Accordingly,  the 
Dickson-iNIason  Company  began  making  large  and  expensive 
preparations  for  cutting  the  timber  on  the  Cathcart  bound- 
ary. But,  it  turned  out  later,  that  the  Interior  Department 
was  not  satisfied  with  this  disposition  of  the  matter  and  com- 
menced another  action  based  on  the  same  facts,  but  alleging 
frauil  in  obtaining  the  Boyd  contract  from  the  Indians. 
Judge  C.  H.  Simonton  (in  U.  S.  v.  Boyd,  68  Fed.  Rep.,  587) 
held  that  the  Eastern  Band  of  Cherokees  were  not  tribal 
Indians,  but  wards  of  the  Government  which,  like  any  other 
guardian,  had  the  right  to  see  that  any  contract  made  by 
them  was  for  their  benefit  and  not  to  their  detriment.  In 
an  opinion  filed  by  him  he  held  that  "the  case  of  the  Chero- 
kee trust  fund  (117  U.  S.,  288)  does  not  conflict  with  these 
views.  That  case  decides  that  this  Eastern  Band  of  Chero- 
kee Indians  is  not  a  part  of  the  nation  of  Cherokees  with 
which  this  Government  treats,  and  that  they  have  no  recog- 
nized separate  political  existence.  But,  at  the  same  time,  their 
distinct  unity  is  recognized,  and  the  fostering  care  of  the 
Government  over  them  as  such  distinct  unit.  This  being  so, 
the  United  States  have  the  right  in  their  own  Courts  to  bring 
such  suits  as  may  be  necessary  to  protect  these  Indians." 

Government  Appeals  from  Decision.  The  case  was  then 
referred  to  Hon.  R.  M.  Douglas,  Standing  Master,  who,  in  No- 
vember, 1895,  found  that  the  price  paid  for  the  timber  ($15,000) 
was  fair  and  that  there  was  no  fraud  in  making  the  contract. 
This  report  was  confirmed,  but  the  Government  appealed  to 
the  Circuit  Court  of  Appeals  from  so  much  of  the  decree  as 
held  that  the  Court  had  the  power  to  permit  the  parties  to 
carry  out  the  contract  without  the  sanction  of  the  Interior 
Department,  upon  the  ground  that  "these  Indians  were  tribal 
Indians  and  embraced  within  the  terms  of  congressional  en- 
actments for  the  protection  of  tribal  Indians."  This  con- 
tention was  sustained  on  appeal  (see  U.  S.  v.  Boyd  and  others, 
83  Fed.  Rep.,  547),  though  "no  reference  is  made  by  the  Court 
to  the  decision  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  in  the 
case  of  the  Eastern  Band  of  the  Cherokee  Indians  v.  United 
States  and  Cherokee  Nation  (117  U.  S.  Rep.,  288)  where  the 
whole  subject  is  discussed,  and  where,  on  page  309,  the  Court 

W.  N.  C— 38 


594        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

says  :  ' .  .  .  .  thej^  have  never  been  recognized  by  the 
United  States;  no  treaty  has  been  made  with  them;  they  can 
pass  no  laws;  they  are  citizens  of  that  State  [North  CaroUna] 
and  bound  by  its  laws.'" 

Lumber  Company  Appeals.  From  this  decision  the  Dick- 
son -  Mason  Company  appealed  to  the  United  States 
Supreme  Court  in  May,  1888,  but  before  its  perfection  the 
Interior  Department  re-investigated  the  contract  of  sale  of 
the  timber,  and  fully  ratified  the  same.  The  appeal,  there- 
fore, was  abandoned;  and  the  anomaly  remains  that  the 
Cherokees  are  citizens  of  North  Carolina,  according  to  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court,  while  they  are  still  tribal  In- 
dains  whose  contracts  are  void  without  the  approval  of  the 
Department  of  the  Interior,  according  to  the  decision  of  an 
inferior  tribunal,  that  of  the  U.  S.  Court  of  Appeals.  (For  a 
full  report  of  these  cases  see  Private  Calender  No.  725,  61st 
Congress,  3d  Session,  House  Rep.  Report  No.  1926,  January 
17,  1911.)  Thus  each  party  to  this  proceeding  obtained  what 
was  sought  by  it;  the  Dickson-Mason  company  the  right  to 
cut  and  remove  the  timber,  and  the  Interior  Depart- 
ment a  decision  which  gives  it  a  right  to  review  every 
contract  made  by  the  Eastern  Band  of  Cherokees.  And  it 
is  well  that  this  is  so,  for  while  there  was  no  fraud  in  this  par- 
ticular contract,  nevertheless,  there  may  be  in  contracts  yet 
to  be  made. 

United  States  Vacillates,  State  Stands  Firm.  The 
above  is  the  work  of  the  United  States  authorities.  So  far 
as  North  Carolina  is  concerned,  her  courts  have  finally  and 
forever  settled  the  status  of  the  Cherokee  Indians  in  her 
borders  as  citizens  of  this  State,  as  will  fully  appear  bj^  refer- 
ence to  Frazier  v.  Cherokee  Indians,  146  N.  C,  477,  and  State 
V.  Wolfe,  145  N.  C,  440. 

Final  Distribution.  "In  1910  was  distributed  to  the 
Eastern  Band  of  Cherokees  about  $133  per  capita.  ^  This 
is  the  final  payment  on  their  claims  against  the  Government 
for  a  balance  due  them  under  the  New  Echota  treaty  of  1835- 
1836,  under  which  the  Government  had  promised  to  pay  the 
Eastern  Band  of  Cherokees  (before  the  removal)  $5,000,000 
for  a  release  to  all  of  their  lands  east  of  the  Mississippi  river, 
part  of  which  was  to  be  paid  in  cash  and  the  balance  invested 
in  bonds  and  held  for  their  benefit.     But  there  is  another  pro- 


THE  CHEROKEES  595 


vision  under  which  each  Indian  was  to  be  paid  for  transportation 
to  the  Indian  Territory  and  for  one  year's  subsistence  after  arriv- 
ing there.  There  was  a  question  as  to  whether  this  money 
was  to  be  in  addition  to  the  $5,000,000  to  be  paid  for 
the  lands  or  was  to  be  deducted  from  that  fund.  In  a  sub- 
sequent settlement  with  the  Government  (1852)  the  Indians 
gave  a  receipt  which  was  in  full  of  all  claims  and  demands, 
although  at  that  time  the  question  of  this  transportation  and 
subsistence  payment  had  not  been  discussed.  ^  It  was  after- 
wards raised,  however,  but  the  United  States  claimed  that 
the  Cherokees  were  estopped  by  their  receipt  above  referred 
to.  Thus  matters  stood  when  Hon.  Hoke  Smith,  Secretary 
of  the  Interior  under  President  Cleveland,  sought  to  pur- 
chase of  the  Western  Band  the  Cherokee  Strip  of  the  Indian 
Territory  (25  Stat.,  1005  of  1889).  The  Cherokees  then  re- 
fused to  consider  any  proposition  to  sell  until  the  Govern- 
ment agreed  to  allow  them  to  prove  any  claim  they  might 
still  have  against  the  Government  under  the  New  Echota 
treaty.  This  the  Government  agreed  to  December  19,  1891, 
and  the  Cherokee  Strip  was  sold.  The  Interior  Department 
investigated  their  claims  and  reported  that  there  was  due  the 
Indians  $1,111,284.71  which,  at  five  per  cent  from  12th  June, 
1838,  amounted  to  about  $4,500,000.  But  the  Department 
of  Justice  decided  against  the  admission  of  the  Department 
of  the  Interior,  the  Attorney  General  holding  that  the  receipt 
of  1852  estopped  the  Indians  from  setting  up  any  further 
claims,  March  2,  1893.  Whereupon,  Congress  passed  an  act 
authorizing  the  Indians  to  set  up  their  contentions  before 
the  Court  of  Claims,  which  decided  in  favor  of  the  Indians. 
But  the  United  States  appealed  to  the  Supreme  Court,  which 
sustained  the  Court  of  Claims,  with  some  slight  modifica- 
tions. An  effort  was  made  to  pay  out  this  money  per  stirpes, 
but  that  was  found  to  be  impracticable  and  the  payment  had 
to  be  made  per  capita,  owing  to  intermarriages  between  the 
Indians  and  the  whites.  According  to  the  roll  of  1851  the 
Eastern  Band  composed  about  one-ninth  of  the  Cherokee 
Nation,  but  in  the  final  payment  they  were  found  to  be  only 
about  one-eighteenth  of  the  whole.  See  Eastern  Cherokees  v. 
United  States,  No.  23214  Court  of  Claims,  decided  March  7, 
1910." 

Western  Cherokee  Nation  Dissolved.     In   1887  Con- 
gress abandoned  the  reservation  plan,  and  enacted  the  Land 


596        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Allotment  Law,  by  which  the  land  was  divided  into  indi- 
vidual holdings  to  be  held  in  trust  by  the  government  till 
each  individual  o^^^ler  was  considered  competent  to  hold  it 
in  fee.  This  has  now  been  done,  the  task  of  converting  the 
Cherokees  from  a  tribe  into  a  body  of  individual  owners  of 
land  having  been  commenced  in  1902.  Prior  to  that  date, 
in  1898,  Congress  had  passed  the  Curtis  act  providing  for 
the  valuation  and  allotment  of  the  lands  of  the  Five  Civil- 
ized Tribes.  In  1906  the  legislative,  and  judicial  depart- 
ments of  the  Cherokees  ceased;  but  the  executive  branch 
was  kept  in  existence  under  Principal  Chief  W.  C.  Rogers. 
When  Oklahoma  became  a  state  in  1907  all  members  of  the 
tribe  became  citizens  of  the  new  state.  By  July  1,  1914, 
all  community  property  had  been  converted  into  cash,  amount- 
ing to  about  $600,000,  or  about  $15  per  capita,  to  41,798 
members,  including  about  2,000  full-blooded  whites  and  3,000 
full-blooded  negroes,  descendants  of  slaves  freed  in  1865. 
The  four  other  nations,  Creek,  Chickasaw,  Seminole  and 
Chocktaw,  will  soon  pass  into  full  citizenship  also.  The, 
Cherokees  were  admittedly  the  most  advanced  native  Ameri- 
can race  since  the  Spanish  exterminated  the  Incas  and  Aztecs. 
Ethnologically  the  Cherokees  are  said  to  have  been  a  branch 
of  the  Iroquois  family,  though  never  allied  with  them  politi- 
cally. It  is  claimed  that  they  were  driven  from  their  orig- 
inal home  in  the  Appomattox  basin,  Virginia,  into  Georgia, 
the  Carolinas  and  Tennessee.  When  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  LTnited  States  sustained  the  Cherokee  treaties,  Andrew 
Jackson  remarked:  "Now  let  John  Marshall  enforce  his 
decision." 

Population.  There  are  at  this  time  in  Swain,  Jackson, 
Cherokee  and  Graham  counties.  North  Carolina,  a  consider- 
able number  of  Cherokee  Indians.  "The  total  population  of 
the  Cherokees,  as  given  by  the  superintendent  in  charge  for 
1911,  is  2,015.  The  enrollment  in  the  different  schools  is 
as  follows: 

Cherokee  Indian  School  (Boarding) 175 

Birdtown  Day  School 45 

Snow  Bird  Gap  (Day  School) 34 

Little  Snow  Bird 20 

"A  considerable  number  attend  public  schools  where  the 
degree  of  Indian  blood  is  small.     The  non-reservation  board- 


THE  CHEROKEES  597 

iiig  schools  provided  by  the  Federal  Government  also  have 
a  number  of  pupils  from  this  reservation." 

Indian  Weapons.  From  the  Handbook  of  American 
Indians  (Bulletin  30  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Ethnology, 
Smithsonian  Institution,  90-94)  can  be  obtained  a  full  de- 
scription of  the  arrowheads,  arrows,  bows  and  quivers,  etc., 
of  the  American  Indians;  with  pictures  of  arrowshaft  straight- 
eners,  stone  arrowshaft  rubber,  and  the  various  methods  of 
arrow  release.  It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  process  by 
which  the  Indians  manufactured  the  arrow-  and  spear-heads 
out  of  flint  is  among  the  lost  arts;  but  Dr.  W.  H.  Holmes, 
head  curator  of  the  department  of  anthropology  of  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  wrote  me,  August  29,  1913,  that  "the 
processes  referred  to  are  well  known  and  have  been  observed 
in  practice  among  a  number  of  western  tribes,  and  the  art 
has  been  acquired  by  numerous  students  of  the  subject,  among 
others  myself.  In  preparing  a  work  for  publication  in  the 
near  future,  I  have  described  twenty  processes  practiced  by 
different  primitive  peoples.  The  flint  is  usually  quarried 
from  pits  at  Flint  Ridge,  Ohio,  and  in  many  parts  of  Georgia 
and  the  Carolinas.  It  is  broken  into  fragments  and  the  thin 
favorable  ones  are  chosen  and  the  shape  is  roughed  out  by 
means  of  small  hammerstones.  These  hammerstones  are 
found  in  great  numbers  in  flint  bearing  regions  and  are  glob- 
ular in  shape  or  discoidal.  Sometimes  they  have  pits  in 
opposite  sides  to  accommodate  the  thumb  and  fingers  while 
in  use.  When  the  shape  is  roughed  out  by  strokes  of  the 
hammer,  and  the  edges  are  in  approximate  shape,  a  piece 
of  hard  bone  or  antler  is  taken  and  the  flakes  are  struck  off 
on  the  edges  by  means  of  quick,  hard  pressure  with  the  bone 
point.  Sometimes  the  implement  being  shaped  is  held  in  the 
hand,  the  hand  being  protected  by  a  pad  of  buckskin.  Again, 
the  implement  being  shaped  is  laid  upon  a  solid  surface  of 
wood  or  stone  beneath  which  is  a  pad  of  buckskin  and  the 
flakes  are  broken  off  by  downward  pressure  of  the  instrument." 

CHEROKEE  MYTHS. 

(Condonssd  from  the  19th  Annual  Report  of  tho  Bureau  of  Ethnology.) 

Origin  of  the  Mounds.  Were  built  for  town-houses  from 
which  to  witness  dances  and  games,  and  be  above  freshets. 

Cheowa  Maxima.  A  bald  mountain  at  head  of  Cheowa 
river,  was  the  place  of  hornets,  from  a  monster  hornet  which 
nested  there. 


598        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Joanna  Bald.  A  bald  mountain  between  Graham  and 
Cherokee,  called  "hzard  place,"  from  a  great  lizard  with 
shining  throat. 

JuDACULLA  Old  Field.  On  slope  of  Tennessee  bald,  where 
a  giant  of  that  name  had  had  his  residence  and  field. 

Judaculla  Rock.  On  the  north  bank  of  Caney  fork,  a 
mile  above  Moses'  creek,  being  a  large  soapstone  slab  covered 
with  rude  carvings. 

Nantahala.  a  river  in  Macon,  being  a  corruption  of 
Nundayeli,  or  middle  sun,  because  between  the  river  banks 
the  sun  can  be  seen  only  at  noonday.  Others  say  it  means 
a  maiden's  bosom. 

NuGATSANi.  A  ridge  below  Yellow  Hill,  said  to  be  the 
resort  of  fairies.     The  word  denotes  a  gradual  or  gentle  slope. 

QuALLA.  A  name  given  a  locality  where  there  was  a  trad- 
mg  post  because  a  woman  named  Polly  lived  there,  the  In- 
dians pronouncing  it  Qually,  being  unable  to  articulate  the 
letter  p. 

Soco  Gap.  At  the  head  of  Soco  creek,  and  means  an  am- 
bush or  where  they  were  ambushed,  from  which  point  they 
w^atched  for  enemies  approaching  from  the  north.  It  was 
there  they  ambushed  an  invading  party  of  Shawano.  Hence 
the  name. 

Standing  Indian.  A  high  peak  at  the  head  of  Nantahala 
river,  meaning  "where  the  man  stood"  (Yunwitsulenunyi), 
from  a  rock  that  used  to  jut  out  from  the  summit,  but  is  now 
broken  off. 

Stekoa.  The  W.  H.  Thomas  farm  above  Whittier,  the 
true  meaning  of  which  is  lost.  It  does  not  mean  "little  fat," 
as  some  suppose. 

Swannanoa.  It  does  not  mean  "beautiful,"  but  is  a  cor- 
ruption of  Suwali-nunna  (hi),  Suwali  trail,  the  Cherokee 
name,  not  of  the  stream,  but  of  the  trail  crossing  the  gap  to 
the  country  of  the  Ani-Suwali  or  Cheraw. 

TusQUiTTEE  Bald.  A  mountain  in  Clay,  meaning  "where 
the  water-dogs  laughed";  because  a  hunter  thought  he  heard 
dogs  laugh  there,  but  found  that  their  pond  had  dried  up, 
and  they  were  on  their  way  to  Nantahala  river,  saying  their 
gills  had  dried  up. 

Vengeance  Creek.  A  south  branch  of  Valley  river,  be- 
cause of  the  cross  looks  of  an  Indian  woman  who  lived  there. 


THE  CHEROKEES  599 

Wayah  Gap.  In  Nantahala  mountains  on  road  from  Aquone 
to  Franklin,  and  is  Cherokee  for  wolf.  A  fight  occurred  here 
in  177G.    Some  call  it  Warrior  gap. 

Webster.  Used  to  be  called  Unadantiyi,  or  "Where  they 
conjured,"  though  the  name  properly  belongs  to  a  gap  three 
miles  east  of  Webster  on  trail  up  Scott's  creek. 

McNair's  Grave.  Just  inside  the  Tennessee  line  is  a 
stone-walled  grave,  with  a  slab  on  which  is  an  epitaph  telling 
of  the  Removal  heartbreak,  having  this  inscription:  "Sacred 
to  the  memory  of  David  and  Delilah  A.  McNair,  who  de- 
parted this  life,  the  former  on  the  15th  August,  1836,  and  the 
latter  on  the  30th  November,  1838.  Their  children  being 
members  of  the  Cherokee  nation  and  having  to  go  with  their 
people  to  the  West,  do  leave  this  monument,  not  only  to  show 
their  regard  for  their  parents,  but  to  guard  their  sacred  ashes 
against  the  unhallowed  intrusion  of  the  white  man." 

NOTES. 

iCondensed  from  Literary  Digest,  p.  472,  September  21,  1912. 

^Unless  otherwise  noted  all  in  this  chapter  is  based  on  the  Nineteenth  Annual  Report 
of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnolopy,  1S97,  Part  I. 

'Roosevelt,  Vol.  I,  p.  74. 

*In  the  Lyceum  for  April,  1891,  pp.  22-23,  the  late  Col.  A.  T.  Davidson  gives  an  ac- 
count of  the  burial  of  two  brass  field  pieces  by  Rutherford's  men  in  a  swamp  below  the 
residence  of  the  late  Elam  Slagle,  and  near  the  mouth  of  Warrior  creek,  so  called  because 
of  the  battle  there. 

^X.  C.  Booklet,  for  December,  1904. 

«In  Wheeler,  Vol.  II  (pp.  205-6)  is  a  letter  from  Col.  Thomas  to  Hon.  James  Graham, 
dated  October  15,  1838,  in  which  he  gives  a  brief  account  of  the  Eastern  Band  and  why 
they  were  allowed  to  remain. 

'Condensed  from  19th  An.  Rep.  Bureau  Am.  Ethnology,  and  N.  C.  Booklet,  Vol.  Ill, 
No.  2.  These  notes  were  from  the  Nineteenth  Report,  and  I  have  already  sufficiently 
stated  that  everj-thing  not  otherwise  noted  (Note  2)  is  taken  from  that  authority. 

'Statement  of  Hon.  Geo.  H.  Smathers,  attorney  for  the  Eastern  Band,  to  J.  P.  A.. 
May  28.  1912. 

•See  9  Stat.  L.  544-556-570-572;  40  Court  of  Claims,  281-252;  202  U.  S.  Rep.,  101-130. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 
THE  CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD 

Introductory  Remarks.  That  there  were  many  outrages 
committed  on  and  near  the  Tennessee  line  during  the  Civil 
War  is  too  well  known  to  admit  of  doubt.  That  all  the  blame 
does  not  rest  on  one  side  alone  is  equally  certain.  These  moun- 
tains were  full  of  "outhers, "  as  they  were  called,  and  they  had  to 
live  somehow.  They  did  not  belong  especially  to  either  side; 
they  simply  wanted  to  keep  out  of  the  war.  It  was  a  great 
temptation  to  cold  and  hungry  men  on  foot  to  steal  horses, 
food,  bedding  and  clothing,  and  many  of  them  yielded  to 
the  desire.  Raiding  parties  went  into  Tennessee  from  North 
Carolina  and  raiding  parties  from  Teimessee  came  into  the 
North  Carolina  mountains.  The  trails  and  wagon  roads 
through  these  mountains  were  usually  guarded  by  Confeder- 
ate troops.  When  they  could  not  capture  those  who  were 
riding  or  driving  horses  and  mules  from  one  side  to  the  other 
they  shot  them  down.  Toward  the  close  of  the  war  lawless 
men  robbed  those  they  thought  had  money  or  other  valuables. 
That  the  names  of  those  who  figured  in  this  unfortunate 
period  as  oppressors  or  oppressed  should  be  preserved,  as  far 
as  possible,  is  evident  to  all  who  appreciate  the  duties  of  im- 
partial history.  Therefore,  not  to  keep  alive  unpleasant  mem- 
ories, but  to  preserve  names,  dates  and  events,  some  of  these 
occurrences  are  here  related.  Some  of  them  were  attended 
with  unnecessary  cruelty,  but  no  mention  is  made  thereof. 
That  some  of  the  women  at  home  had  as  hard  a  time  as  the 
men  in  the  field  is  sho\\Ti  by  Mrs.  Margaret  Walker's  story. 
The  facts  given  in  this  chapter  are  meant  merely  to  supple- 
ment those  given  in  ''The  North  Carolina  Regiments,"  pub- 
lished by  the  State  in  1901. 

North  Carolina  in  the  Civil  War.  ^  From  the  address 
at  Raleigh,  May  10,  1904,  by  Hon.  Theo.  F.  Davidson,  the 
following  is  taken  :  "She  [North  Carolina]  was  next  to  the 
last  state  to  secede  from  the  Union,  and  in  Februar}^  1861, 
she  voted  against  secession  by  30,000  majority;  yet,  with  a 
military  population  of  115,365,  the  State  of  North  Carolina 
furnished  to  the  Confederate  army  125,000  men.     ...      Of 

.(fiOQ) 


CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  601 

the  ten  regiments  on  cither  side  which  sustained  the  heaviest 
loss  in  any  one  engagement  during  the  war,  Georgia,  Ala- 
bama, Tennessee,  lUinois,  New  York,  Pennsylvania  and  New 
Jersey  furnished  one  each,  and  North  Carolina  furnished 
three.  North  Carolina  furnished  from  first  to  last  one-fifth 
of  the  entire  Confederate  army,  and  at  the  surrender  at 
Appomattox,  one -half  of  the  muskets  stacked  were  from 
North  Carolina.  The  last  charge  of  the  Army  of  Northern 
Mrginia  under  Lee  was  made  by  North  Carolina  troops,  and 
the  last  gun  fired  was  by  Planner's  battery  from  Wilming- 
ton, N.  C.  The  men  of  North  Carolina  were  found  dead 
farthest  up  the  blood-stained  slopes  of  Gettysburg.  40,275 
soldiers  from  North  Carolina  gave  their  lives  to  the  Confed- 
eracy— more  than  one  third  of  her  entire  military  population, 
and  a  loss  of  more  than  double  in  percentage  that  sus- 
tained by  the  soldiers  from  any  other  state.  Of  this  num- 
ber 19,678  were  killed  upon  the  field  of  battle  or  died  of 
wounds;  and  it  is  now  a  historical  fact,  questioned  by  none, 
that  the  greatest  loss  sustained  by  any  regiment  on  either 
side  during  the  war  was  that  of  the  twentj'^-sixth  North  Caro- 
lina regiment  at  Gettysburg.  ^  It  carried  into  action  800  men 
and  came  out  with  eighty,  who,  with  torn  ranks  and  tattered 
flag,  were  still  eager  for  the  fray.  The  charge  of  the  fifth 
North  Carolina  regiment  at  Williamsburg  ranks  in  military 
history  with  that  of  the  Light  Brigade  at  Balaclava.  That 
charge  gave  the  regiment  and  its  brave  and  illustrious  com- 
mander. Col.  D.  K.  McRae,  to  immortality. "  ^ 

Carved  on  the  Confederate  monument  at  Raleigh  are  these 
words  : 

"First  at  Bethel,  Farthest  at  Gettysburg  and  Chicka- 

MAUGA,    AND    LaST   AT   ApPOMATTOX. " 

These  claims  are  amply  sustained  in  Vol.  I,  "Literary  and 
Historical  Activities  in  North  Carolina,  1900-1905,"  as  fol- 
lows: First  at  Bethel,  by  E.  J.  Hale  (p.  427);  Farthest  to 
the  Front  at  Gettysburg,  by  W.  A.  Montgomery  (p.  432); 
Longstreet's  Assault  at  Gettysburg,  by  W.  R.  Bond  (p.  446); 
Farthest  to  the  Front  at  Chickamauga,  by  A.  C.  Avery  (p.  459); 
The  Last  at  Appomattox,  by  Henry  A.  London  (p.  471);  The 
Last  Capture  of  Guns,  by  E.  J.  Holt  (p.  481),  and  Number  of 
Losses  of  North  Carolina  Troops  (p.  484). 


602        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

AsHEViLLE  A  ^MILITARY  CENTER.  "During  the  War  Be- 
tween the  States,  Asheville  became  in  a  small  way  a  military 
center.  ^  Confederate  troops  were  from  time  to  time  encamped 
at  Camp  Patton,  at  Camp  Clingman  on  French  Broad  Ave- 
nue and  Phillip  street,  on  Battery  Porter  Hill  (now  called 
Battery  Park),  at  Camp  Jeter  (northeast  and  northwest  cor- 
ners of  Cherry  and  Flint  streets),  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Look- 
out Park.  Fortifications  were  erected  on  Beaucatcher,  Bat- 
tery Porter,  Woodfin  street  opposite  the  Oaks  Hotel,  Mont- 
ford  avenue  near  the  residence  of  J.  E.  Rumbough,  on  the 
hill  near  the  end  of  Riverside  drive  north  of  T.  S.  Morrison's, 
and  on  the  ridge  immediately  east  of  the  place  Avhere  North 
Main  street  last  crosses  Glenn's  creek,  now  [1898]  o^\^led  by  the 
children  of  the  late  N.  W.  Woodfin.  At  this  last  place,  on 
April  11th,  1865,  a  battle  was  fought  between  the  Confeder- 
ate troops  at  Asheville  and  a  detachment  of  United  States 
troops,  who  came  up  the  French  Broad  river.  The  latter  was 
defeated  and  compelled  to  return  into  Tennessee.  This  was 
the  Battle  of  Asheville. 

War-Time  Locations  in  Asheville.  "The  Confederate 
postoffice  was  in  the  old  Buck  Hotel  building  on  North  Main 
street..  The  Confederate  commissary  was  on  the  east  side  of 
North  Main  street  between  the  pubhc  square  and  College 
street.  This  old  building  was  afterwards  removed  to  Patton 
avenue,  whence  it  was  removed  again  to  give  way  to  a  brick 
building.  The  Confederate  hospital  stood  on  the  grounds 
afterwards  occupied  by  the  Legal  building,  where  is  now  the 
Citizen  office.  ■*  The  chief  armories  of  the  Confederate  states 
were  at  Richmond,  Va.,  and  Fayetteville,  N.  C,  but  there 
were  two  smaller  establishments,  one  at  Asheville,  N.  C, 
and  the  other  at  Tallahassee,  Ala.  (1  Davis's  Rise  and  Fall 
of  the  Confederate  Government,  480.) 

Confederate  Armory.  "The  armory  at  Asheville  was  in 
charge  of  an  Englishman  by  the  name  of  Rilej'-  as  chief  ma- 
chinist. It  stood  on  the  branch  immediately  east  of  where 
Valley  street  crosses  it.  Here,  when  North  Carolina  was  one 
of  the  Confederate  States  of  America,  the  Confederate  flag 
from  a  high  flag -pole  was  constantly  displayed.  There  it 
floated  in  the  breeze,  and  rested  in  the  sunlight,  the  emblem — 

Of  liberty  born  of  a  patriot's  dream, 
Of  a  storm-cradled  nation  that  fell. 


CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  603 

"These  buiKIinss  were  burned  by  the  United  States  troops 
when  they  entered  the  town  m  the  latter  part  of  April,  18G5," 

The  Flag  of  Bethel.  The  flag  of  Bethel  was  made  and 
presented  to  the  Buncombe  Riflemen  by  Misses  Anna  and 
Lillie  Woodfin,  Fanny  and  Amiie  Patton,  Mary  Gains  and 
Kate  Smith.  It  was  made  of  their  silk  dresses.  Miss  Anna  Wood- 
fin  made  the  presentation  speech  and  after  the  war  embroidered 
upon  it  "Bethel."  It  was  carried  by  the  First  North  Caro- 
lina regiment  at  the  battle  of  Bethel  Church,  the  first  battle 
of  the  Civil  War. 

A  Hero  of  the  ]\Ierrimac.  Riley  Powers  of  Buncombe 
was  a  member  of  the  crew  of  the  "Merrimac"  when  she 
fought  the  "Monitor"  in  Hampton  Roads.  He  saw  her 
launched  and  witnessed  her  blowing  up. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  J.  A.  Keith.  In  the  spring  of  1863 
Lieutenant-Colonel  J.  A.  Keith  of  Marshall,  with  part  of  the 
64th  Regiment,  went  to  the  Shelton  Laurel  country  in  Madison 
county  to  pun'sh  those  of  that  section  who  had  taken  part 
in  the  looting  o'  ^larshall,  which  had  taken  place  only  a  short 
time  before.  At  this  looting  men  and  boys  from  Shelton 
Laurel  had  brocen  into  stores  and  removed  salt  and  other 
property.  Col.  Keith  captured  thirteen  old  men  and  youths. 
He  made  them  s't  on  a  log,  and  without  having  given  them 
even  the  pretense  of  a  trial  had  them  shot.  .  .  .  Some  of 
these  were  mere  loys.  The  trench  in  which  they  w^ere  buried 
is  still  shown  to  the  curious.  This  section  was  filled  with 
deserters  from  both  armies  and  those  seeking  to  escape  con- 
scription in  Term^ssee  and  North  Carolina.  They  carried 
on  a  sort  of  guer.'illa  warfare,  and  fought  from  rocks  and 
crags.  But  this  -wholesale  execution  instantly  aroused  the 
indignation  of  the  tatire  mountain  section.  Governor  Vance 
demanded  Keith's  esignation,  and  he  was  dismissed  from 
office  in  disgrace.  ^  He  was  arrested  after  the  Civil  War  and 
placed  in  jail  at  Ashiville;  but  before  he  could  be  tried  in  the 
Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Western  District 
of  North  Carolina,  President  Johnson's  proclamation  of 
amnesty  was  issued  2nd  he  escaped  trial  altogether.  In  the 
account  of  the  64th  Regiment  by  Capt.  B.  T.  ^Morris,  in 
"North  Carolina  Reginents, "  this  act  is  characterized  as 
being  too  cruel.  ^ 

Early  Signs  of  Di&affection  in  the  Mountains.  On 
the  7th  of  July,  1863,  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  pro- 


604        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

vided  for  the  organization  of  the  Guard  for  Home  Defence, 
commonly  called  the  Home  Guard,  which  was  to  consist  of  all 
males  from  18  to  50  not  in  the  Confederate  Army,  and  John 
W.  McElroy  was  appointed  brigadier  general  and  placed  in 
command,  with  headquarters  at  Burnsville.  ^  On  the  12th 
of  April,  1864,  he  wrote  to  Gov.  Vance  from  Mars  Hill  College, 
where  he  then  had  his  headquarters,  that  on  the  Sunday  night 
before  a  band  of  tories,  headed  by  Montrevail  Ray,  numbering 
about  75  men,  had  surprised  the  small  guard  he  had  left  at  Burns- 
ville,  and  broken  open  the  magazine  and  removed  all  the  arms 
and  ammunition.  They  had  also  broken  3pen  Brayley's 
[Bailey?]  store,  and  carried  off  the  contents;  had  attacked 
Captain  Lyons,  the  local  enrolling  officer,  in  his  room,  wound- 
ing him  slightly,  but  allowing  him  to  escape.  They  had 
broken  all  the  guns  they  could  not  carry  off,  taking  about 
100  State  guns;  also  some  bacon.  On  the  day  before,  being 
Saturday  the  9th  of  April,  a  band  of  about  fifty  white  women 
of  the  county  assembled  together  and  marched  in  a  body  to 
a  store-house  near  David  Proffitt's,  where  they  ''pressed" — 
appropriated  —  about  sixty  bushels  of  government  wheat, 
which  they  carried  off.  He  adds:  "The  co'mty  is  gone  up. 
It  has  got  to  be  impossible  to  get  any  man  out  there  unless  he  is 
dragged  out,  with  but  very  few  exceptions  There  was  but 
a  small  guard  there,  and  the  citizens  all  ran  or,  the  first  approach 
of  the  tories.  I  have  100  men  at  this  place  to  guard  against 
Kirk,  of  Laurel,  and  cannot  reduce  the  force;  and  to  call  out 
any  more  home  guards  at  this  time  is  only  certain  destruction 
to  the  country  eventually.  In  fact,  it  seems  to  me,  that 
there  is  a  determination  of  the  people  in  the  country  generally 
to  do  no  more  service  in  the  cause.  Swa-ms  of  men  liable  to 
conscription  are  gone  to  the  tories  or  to  the  Yankees — some 
men  that  you  have  no  idea  of — while  many  others  are  fleeing 
east  of  the  Blue  Ridge  for  refuge.  Johi;  S.  McElroy  and  all 
the  cavalry,  J.  W.  Anderson  and  man;  others,  are  gone  to 
Burke  for  refuge.  This  discourages  tlose  who  are  left  be- 
hind, and  on  the  back  of  that,  conscrivtion  [is]  now  going  on 
and  a  very  tyrannical  course  pursued  by  the  officers  charged 
with  the  business,  and  men  [are]  c<mscripted  and  cleaned 
out  as  [if]  raked  with  a  fine-toothed  comb;  and  if  any  are 
left,  if  they  are  called  upon  to  do  a  IJ.tle  home-guard  service, 
they  at  once  apply  for  a  wTit  of  hcoeas  corpus  and  get  off. 


CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  605 


Some  three  or  four  cases  have  been  tried  by  Judge  Read  the 
last  two  weeks,  and  the  men  released.  ...  If  something 
is  not  done  immediately  for  this  county  we  will  all  be  ruined, 
for  the  home-guards  now  will  not  do  to  depend  on. "  ^  Thus 
North  Carolina,  the  only  Southern  State  which  did  not  sus- 
pend the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  during  the  Civil  War,  was 
paying  the  penalty. 

Col.  Kirk's  Camp  Vance  Raid.  On  the  13th  of  June, 
1864,  Colonel  Kirk,  with  about  130  men,  left  Morristown, 
Tenn.,  and  marched  via  Bull's  Gap,  Greenville  and  Crab 
Orchard,  Tenn.,  to  Camp  Vance  in  North  Carolina,  six  miles 
below  Morganton,  "where  he  routed  the  enemy  with  loss  to 
them  of  one  commissioned  officer,  and  ten  men  killed — num- 
ber of  wounded  unkno^\^l.  His  own  losses  were  one  man 
killed,  one  mortally  wounded,  and  five  slightly  wounded, 
including  himself.  He  destroyed  one  locomotive  in  good 
condition,  three  cars,  the  depot  and  commissary  buildings, 
1200  small  arms,  with  amunition,  and  3,000  bushels  of  grain. 
He  captured  279  prisoners,  who  surrendered  with  the  camp. 
Of  these  he  brought  132  to  Knoxville,  with  32  negroes  and  48 
horses  and  mules.  He  obtained  forty  recruits  for  his  regi- 
ment; but  did  not,  however,  accomplish  his  principal  object: 
the  destruction  of  the  railroad  bridge  over  the  Yadkin  river. 
He  made  arrangements  to  have  it  done  secretly  after  he  had 
gone,  but  they  miscarried.  On  July  21,  1864,  Gen.  Stoneman 
from  Atlanta  thanked  and  complimented  Col.  Kirk  upon 
this  raid;  but  instructed  Gen.  Scofield  at  Knoxville  to  encour- 
age Col.  Kirk  to  organize  the  enemies  of  Jeff  Davis  in  Western 
North  Carolina  rather  than  undertake  such  hazardous  ex- 
peditions." ^ 

Details  of  the  Expedition  from  the  Guide.  They  were 
afoot,  carrying  their  rations,  blankets,  arms  and  ammunition 
on  their  shoulders. ' "  They  had  no  wagons  or  pack  animals  while 
going  there.  They  reached  what  is  now  Carter  county,  Tenn., 
on  the  25th,  where  they  w^ere  joined  by  Joseph  V.  Franklin,  who 
now  fives  at  Drexel,  Burke  county,  N.  C,  who  acted  as  guide. 
They  went  from  Crab  Orchard  on  Doe  river — the  same  place  that 
Sevier  and  his  men  had  passed  on  their  way  to  Kings  Mountain — 
crossing  the  Big  Hump  mountain  and  fording  the  Toe  river 
about  six  miles  south  of  Cranberry  forge,  where  they  camped 
near  David  Ellis's.     He  was  a  Union  man  and  cooked  rations 


606        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

for  them.     On  the  26th  they  scouted  through  the  mountains 
till  they  came  to  Linville  river,  which  they  crossed  about 
one  mile  below  what  is  now  Pinola,  and  camped.     They  met 
John  Franklin  and  made  him  go  back  a  few  miles  with  them, 
when  they  released  him.     The  next  day  they  passed  through 
a  long  "stretch  of  mountains"  ^  ^  and  it  was  evening  when  they 
got  down  on  the  eastern   side;   but,  instead  of  camping  then, 
they  pushed  on,  and  crossing  Upper  creek  came  to  the  public 
road  leading  to  Morganton  just  at  dark.     This  was  twelve 
miles  from  INIorganton,  but  they  marched  all  night,  and  at 
daybreak  got  to  "the  conscript  camp  at  Berry's  Mill  Fond, 
just  above  what  was  then  the  terminus  of  the  Western  North 
Carolina  railroad.     Here  thej^  formed  a  line  of  battle  and  sent 
in  a  flag  of  truce,  demanding  surrender  of  the  camp  in  ten 
minutes,  at  the  end  of  which  time  it  capitulated  without  resist- 
ance."    Accounts  differ  as  to  the  number  of  conscripts  in  the 
camp.  Kirk's  men   claiming  300  and^-  Judge  Avery  giving 
their  number  as  "over  one  hundred  of  the  Junior  Reserves 
who  had  been  gathered  there  to  be  organized  into  a  battalion." 
Kirk  "then  took  a  few  men  and  went  down  to  the  head  of 
the  railroad  and  captured  a  train  and  the  depot.     We  had 
aimed  to  go  to  Salisbury,  but  the  news  got  ahead  of  us,  and  we 
gave  it  out     .     .     .     We  had  an  engineer  along  for  the  pur- 
pose of  running  the  locomotive  and  a  car  or  two  to  carry  us 
to  Salisbury,  where  we  intended  to  release  the  Federal  pris- 
oners confined  there,  arm  them,  and  bring  them  back  with  us; 
but  the  news  of  our  coming  had  gone  on  ahead  of  us,  and  we 
gave  it  out."^^     "While  the  militia  and  citizens  who  did 
not  belong  to  the  Home  Guards  were  gathering  on  the  day 
of  the  capture,  28th  June,  one  of  Kirk's  scouts  ^  ■*  was  shot  at 
Hunting  creek  about  half  a  mile  from  Morganton  by  R.  C. 
Pearson,  a  leading  citizen  of  the  town."  ^^     Kirk  then  turned 
back,  crossed  the  Catawba  river  and  camped  for  the  night. 
The  next  morning  they  resumed  the  march,  crossing  Johns 
river,  and  came  into  the  road  leading  from  Morganton  to 
Piedmont  Springs.     Following  this  road  they  crossed  Brown's 
mountain,  where  they  were  fired  into  by  the  pursuing  Con- 
federates.    This  was  fourteen  miles  from  Morganton  and  one 
mile  from  the  home  of  Col.  George  Anderson  Loven,  who  was 
one  of  the  party  of  sixty-five  men  and  boys  who  attacked 
Kirk  at  Brown's    mountain.     This  was  about  3:00  or  3:30 
p.  m. 


CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  607 


"Kirk  formed  a  line  of  buttle,  putting  fifteen  or  twenty 
prisoners  taken  from  Camp  Vance  in  front.  About  fifty  of 
our  men  fired  on  Kirk's  men,  killing  one  prisoner,  B.  A.  Bowles, 
a  drummer  boy  of  Camp  Vance,  who  was  about  thirty  years 
of  age,  and  wounding  also  a  boy  of  seventeen  years  of  age 
from  Alleghany  county,  another  one  of  Kirk's  prisoners.  Dr. 
Robert  C.  Pearson  was  seriously  wounded  in  the  knee  by  Kirk's 
men.  We  then  retreated,  but  Kirk  retained  his  position  for 
ten  minutes  after  we  had  gone.  When  we  fired  on  them  I 
heard  Kirk  shout:  'Look  at  the  damned  fools,  shooting 
their  owti  men,'  referring  to  the  Camp  Vance  prisoners 
whom  he  had  so  placed  as  to  receive  our  fire.  Kirk's  men 
had  about  sixty  horses  and  mules  loaded  down  with  all  the 
best  wearing  apparel  they  could  gather  up  through  the  country, 
and  all  the  bedding  they  could  find,  all  of  which  they  had 
packed  into  bed  ticks  from  which  the  feathers  and  straw  had 
been  emptied.  After  our  militia  had  withdrawn,  Kirk's 
men  remounted,  the  horsemen  going  around  the  fence,  and 
the  infantry,  three  hundred  or  more,  going  up  through  Israel 
Beck's  field  for  a  near  cut  to  the  road  above."  ^^  According 
to  J.  V.  Franklin,  he.  Col.  Kirk  and  several  others  were 
wounded  at  Beck's  farm  near  Brown  mountain. 

"We  then  crossed  Upper  creek,"  continues  Franklin's  ac- 
count, "and  came  to  the  foot  of  Ripshin  mountain  and  went 
up  the  Winding  Stairs  road,  where  we  took  up  camp  for  the 
night."  This  position  is  near  what  is  now  called  the  Bark 
House  and  only  two  miles  from  Loven's  Cold  Spring  tavern. 
They  camped  behind  a  low  ridge,  which  commands  the  only 
road  by  which  the  Confederates  could  approach,  but  down 
which  they  could  be  enfiladed.  This  was  twenty-one  miles 
from  Morganton.  At  daybreak  Kirk's  pickets  reported  that 
the  Confederates  were  approaching,  "when  Col.  Kirk  took 
twenty-five  men  and  went  back  and  had  a  fight  with  the  pur- 
suing Confederates.  It  was  here  that  Col.  Waightstill  Avery 
was  wounded  and  several  others.  .  .  ."i7  According 
to  Joseph  V.  Franklin's  letter,  "there  were  twelve  Cherokees 
and  thirteen  white  men  who  fought  Col.  Avery's  pursuing 
party. 

"The  fog  was  dense  as  the  militia  came  up  the  road.  Col. 
Thomas  George  Walton  was  in  command  of  the  militia.  Kirk's 
men  formed  on  a  ridge  and  behind  trees,  from  which  position 


608        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

they  could  enfilade  the  column,  Avhich  had  to  approach  by  a 
narrow  road.  Kirk's  men  fired  on  the  advance  files  before 
the  main  body  had  come  up.  Col.  W.  W.  Avery,  Alexander 
Perry,  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  N.  B.  Beck  were  in  front. 
They  fired  on  Kirk.  Avery  was  mortally  wounded  and  an 
old  gentleman  named  Philip  Chandler,  from  Morganton, 
also  was  mortally  wounded.  Col.  Calvin  Houck  was  shot 
through  the  wrist,  and  Powell  Benfield  through  the  thigh, 
neither  wound  being  serious.  Col.  Avery  died  the  third  day 
after  having  received  the  wound.  There  were  said  to  have 
been  twelve  hundred  men  in  the  militia  under  Col.  Walton; 
but  only  a  few  were  in  the  advance  when  they  came  upon 
Kirk's  camp,  as  they  were  scattered  for  a  mile  or  more  along 
the  road  do"u-n  the  mountain;  and  having  no  room  in  which 
to  form  except  the  narrow  cart-way  that  was  enfiladed  by 
the  enemy,  they  retired.  Kirk  went  across  Jonas's  Ridge 
unmolested,  burning  the  residence  of  the  late  Col.  John  B. 
Palmer  as  they  passed  about  ten  o'clock  that  morning. 
Two  conscripts  named  Jones  and  Andrew  McAlpin  had  been  de- 
tailed by  the  Confederate  government,  under  the  late  Thomas 
D.  Carter,  to  dam  Linville  river  just  above  the  Falls  for  the 
purpose  of  making  a  forge  for  the  manufacture  of  iron 
which  was  to  have  been  hauled  from  Cranberry  mines; 
and  when  they  heard  that  Kirk  had  passed  down, 
they  went  down  Linville  mountain  by  a  trail,  and  sent  two 
teams  and  wagons  loaded  with  property  from  the  dam  above 
Linville  Falls  to  follow,  only  they  were  to  go  by  the  Winding 
Stairs  road,  the  only  one  practicable  at  that  time.  ^  These 
wagoners  had  gone  into  camp  at  the  top  of  the  Winding  Stairs 
road  when  Kirk  and  his  men  arrived  after  their  fight  at  Beck's 
farm.  Of  course,  they  were  promptly  captured  and  turned 
back."!^  The  buildings  at  Camp  Vance  were  burned.^' 
"  There  were  bacon  and  crackers  there  which  Kirk's  men  packed 
on  mules  which  they  captured,  and  took  away  with  them.  - " 
George  Barringer  was  another  man  they  met  on  Jonas's  Ridge 
and  forced  to  go  a  part  of  the  way  with  them,  but  he  escaped. 
The  yarn  thread  found  at  Camp  Vance  was  given  to  the  neigh- 
borhood women  before  the  camp  was  burned.  ^  °  They  got 
back  to  Knoxville,  having  lost  but  one  man  (Hack  Norton) 
and  sent  their  prisoners  to  Camp  Chace  in  Ohio.  No  recruits 
joined  them  going  or  returning.  The  distance  traveled  was 
about  two  hundred  miles." 


CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  609 

W.  H.  Thomas  and  the  Union  Men  of  East  Tennessee. 
Col.  Thomas  was  not  a  Secessionist,  but  claimed  that  any  peo- 
ple, when  denied  their  constitutional  rights,  if  oppressed,  always 
had  the  right  of  self-defense,  or  revolution.  It  was  his  desire 
to  keep  the  Southern  people  united  that  induced  him  to  enter 
the  Confederate  army,  coupled  with  a  desire  to  keep  the  Cher- 
okee Indians  from  joining  the  Federal  army,  as  some  of  them 
had  done  at  the  commencement  of  the  Civil  War.  -  ^  He 
wanted  to  keep  them  out  of  danger  and  to  guard  the  moun- 
tain barriers  from  the  incursions  of  Federal  raiding  parties 
from  the  Tennessee  side;  for  he  never  doubted  that  the  Mis- 
sissippi valley  would,  sooner  or  later,  be  in  the  possession  of 
the  United  States  troops.  So,  he  got  an  order  from  General 
Kirby  Smith  in  the  spring  of  1862  to  raise  a  battalion  of  sap- 
pers and  miners,  and  enlisted  over  five  hundred  of  the  people 
of  East  Tennessee,  where  the  Union  sentiment  was  predomi- 
nant, and  put  them  to  making  roads,  notably  a  road  from 
Sevier  county,  Tennessee,  to  Jackson  county,  N.  C.  This 
road  followed  the  old  Indian  Trail  over  the  Collins  gap,  down 
the  Ocona  Lufty  river  to  near  what  is  now  Whittier,  N.  C. 
He  was  conciliating  the  East  Tennesseans  who  had  joined  his 
sappers  and  miners  when  General  Kirby  Smith  was  trans- 
ferred to  another  field  of  activity.  The  first  order  of  Smith's  suc- 
cessor in  command  required  these  Union  men  of  East  Tennes- 
see to  lay  down  their  picks  and  shovels  and  join  the  Confed- 
erate army.  In  24  hours  there  were  500  desertions.  Then 
followed  the  attempt  to  enforce  the  Confederate  conscript 
law,  which  drove  these  East  Tennesseans  to  join  the  army  of 
General  Burnside.  This  army  soon  forced  Col.  Thomas  and 
his  Indians  back  from  Strawberry  Plains  into  the  mountains 
of  North  CaroHna,  and  the  white  wing  of  his  Legion  to  Bris- 
tol, Virginia. 

Cosby  Creek.  After  the  Confederates  lost  possession  of 
East  Tennessee  it  was  the  policy  of  the  Confederate  govern- 
ment at  Richmond  to  guard  all  the  passes  on  the  Tennessee 
boundary  so  as  to  keep  free  and  clear  their  line  of  communi- 
cation from  Richmond  through  Danville,  Greensboro,  Salis- 
bury and  Charlotte  to  Columbia  and  the  South.  In  order  to  do 
so  this  section  of  the  country  was  made  into  the  Military  Dis- 
trict of  Western  North  CaroUna  and  Brigadier  General  R.  B. 
Vance  was  placed  in  command.     He  had  a   brigade  under 

VV.  N.  C— 39 


610       HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

his  command.  They  succeeded  in  keeping  the  Federals  under 
General  Burnside  penned  up  in  Knoxville,  but  never  did  dis- 
lodge them  from  that  city.  After  Chickamauga,  General  Long- 
street  came  from  Virginia  and  drove  the  Federals  back  into 
Knoxville  and  besieged  that  place.  But  the  exigencies  of  Gen- 
eral Lee's  army  were  such  that  Longstreet  was  ordered  to 
return  with  his  army  to  Virginia.  No  sooner  had  Longstreet 
started  with  his  army  for  Richmond  than  Burnside  followed 
him,  harrassing  his  men,  and  it  was  to  draw  Burnside  off 
that  General  Vance  was  ordered  to  make  a  demonstration  by 
going  through  Quallytown,  up  Ocona  Lufty  and  through  the 
Collins  Gap  down  into  Tennessee.  It  was  during  a  cold  snap 
in  January,  1864,  and  fortunately  Vance  had  but  two  or  three 
wagons;  but  he  managed  to  take  them  up  the  mountain  suc- 
cessfully. Still,  when  the  artillery  got  to  the  top,  following 
the  rough  road  Col.  Thomas  had  constructed,  it  had  a  hard 
time  getting  down  the  other  side.  The  cannon  were  dis- 
mounted and  dragged  over  the  bare  rocks  to  the  bottom, 
while  the  wheels  and  axles  of  the  carriages  were  taken  apart, 
divided  among  the  men  and  so  carried  to  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain, when  they  were  reassembled.  The  guns  were  not  tied 
to  hollow  logs,  as  in  Napoleon's  passage  of  the  Alps,  but 
were  dragged  naked  as  they  were  down  the  steep  mountain 
side.     Capt.  Theo.  F.  Davidson  had  this  done. 

General  Vance  Divided  His  Force.  After  reaching  the 
foot  of  Smoky  mountain  on  the  western  side.  General  Vance 
sent  Col.  Thomas  and  his  Indians  and  Col.  J.  L.  Henry  with 
his  mounted  battahon  to  Gatlinsburg,  Tennessee,  and  taking 
with  him  from  three  to  five  hundred  men  went  on  toward 
Seviersville.  Much  to  his  surprise,  he  captured  an  unguarded 
wagon  train  of  about  eighty  loaded  wagons  and  their  teams 
and  drivers,  and  immediately  started  back  with  them.  When 
he  reached  Cosby  creek  Meeting  House  he  stopped  his  com- 
mand to  eat  dinner,  but  failed  to  put  out  pickets  to  notify 
him  of  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  It  was  while  engaged  in 
eating  dinner  that  a  pursuing  body  of  Federal  cavalry  dashed 
upon  the  resting  Confederates  and  captured  many  of  them, 
including  the  General  himself,  who  was  taken  to  Camp  Chace 
and  kept  there  till  the  close  of  the  war.  Captain  Theo.  F. 
Davidson,  who  was  acting  adjutant  general,  and  Dr.  I.  A. 
Harris,  escaped  by  going  to  Big  Creek  and  through  Mount 


CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  611 

Sterling  gap  into  Haywood  county,  and  thence  to  Asheville. 
Otiiers  also  escaped.  Colonels  Thomas  and  Henry,  learning 
of  the  fate  of  the  rest  of  the  expedition,  returned  into  North 
Carolina  by  the  route  they  had  come,  and  Col.  Thomas'  In- 
dians resumed  their  places  near  Ocona  Lufty. 

A  Spartan  Mother.  -  -  During  the  last  year  of  the  war 
deserters  from  both  armies,  who  generally  were  thieves  and 
murderers,  banded  themselves  together,  and  were  called  bush- 
whackers. About  this  time  three  men  were  murdered  twelve 
miles  from  Valleytown,  near  Andrews,  and  this  band  of  law- 
less men  swore  revenge  on  the  best  five  men  in  this  valley. 
Mr.  William  Walker  was  warned  of  his  danger,  but  said  he 
was  an  innocent  man,  and  had  fed  out  nearly  everything  he 
had,  and  he  would  not  desert  his  family.  He  was  sick  at  the 
time,  and  friends  pleaded  in  vain.  "On  October  6,  1864,  there 
came  to  my  house  at  11  A.  M.,  twenty-seven  drunken  men.  ^^ 
They  had  stopped  at  a  still  house  and  were  nearly  swearing 
drunk.  Dinner  was  just  set  on  the  table,  but  they  did  not 
eat,  as  they  were  afraid  they  would  be  poisoned,  but  they 
broke  dishes  from  the  table,  and  went  to  my  cupboards,  and 
smashed  my  china  and  glassware.  At  the  time  Mr.  Walker 
was  warned,  I  took  his  papers  and  hid  them,  but  he  was  so 
sure  he  would  not  be  molested* that  he  made  me  put  them 
back  in  his  desk,  but  they  were  all  taken."  In  spite  of  her 
tears  and  his  pleadings  he  was  taken  from  her.  She  followed 
with  her  sister  the  next  day  on  horseback  for  fifteen  miles, 
beyond  which  her  sister  was  afraid  to  go;  but  Mrs.  Walker 
went  on  six  miles  further,  alone,  where  friends  persuaded  her 
to  return  home,  which  she  did  after  one  of  them  had  gone  to 
Long  Ridge  to  ascertain  if  there  were  any  tidings  from  her 
husl^and  there.  Nothing  was  found,  however,  and  she  has 
never  had  any  satisfactory  word  of  him  since.  She  had 
searches  made  by  the  government,  the  Masons,  the  war  de- 
partment and  others,  but  discovered  nothing.  When  she  got 
back  home  she  found  that  these  thieves  and  thugs  had  stolen 
nearly  all  her  bedding,  and  had  even  taken  her  dead  baby's 
clothing,  leaving  not  even  a  pin,  needle  or  knitting  needle, 
and  tramping  her  fifteen  feather  beds  full  of  mud.  Still, 
neighbors  contributed  to  her  assistance;  but  it  was  three 
years  after  the  war  closed  before  she  could  buy  even  a  calico 
dress  for  herself.     Coley  Campbell,  a  Methodist  preacher  and 


612        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

a  tailor,  taught  her  to  cut  and  make  men's  clothing  and  by- 
dint  of  hard  work  and  strict  economy  and  fine  business  man- 
agement she  reared  five  boys  into  splendid  men.  She  also 
kept  boarders  and  won  the  reputation  of  being  the  finest 
housekeeper  in  the  mountains.  But  she  suffered  :  "I  wept 
for  three  years,"  she  says  in  her  narrative,  "and  two  pillows 
were  so  stiffened  by  salt  tears  that  they  crumbled  to  pieces. 
My  husband  told  a  woman,  Mrs.  McDaniel,  where  he  stayed 
all  night  after  his  capture,  that  he  only  worried  that  I  might 
not  five  to  raise  the  boys;  but  that  if  I  did,  he  knew  they  would 
be  raised  right."  How  nobly  she  carried  out  that  prediction 
is  attested  in  the  lives  and  characters  of  these  sons  themselves. 
She  died  December  9,  1899. 

William  Johnstone.  "During  the  last  years  of  the  war 
the  mountains  became  infested  with  deserters  from  both 
armies,  desperadoes,  who  lived  in  caves  and  dens  and  issued 
forth  for  plunder  and  robbery.  ^^  Among  the  number  of 
murders  committed  by  these  we  recall  three  of  peculiar  atroc- 
ity. The  house  of  Mr.  Wm.  Johnstone,  a  wealthy  South 
Carolinian,  was  entered  by  six  men  who  demanded  dinner; 
the  old  gentleman  set  before  them  all  that  his  house  afforded; 
after  partaking  of  his  dinner  and  without  a  word  of  dispute 
they  shot  him  dead  in  the  presence  of  his  wife  and  young 
children. 

Other  Outrages.  "Gen.  B.  M.  Edney,  a  brave  man, 
was  shot  down  in  his  own  room  after  making  a  desperate 
resistance.  Capt.  Allen,  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Alexander  Robin- 
son, a  man  of  wealth  and  high  social  position,  and  a  gallant 
soldier,  after  the  armies  had  surrendered,  while  working  at  a 
mill  near  his  home  trying  to  earn  bread  for  his  wife  and  child, 
was  murdered  in  cold  blood,  and  his  body  stripped  of  coat  and 
boots  and  left  on  the  roadside." 

"An  Old  Man,  My  Lord."  In  the  fall  of  1864  Levi  Guy, 
an  old  and  inoffensive  white  man  who  had  allowed  his  sons  to 
shelter  at  his  home  when  being  hunted  for  their  robberies 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Watauga  Falls,  was  hanged  by  Con- 
federates from  a  chestnut  tree  which  grew  between  the  present 
dwelling  of  David  Reece  and  his  barn  across  the  State  road. 
The  tree  has  disappeared.  Guy  hved  near  Watauga  Falls, 
just  inside  North  Carolina.  The  names  of  those  who  com- 
mitted this  act  are  still  known,  and  all  those  who  have  not 
died  violent  deaths  have  never  prospered. 


CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  613 

Murdered  by  Mistake."  "Old  Billy  Devver,"  as 
William  Deaver  was  locally  known,  was  killed  at  the  old 
Deaver  place  in  Transylvania  towards  the  close  of  the  Civil 
War.  It  occurred  through  a  mistake.  He  had  a  son,  James, 
who  was  a  captain  in  the  Confederate  Army  and  among  whose 
duties  was  that  of  the  arrest  of  deserters  and  outliers  from 
the  Confederate  Army.  He  thus  had  incurred  the  enmity 
of  men  of  that  class,  who  were  called  in  that  country  by  the 
plain  and  unmistakable  word  "robbers."  One  night  one 
of  these  robbers  called  at  the  Deaver  home,  expecting  to  find 
the  Confederate  Captain  within.  It  seems,  however,  that 
he  was  not  at  home,  but  that  his  father,  William  Deaver, 
was.  Therefore,  when  this  robber  called  at  the  house  and 
Old  Man  Billy  came  to  the  door,  the  robber  asked  him  if  he 
was  Captain  Deaver.  He  said  he  was,  and  believing  that  he 
was  the  Confederate  Captain  for  whom  he  was  seeking,  the 
robber  shot  him  dead  at  his  own  door. 

Shot  Their  Host  After  Dinner.  ^  ^  Philip  Sitton,  near 
the  Henderson  and  Transylvania  line,  was  shot  down  by  a 
party  of  these  robbers  as  soon  as  they  had  finished  eating  a 
dinner  they  had  ordered  and  which  Sitton  had  furnished. 
They  left  him  lying  in  his  blood,  beheving  his  wound  was 
mortal,  but  he  recovered. 

Death  of  Robert  Thomas.  ^  ^  Robert  Thomas,  who  lived 
on  Willow  creek  in  Transylvania  county,  was  killed  by  these 
robbers  in  1864. 

Jesse  Leverett  a  Penitent.  "In  the  time  of  the  war 
there  was  a  very  notorious  character  at  large  in  this  part  of 
the  State,"  says  Mrs.  Mattie  S.  Candler  in  her  history  of 
Henderson  county,  "Jesse  Leverett.  He  was  known  and 
feared  by  both  sides,  as  he  made  a  practice  of  piloting  deserters 
through  the  Federal  lines  to  Kentucky,  taking  them  through 
here  (Hendersonville)  by  way  of  Bat  Cave  and  thence  to  the 
Tennessee  lines.  He  was  an  outlaw  and  a  desperado  with 
such  bold  working  methods  that  he  continued  this  practice 
throughout  the  war,  and  was  not  even  injured.  Later  he 
went  to  Illinois,  discovered  the  error  of  his  ways,  and  ended 
his  career  as  a  very  earnest  preacher. " 

"A  Hard  Road  to  Travel  Out  of  Dixie."  Such  was  the 
title  of  an  article  in  the  Century  for  October,  1890,  giving  a 
very  readable  description  of  the  escape  and  vicissitudes  of  a 


614        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

party  of  Federal  prisoners  who  had  escaped  from  prison  in 
Columbia,  S.  C,  and  made  their  way  to  these  mountains. 
They  passed  through  Transylvania  county,  crossed  Chunky 
Gal  mountain  between  Macon  and  Clay  and  came  dowTi  on 
Shooting  creek  where  they  had  a  fright  at  the  house  of  a  Mr. 
Kitchin.  He  had  taken  them  in  and  was  allowing  them  to 
sit  before  his  fire  when  the  Confederate  Home  Guard  appeared 
on  the  scene,  the  prisoners  escaping  through  a  window.  An- 
other story  in  a  later  Century  told  of  another  party  and  their 
adventures  on  Tuckaseegee  river  in  Jackson  county.  Col. 
Geo.  W.  Kirk  began  his  military  career  in  the  Union  Army 
by  piloting  Union  men  from  these  mountains  into  the  Federal 
lines  in  Tennessee. 

An  Underground  Mountain  Railroad.  Just  as  the 
Abolitionists  before  the  Civil  War  had  what  were  called  "un- 
derground" railroads  from  Mason's  and  Dixon's  line  and  the 
Ohio  river  to  Canada,  the  Union  element  of  these  mountains 
had  their  underground  railway  to  Kentucky  and  East  Tennes- 
see from  the  prisons  of  the  South  in  which  captured  Federal 
soldiers  were  confined.  T.  L.  Lowe,  Esq.,  in  his  history  of 
Watauga  county,  prepared  for  this  work,  gives  some  account 
of  the  assistance  given  by  the  late  Lewis  B.  Banner,  of  Ban- 
ners Elk: 

"He  was  a  strong  Union  man  and  his  home  was  the  home  of  the 
oppressed  and  struggUng  Union  sympathizer  trying  to  get  through  the 
Federal  lines  in  Kentucky,  and  many  a  time  through  great  personal  sac- 
rifice and  danger  did  he  pilot  men  through  the  mountains  so  as  to  avoid 
the  vigUance  of  the  Home-guard.  On  one  occasion  he  rendered  valuable 
services  to  a  brave  Massachusetts  soldier,  which  services  were  remem- 
bered by  the  recipient  for  many  years.  The  soldier's  name  was  Major 
Lawrence  N.  Duchesney.  He  had  been  for  13  months  a  prisoner  in  the 
Libby  prison,  73  days  in  the  dungeon;  was  sent  to  Salisbury,  N.  C,  and 
from  there  was  being  transferred  to  Danville,  Virginia,  and  while  en 
route  jumped  from  the  train  and  made  his  way  across  the  country,  and 
finally,  foot-sore  and  weary,  he  reached  the  home  of  Mr.  Banner  where 
he  was  tenderly  cared  for  until  he  was  able  to  travel,  and  then  Mr. 
Banner,  or  'Uncle  Lewis'  as  we  all  are  ever  wont  to  affectionately  call 
him,  took  him  on  a  horse  at  night  through  hidden  paths  through  the 
mountains  to  a  place  of  safety.  Major  Duchesny  some  few  years  ago 
paid  the  family  of  his  deliverer  a  visit,  but  his  old  friend  had  been  dead 
many  years.  Major  Duchesney  had  a  home  at  Skyland,  N.  C,  where 
he  and  his  wife  lie  buried." 

Alleghany  During  the  War  Between  the  States.  ^  ^ 
Alleghany  furnished  several  companies  during  the  war;  one, 


CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  615 

company  F,  22d  North  Carolina  regiment,  with  Jesse  Reeves 
as  the  first  captain,  and  Company  I,  61st  North  CaroUna 
regiment,  with  Dr.  A.  B.  Cox  as  the  first  captain.  J.  H. 
Doughton,  Uiter  in  the  war,  organized  another  company,  but 
when  he  arrived  on  the  field  of  service,  he  found  these  two 
companies  in  such  a  depleted  condition  that  he  disorganized 
his  company  for  the  purpose  of  recruiting  them.  Alleghany 
furnished  a  great  many  more  soldiers  beside  these  companies, 
who  served  in  various  commands;  some  in  Virginia,  some  in 
Tennessee,  but  mostly  in  the  37th  Virginia  battalion.  Com- 
panies F  and  I  were  constantly  recruited,  but  when  the  war 
was  ended,  there  were  not  more  than  50  or  60  men  in  both 
companies.  But  Alleghany's  greatest  trials  were  caused  by 
deserters  and  bushwhackers.  These  men  would  hide  in  the 
mountains  in  order  to  evade  active  service  on  the  battlefield. 
At  first  they  seemed  to  have  stolen  only  necessary  food  and 
raiment,  but  later  took  to  robbing  and  murdering.  With 
the  able-bodied  men  in  the  army,  the  women  and  children 
were  left  at  their  mercy.  The  few  old  men  and  others  unable 
for  active  service  constituted  a  home  guard,  but  were  powerless 
to  cope  ^\ath  these  desperate  outlaws.  Alleghany  appealed  to 
Surry  county  in  1863  for  aid — Surry  county  sent  about  100 
men  to  aid  the  Alleghany  home  guard;  these  men  crossed  the 
Blue  Ridge  at  Thompson's  gap  and  camped  at  what  is  kno\\Ti 
as  the  "Cabins."  They  sent  four  of  their  numl)er  to  Dun- 
can's Mills,  about  five  miles  distant  for  a  supply  of  meal. 
These  four  men  had  passed  Little  River  Church  and  it  was  almost 
dark,  when  the  robbers  snatched  one  of  their  men  (Jeff  Gal- 
yen)  from  his  horse  and  hurried  him  off  through  the  woods. 
The  other  men  turned  their  horses  and  hurried  back  to  the 
main  body.  Next  morning  early  the  whole  force  started  in 
search  of  Galyen  and  the  robbers.  They  found  neither;  and,  after 
hanging  Levi  Fender  (the  stump  of  the  old  sapling  on  which 
he  was  hung  can  still  be  pointed  out  about  one  and  one-half 
miles  east  of  Sparta),  they  returned  home.  Within  a  few  days 
Galyen  was  found  in  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the  place  where 
the  robbers  had  disappeared  with  him,  on  his  knees  by  a  tree, 
shot  dead.  One  of  the  robbers,  Tom  Pollard,  afterwards  ac- 
knowledged to  the  killing,  and  said,  he  did  it  while  Galyen 
was  on  his  knees  begging  for  his  life.  It  was  decided  by  the 
officers  to  send  General  Pierce  with  his  soldiers  into  this  sec- 


616        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

tion.  These  soldiers  scoured  the  country,  captured  a  num- 
ber of  the  robbers  and  carried  them  to  Laurel  Springs,  where 
a  number  of  them  were  hung.  Among  those  hung,  were  Lewis 
Wolfe  and  Morgan  Phipps.  Later  Hoke's  cavalry  was  sent 
into  the  county,  but  still  robbery,  murder  and  lawlessness 
continued. 

In  October,  1864,  the  fight  at  "Killen's  Branch"  took  place. 
This  is  about  one  mile  Northwest  of  Sparta,  on  the  main  road 
leading  from  Sparta  to  Mouth  of  Wilson,  Virginia.  Here  the 
Home  Guard  was  ambushed  by  a  band  of  bushwhackers  under 
Henry  Taylor.  The  bushwhackers  were  concealed  in  a  dense 
ivy  thicket  by  the  roadside  and  fired  upon  the  Home  Guard 
as  they  were  passing.  The  Home  Guard  promptly  returned 
the  fire.  The  fighting  continued  for  some  time,  when  both 
sides  withdrew.  Of  the  Home  Guard,  Felix  Reeves  was 
killed  and  Wiley  Maxwell,  Jesse  Reeves  and  Martin  Grouse 
were  mortally  wounded.  This  was  the  last  fight  of  any  im- 
portance between  the  outlaws  and  the  Home  Guard. 

A  Civil  War  Joan  of  Arc.  It  was  in  this  fight  that  Mrs. 
Cynthia  Parks,  wife  of  Col.  James  H.  Parks,  then  living  in 
Sparta,  who,  when  she  heard  the  firing  and  saw  the  horses, 
of  the  wounded  men  running  loose  through  the  streets  of  the 
town,  mounted  her  horse  and  rode  to  the  scene  of  the  com- 
bat, in  order  that  she  might  render  what  aid  she  could  to  the 
wounded  Home  Guard.  Later  on  the  same  day  she  brought 
the  mail  into  Sparta.  The  mail  carrier  had  been  fired  upon 
and  had  deserted  his  mail.  She  went  to  the  place  where  the 
mail  had  been  left  and  brought  it  to  the  postoffice. 

During  Reconstruction,  Alleghany  did  not  suffer  from  car- 
pet-bag misrule  as  did  some  of  the  other  counties  of  the 
State,  o^ving,  probably,  to  the  small  number  of  negroes  in 
the  county,  and  to  the  fact  that  most  of  the  outlaws  had  fled. 
But  still,  we  find  instances  where  such  men  as  Captain  J.  H. 
Doughton  and  Jesse  Bledsoe,  the  first  sheriff  of  the  county, 
were  dragged  before  the  court.  Feudalism  must  not  have  ex- 
isted to  such  a  great  extent  as  elsewhere  in  the  South,  for 
J.  C.  Jones,  who  was  sheriff  of  the  county  during  the  war, 
continued  to  be  sheriff  under  the  provisional  government. 
-  In  Hayw^ood  County.  Owing  to  the  remoteness  of  Cata- 
loochee  creek  in  Haywood  county,  raiding  parties  from  both 
armies  figured  extensively  hereabouts  during  the  Civil  War, 


CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  617 

and  several  soldiers  were  killed  aloii}^  the  roadsides,  among 
them  being  Manson  Wells  of  Buneombe,  while  Lewis  Williams, 
who  was  with  him,  escaped.  Two  men  named  Groomes  and 
Mitchell  Caldwell  were  killed  just  above  the  point  where  the 
Mount  Sterling  and  Little  Cataloochee  roads  join.  Henry 
Barnes  was  killed  one  mile  east  of  Big  creek.  Levi  Shelton 
and  Ellsworth  Caldwell  were  killed  in  1863  on  Caldwell  Fork, 
between  the  McGee  house  and  the  gap  of  the  mountain  be- 
hinil  Harrison  Caldwell's.  Solomon  Groomes  killed  a  man 
named  Townshend  on  Big  Creek  in  1861  or  1862  with  an  ax, 
on  account  of  his  daughter's  relations  with  Townshend,  and 
although  he  pleaded  insanity,  he  was  hanged  just  west  of  the 
bridge  across  Richland  creek,  and  near  the  present  passenger 
depot  at  Waynesville,  in  1862. 

Watauga's  Experiences.  When,  on  March  28, 1865,  Stone- 
man  came  into  Boone  he  was  fired  on  from  the  upper  story  of  the 
house  now  occupied  by  Mr.  J.  D.  Councill,  opposite  the  present 
Blair  Hotel,  and  his  men  then  killed  the  following:  Ephraim 
Morris,  J.  Warren  Greene,  J.  M.  Councill,  and  wounded  Sheriff 
McBride,  Thomas  Holder,  Calvin  Greene,  W.  W.  Gragg  and 
John  Bro\\ai.  Two  days  later  Kirk's  men  came  into  Boone 
and  fortified  the  court  house,  which  then  stood  where  Frank 
A.  Linney,  Esq.,  now  resides,  by  cutting  loop-holes  in 
the  walls,  and  erecting  a  stockade  made  of  timbers  from  a 
partly  finished  building  which  then  stood  where  the  Blair 
Hotel  now  stands  and  a  house  which  then  stood  near  the 
present  Blackburn  Hotel.  He  remained  in  Boone  till  Stone- 
man  returned,  when  he,  too,  left.  He  also  fortified  Cook's 
gap  and  Blomng  Rock,  cutting  the  trees  away  from  the 
road  leading  up  the  mountain.  Lie  also  arranged  to  signal 
from  mountain-top  to  mountain-top  from  Butler,  Tenn.,  to 
Blowing  Rock.  Fort  Hill  at  Butler  is  still  visible,  and  was 
one  of  his  fortified  posts.  When  Stoneman's  men  got  to  Pat- 
terson, Clem  Osborne  of  North  Fork  was  there  after  thread, 
and  the  Federals  chased  him  to  the  top  of  the  factory,  firing 
on  him  as  he  ran.  Just  as  he  was  about  to  be  overtaken  he  gave  a 
sign  which  was  recognized  by  a  Mason  among  his  pursuers, 
and  his  life  was  not  only  spared  but  he  was  sent  back  home 
with  his  team  and  wagon  and  all  that  properly  belonged  to 
him.  The  people  of  Beaver  Dams  had  a  particularly  trying 
time  with  the  outliers,  and   many  are  the  harrowing  experi- 


618        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

ences  they  were  forced  to  undergo  for  nearly  three  years. 
When  salt  got  scarce  during  the  war  men  cut  small  hickory 
saplings  from  one  to  two  inches  in  diameter  and  bound  them 
into  bundles  and  took  them  by  wagon  to  the  Salt  Works  in 
Virginia  and  traded  them  for  salt,  the  hickories  being  split 
and  made  into  hoops  for  barrels.  After  the  close  of  the  war 
Union  people  sued  the  more  prosperous  of  their  neighbors  on 
the  border  of  Watauga  and  Tennessee  for  damages  for  killing, 
wounding  and  arresting  Union  marauders,  and  in  most  cases 
lost,  though  the  expenses  of  the  litigation  were  ruinous  to  the 
Southern  men  who  won.  Among  those  sued  were  Commodore 
Perry,  father  of  J.  K.  Perry  of  Beaver  Dams,  and  Thomas 
Dougherty  of  Dry  Run,  Johnson  county,  Tenn. 

Bushwhacker  Kirkland.  Between  Yellow  creek  and 
the  Little  Tennessee  in  Graham  county  as  it  now  exists  used 
to  live  two  men  by  the  name  of  Kirkland,  one  of  whom  came 
to  be  called  before  the  end  of  the  Civil  War,  "Bushwhacker" 
Kirkland,  and  the  other  "Turkey-Trot "  John  Kirkland.  They 
joined  the  Confederate  Army  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Civil  War,  but  soon  afterwards  found  themselves  members 
of  an  independent  command  which  was  frequently  accused 
of  committing  certain  depredations  upon  the  property  of 
certain  Union-loving  citizens  living  in  East  Tennessee  and  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  Great  Smoky  mountains.  According 
to  John  Denton  of  Santeetla,  who  had  been  in  their  company 
when  they  were  in  the  regular  Confederate  Army,  they  were 
brave  men  physically. 

Captain  Lyon's  Raid.  During  the  expiring  days  of  the 
Civil  War  Captain  Lyon  of  the  United  States  Army  came 
from  Tennessee  through  what  is  now  knowm  as  the  Belding 
Trail  to  Robbinsville,  Graham  county.  That  trail  was  then 
known  as  the  Hudson  trail  from  the  name  of  the  man  who 
first  lived  where  David  Orr  now  lives  on  Slick  Rock  creek; 
but  the  trail  itself  had  been  used  by  the  Cherokees  for  years 
when  the  first  white  people  came  to  that  section.  Lyon's 
men  killed  Jesse  Kirkland,  a  kinsman  of  "Bushwhacker"  and 
"Turkey-Trot  John,"  and  two  other  men,  one  of  whom  was 
named  Mashburn  and  the  other  Hamilton;  and  probably 
two  or  three  others.  This  was  done  on  Isaac  Carringer's 
creek,  about  half  a  mile  from  its  mouth.  They  killed  an 
Indian  in  Robbinsville,  which  was  then  or  had  recently  been 


CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  619 

the  home  of  Juiiuluska,  the  Indian  chieftain;  and  tlien 
went  up  Santeetla,  where  they  spent  the  night,  returning 
the  next  day  to  the  Unaka  mountains  and  camping  tliat  night 
on  the  Bob  Stratton  Meadow. 

Col.  Kirby  Driven  Back.  From  "The  Last  Ninety  Days 
of  the  War,"  chapter  XVI,  by  Mrs.  Cornelia  Phillips  Spencer, 
we  learn  that  during  the  second  week  of  April,  18G5,  a  brigade 
of  infantry  under  Col.  Kirby  was  moved  by  the  Federals  from 
Greenville,  Tenn.,  on  Asheville,  but  w^re  met  near  Camp 
Woodfin — now  Doubleday — by  a  part  of  Gen.  J.  G.  Martin's 
command,  and  so  successfully  repulsed  that  they  turned  about 
at  once  and  returned  to  Greenville. 

Generals  Martin  and  Gillam  Agree.  "When  it  was 
found  that  General  Gillam  intended  to  take  Asheville  Gen. 
IMartin  ordered  his  whole  command,  consisting  of  the  62d,  64th 
and  69th  North  Carolina,  and  a  South  Carolina  battery  (Por- 
ter's) and  Love's  regiment  of  Thomas's  Legion,  to  the  vicin- 
ity of  Swannanoa  gap.  .  .  .  Love's  regiment  reached  the 
gap  before  Gillam  did,"  fortified  it  and  repulsed  him. 
After  vainly  trying  to  effect  a  passage  here  Gen.  Gillam  moved 
to  Hickory  Nut  gap.  Palmer's  brigade  was  ordered  to 
meet  them  there;  but  Gen.  Martin,  giving  an  account  of  this 
affair,  adds,  "I  regret  to  say  the  men  refused  to  go."  They 
had  heard  rumors  of  Lee's  surrender.  Porter's  battery  hav- 
ing been  ordered  to  Greenville,  S.  C,  was  captured  on  the 
road  there  by  Gen.  Gillam.  On  Saturday  April  22,  Gen. 
Martin  received  news  of  Gen.  Johnston's  armistice  with  Gen. 
Sherman,  and  sent  two  flags  of  truce  to  Gen.  Gillam,  one  of 
which  met  him  on  the  Hendersonville  road,  six  miles  south 
of  Asheville,  on  Sunday.  At  an  interview  between  Generals 
Gillam  and  Martin,  Monday,  it  was  agreed  that  the  former 
should  proceed  with  his  command  to  Tennessee  and  that  he 
should  be  furnished  with  three  days'  rations.  Gen.  Gillam 
reached  Asheville  on  the  25th  and  with  his  staff  dined  wth 
Gen.  Martin.  The  9,000  rations  were  furnished  him,  and 
that  night  his  command  camped  a  few  miles  below  Asheville, 
afterwards  going  on  to  Tennessee.  Col.  Kirk  and  staff  had 
dashed  into  town  while  it  was  in  possession  of  Gen.  Gillam's 
troops,  but  perfect  order  was  preserved  while  they  were  there, 
and  they  "were  compelled  to  leave  in  advance  of  General 
Gillam."     The  People  of  Asheville  had  the  mortification  of 


620        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

seeing  the  guns  of  Porter's  batter3%  that  had  guarded  the 
crest  of  what  is  now  Battery  Park  hill,  just  captured,  driven 
through  by  negroes.  Following  the  Federal  army  was  an 
immense  train  of  plunder,  animals  of  all  sorts,  household 
goods  and  treasures. 

"Tuesday  night  passed  quietly.  The  town  was  guarded 
only  by  Captain  Teague's  company.  A  small  party  of  Fed- 
erals, under  flag  of  truce,  passed  through  during  the  26th, 
carrying  dispatches  to  General  Palmer,  then  approaching 
from  Morganton  via  Hickory  Nut  gap.  At  sunset  on  the 
26th,  Gen.  Brown,  in  command  of  a  portion  of  the  same  troops 
that  had  just  passed  through  with  Gillam,  suddenly  reentered 
the  place,  capturing  all  the  officers  and  soldiers,  and  giving  up  the 
town  to  plunder.  The  men  captured  were  paroled  to  go  home, 
the  officers  to  report  to  Gen.  Stoneman  at  Knoxville. "  This 
was  within  24  hours  after  General  Gillam  had  assured  Gen. 
Martin  that  he  would  give  him  the  forty-eight  hours'  notice 
provided  for  in  the  Johnston -Sherman  truce  before  renewing 
hostilities.  The  residences  of  Gen.  Martin,  Mrs.  James  W. 
Patton,  Judge  Bailey,  Dr.  Chapman,  a  Presbyterian  minister, 
and  others  were  pillaged.  The  author  adds:  "The  Tenth 
and  Eleventh  Michigan  regiments  certainly  won  for  themselves 
in  Asheville  that  night  a  reputation  that  should  damn  them 
to  everlasting  fame.  .  .  .  On  Thursday,  parties  scoured 
the  country  in  all  directions,  carrying  on  the  work  of  plunder 
and  destruction.  On  Friday  they  left,  having  destroyed  all 
the  arms  and  ammunition  they  could  find  and  burned  the 
armory.  On  Friday  afternoon,  they  sent  off  the  officers 
they  had  captured  under  a  guard,"  but  Gen.  BroAvn  refused 
to  leave  a  guard  behind  for  the  protection  of  the  town  from 
marauders.  On  the  28th  Gen.  Palmer  sent  a  dispatch  from 
some  point  on  the  Hickory  Nut  gap  road  releasing  Gen.  Mar- 
tin, his  officers  and  men  who  had  been  captured  by  Gen. 
Brown,  because  Brown  had  not  given  the  promised  notice  of 
the  termination  of  the  armistice.  General  Palmer  also  pre- 
vented two  negro  regiments  in  Yancey  from  entering  Asheville. 

General  Palmer's  Dispatch.      Following  is  the  dispatch 

referred  to: 

Headquarters  East  Tennessee  Cavalry  Division, 

Hickory  Nut  Gap  Road, 

April  28,  1865. 
General  : — I  could  not  learn  any  of  the  particulars  of  your  capture 
and  that  of  Colonel  Palmer  and  other  officers  and  men  at  Asheville  on 


CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  621 

the  26th,  and  as  my  troops  at  that  i)oint  were  obHRod  to  leave  immedi- 
ately, there  was  no  time  to  make  the  necessary  investigation.  1  there- 
fore ordered  your  release  on  a  parole  of  honor  to  report  to  General  Stone- 
man.  On  further  reflection  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  our  men 
should  have  given  you,  under  all  the  circumstances,  notice  of  the  termi- 
nation of  the  armistice,  and  that  in  honor  we  cannot  profit  by  any  fail- 
ure to  give  this  notice.  You  will  therefore  please  inform  all  the  officers 
and  soldiers  paroled  by  General  Brown  last  evening  and  this  morning, 
untler  the  circumstances  above  referred  to,  that  the  parole  they  have 
given  (which  was  by  my  order)  is  not  binding,  and  that  they  may  con- 
sider that  it  was  never  given.  Regretting  that  your  brother  officers  and 
yourgelf  should  have  been  placed  in  this  delicate  situation,  I  am,  gen- 
eral, very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

Wm.  J  Palmer, 
Brevet  Brig.  Gen.  Commanding. 
To  Brig.  Gen.  J.  G.  Martin,  Asheville. 

Perry  Gaston  Brings  First  News.  J.  P.  Gaston  of 
Hominy  walked  all  the  way  from  Appomattox  and  showed 
his  parole.  This  was  nearly  three  weeks  after  Lee's  surrender. 
Stoneman  was  besieging  Asheville  on  the  South  and  Kirk's 
regiment  on  the  north.  Gen.  Martin  went  out  under  a  flag 
of  truce  and  made  an  agreement  to  furnish  three  days'  rations 
to  the  Federal  troops — and  furnished  them — on  condition  that 
they  should  not  disturb  private  or  pubUc  property. 

General  James  Green  Martin.  He  was  the  son  of  Dr. 
William  IMartin  and  Sophia  Dange,  and  was  born  at  Eliza- 
beth City,  N.  C,  February  14,  1819.  He  entered  West  Point 
in  July,  1836,  was  graduated  in  July,  1840,  and  was  commissioned 
a  second  lieutenant  of  the  First  regiment  U.  S.  Artillery.  In 
1842  he  served  on  the  frontier  of  Canada  in  the  Aroostock 
War,  or  "War  of  the  Maps,"  and  married  at  Newport,  Rhode 
Lsland,  July  12,  1844,  Miss  Mary  Ann  Murray  Reed,  a  great 
granddaughter  of  George  Reed,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  and  also  of  Gen.  William  Thompson,  a  brigadier 
general  of  the  Revolutionary  army.  During  the  three  days' 
assault  on  Monterey,  Mexico,  September  21,  22,  23,  1846,  he 
was  still  a  second  lieutenant,  but  he  was  in  command  of  his 
battery,  with  "Stonewall"  Jackson  as  his  second  in  command. 
At  Cherubusco,  August  20,  1847,  his  right  arm  was  shot  off. 
He  turned  over  his  command  to  JacLson,  and  taking  his 
sleeve  in  his  teeth,  rode  off  the  field.  He  was  brevetted  major 
for  "gallant  and  meritorious  conduct"  at  the  battles  of  Con- 
treras  and  Cherubusco,  and  presented  with  a  sword  of  honor 


622        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

by  the  citizens  of  Pasquotank  county,  on  which  were  en- 
graved the  battles  in  which  he  had  taken  part.  He  was  then 
transferred  to  the  staff  and  appointed  assistant  quartermaster 
and  stationed  at  Fortress  Monroe,  Philadelphia  and  Gover- 
nor's Island  for  several  years,  w^hen  he  was  ordered  to  Fort 
Snelling,  Minnesota,  where  Mrs.  Martin  died,  February  8, 
1858,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Hett}^  King,  a  sister  of  Gen.  Rufus 
King  of  the  U.  S.  Army,  and  eldest  daughter  of  Charles  King, 
president  of  Columbia  College,  New  York,  and  the  grand- 
daughter of  Rufus  King,  the  first  American  minister  to  the 
court  of  St.  James.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Utah  expedi- 
tion with  Gen.  Albert  Sydney  Johnston,  and  was  at  Fort  Riley, 
Kansas  territory,  when  the  Civil  War  began.  He  resigned 
when  North  Carolina  seceded,  and  served  in  this  State  and 
in  Virginia  till  the  close  of  hostilities.  Penniless  after  the 
close  of  the  war  he  read  law  and  commenced  its  practice  in 
Asheville  in  copartnership  with  the  late  Judge  J.  L.  Bailey. 
He  died  and  was  buried  at  Asheville,  October  4,  1879. 

Lewis  M.  Hatch.  This  distinguished  citizen  and  soldier 
served  in  South  Carolina  during  part  of  the  Civil  War,  and, 
hence,  is  not  mentioned  in  the  records  of  "North  Carolina 
Regiments."  He  was  born  November  28,  1815,  at  Salem, 
N.  H.,  but  went  to  Charleston,  S.  C,  in  1833.  He  joined  the 
Washington  Light  Infantry,  April  15,  1835,  and  served  with 
that  company  in  1837  in  the  Seminole  War.  He  was  pro- 
moted to  the  captaincy  of  that  company  in  1855,  and  in  1856 
he  marched  his  company  to  Cowpens,  which  trip  resulted  in 
1876  in  the  erection  of  the  Daniel  Morgan  monument  at  Spartan- 
burg. He  was  an  expert  swordsman,  an  athlete,  and  walked 
from  Charleston  to  New  York,  when  a  young  man,  in  thirty 
days,  averaging  30  miles  a  day.  On  the  last  day  he  walked 
60  miles.  Gov.  Pickens  appointed  him  quartermaster  gen- 
eral in  1860,  and  the  fine  service  from  then  till  1865  was  due 
to  him.  In  1861-62  he  commanded  the  21st  South  Carolina 
Infantry.  To  him  was  largely  due  the  victory  at  Secession- 
ville  in  June,  1862.  He  served  subsequently  in  Virginia.  In 
March,  1866,  he  moved  to  Asheville,  where  he  died  January 
12,  1897.  While  hving  in  Charleston  he  was  in  the  commis- 
sion business. 

Colonel  James  Thomas  Weaver.  He  was  the  youngest 
son  of  Jacob  Weaver  and  Elizabeth  Siler  Weaver.     He  was 


CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  623 

born  near  Weaverville,  Buncombe  county,  North  Carolina, 
on  November  30th,  1828.  He  received  such  education  as  the 
schools  of  that  section  would  then  afford.  Later  he  attended 
the  Burnsville  Academy  in  Yancey  county  and  prepared  him- 
self for  civil  engineering.  May  24,  1855,  he  married  Hester 
Ann  Trotter,  a  daughter  of  William  Trotter  of  Person  county, 
N.  C,  but  prior  to  the  marriage  of  Hester  Ann,  William  Trot- 
ter with  his  familj'  moved  to  Macon  county  in  the  year  1846. 
During  the  seven  years  after  his  marriage,  and  prior  to  his 
enlistment  in  the  army  of  the  Confederacy,  James  Thomas 
Weaver  was  actively  engaged  in  farming  and  as  a  surveyor 
of  lands.  During  this  interval  he  acquired  a  comfortable  com- 
petency, consisting  of  lands,  etc.,  and  was  considered  a 
thrifty  and  progressive  man  in  his  community.  He  enlisted 
in  the  army  early  in  1862  as  captain  of  Company  A,  which  he 
organized,  and  this  company  was  assigned  to  the  Sixtieth 
North  Carolina  regiment.  In  1864  he  was  made  lieutenant 
colonel  of  this  regiment.  He  served  in  the  Army  of  Tennessee 
throughout  the  war,  or  until  his  death.  He  was  in  command 
of  the  Sixtieth  regiment  in  the  second  battle  near  Murfrees- 
boro,  Tennessee,  occurring  between  the  armies  of  Hood  and 
Thomas.  He  was  killed  in  this  engagement  on  December  7th, 
1864. 

Colonel  Edward  F.  Lovill.  He  was  born  in  Surry  county, 
February  10,  1842,  married  Miss  Josephine  Marion  of  the  same 
county  February  15,  1866,  and  moved  to  Boone  in  1874.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  February  1885,  and  was  commis- 
sioner to  the  Chippewa  Indians  from  1893  to  1897.  He  was 
captain  of  Company  A  of  the  28th  North  Carolina  Infantry, 
and  on  the  second  clay  of  Chancellorsville  commanded  that 
regiment  in  the  absence  of  Col.  Samuel  D.  Low.  Of  this 
incident  Col.  Lowe  reported:  "While  absent.  Gen.  Stuart 
again  commanded  the  line  forward,  and  my  regiment  charged 
through  the  same  terrible  artillery  firing  the  third  time,  led 
by  Captain  (Edward  F.)  Lovill  of  Company  A,  to  the  support 
of  our  batteries  which  I  had  just  got  into  position  on  the  hill 
from  which  those  of  the  enemy  had  been  driven. "  ^  ^  Captain 
Lovill  had  commanded  the  same  regiment  during  the  mid- 
night attack  of  the  night  before.  Upon  the  death  of  Col. 
Asbury  Speer  at  Reems  Station  and  the  resignation  of  Major 
Samuel  Stowe,  Captain  Lovill  was  senior  officer  of  the  28th 


624        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

till  the  surrender  at  Appomattox;  and  commanded  the  regi- 
ment at  the  battle  of  Jones'  farm  near  Petersburg  in  the  fall 
of  1864,  where  he  was  severely  wounded.  He  returned  to 
duty  in  March,  1865,  and  was  recommended  for  promotion 
to  the  colonelcy  of  his  regiment  at  the  time  that  James  Line- 
berger  was  recommended  for  the  lieutenant  -  colonelcy  and 
George  McCauley  for  the  majority,  but  the  end  came  before 
these  appointments  were  published.  He  was  wounded  in 
the  right  arm  at  Gettysburg.  At  Fredericksburg  "Captain 
Lovill,  of  Company  A,  the  right  company  of  the  regiment, 
stood  on  the  railroad  track  all  the  time,  waving  his  hat  and 
cheering  his  men;  and  neither  he  nor  Martin  (who  had  just  shot 
down  the  Federal  color  bearer)  was  struck."  ^^  Soon  after  the 
battle  of  Jericho  Ford,  in  September,  1864,  Natt  Nixon,  a  seven- 
teen-year-old boy  of  Mitchell's  river,  Surry,  was  desperately 
wounded,  and  at  night  Captain  Lovill  and  Private  M.  H. 
Freeman,  a  cobbler  of  Dobson,  went  to  get  him,  as  he  had 
been  left  within  the  enemy's  lines.  They  called  him  and  he 
answered,  saying  the  Federals  were  between  him  and  them, 
but  had  been  to  him  and  given  him  water.  Freeman  put 
down  his  gun  and  accoutrements  and  shouting  in  a  loud  voice 
"Natt,  I'm  coming  after  you.  I  am  coming  unarmed,  and  any 
man  who  shoots  me  is  a  damned  coward,"  started.  It  was  night, 
but  no  one  fired  at  him,  and  he  brought  his  stricken  comrade 
back  to  Captain  Lovill;  but  the  poor  boy  died  near  a  farm  house 
to  which  he  had  been  borne  before  daylight.  Colonel  Lovill 
is  a  director  of  the  Oxford  Orphanage,  having  been  appointed 
by  Gov.  Aycock.  He  is  chairman  of  board  of  trustees  of  the 
Appalachian  Training  School  and  a  lawyer  of  ability. 

Major  Harvey  Bingham.  In  the  winter  of  1864-65,  the 
Home  Guard  battalion  of  Watauga  was  camped  on  Cove 
creek  near  what  is  now  Sugar  Grove,  the  name  of  their  camp 
having  been  Camp  Mast.  Harvey  Bingham  was  the  major, 
and  Geo.  McGuire,  who  had  been  absent  from  the  county  for 
a  long  while  before  his  return  and  election,  was  captain  of 
Company  A.  Jordan  Cook  was  captain  of  Company  B,  of 
which  Col.  W.  L.  Bryan  of  Boone  was  first  lieutenant.  Major 
Bingham  and  his  adjutant,  J.  P.  Mathewson,  left  camp  to  go 
to  Ashe  to  confer  with  Captain  McMillan,  who  commanded 
a  cavalry  company  there,  about  cooperating  with  his  battal- 
ion  in   a   raid   he   then   contemplated.     During   his   absence 


CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  625 

Company  B,  under  command  of  Lieut.  Bryan,  was  camped 
at  Boone;  and  Captain  McGuire  sent  him  word  about  dark 
that  he  expected  an  attack  on  Camp  Mast  that  night.  Lieut. 
Bryan,  however,  did  not  start  for  that  place  till  the  following 
morning,  and  when  he  got  near  it,  discovered  the  cabins  in 
smoking  ruins  and  all  of  Company  A  absent.  McGuire  had 
surrendered  them  to  Col.  Champion  of  the  Federal  Army  the 
night  before.  They  were  taken  to  Camp  Chace  and  kept 
till  the  close  of  the  war.  It  is  said,  however,  that  McGuire 
was  not  treated  as  a  prisoner,  but  was  allowed  a  horse  and 
rode  away  with  the  officers  to  whom  he  had  surrendered  his 
men.  It  was  thought  at  the  time  that  McGuire  had  betrayed  his 
men  to  the  enemy,  and  he  certainly  had  surrendered  them  under 
the  protest  of  many  of  his  subordinate  officers;  one  of  whom, 
Paul  Farthing,  told  him  that  if  the  company  was  sur- 
rendered Farthing's  life  would  be  surrendered,  meaning  that 
he  would  not  survive  captivity.  He,  and  a  nephew  who  was 
surrendered  wath  him,  shortly  afterwards  died  in  Camp  Chace. 
After  the  war  Major  Bingham  was  a  candidate  for  the  State 
senate  before  a  democratic  convention  held  at  Lenoir,  and  the 
late  W.  B.  Farthing  stated  that  Bingham  was  suspected  of 
complicity  wnth  ^McGuire  in  the  surrender  of  the  troops  at 
Camp  Mast,  and  that  if  he  was  nominated  the  people  of  Wa- 
tauga would  not  support  him.  This  led  to  his  defeat  and 
there  was  talk  of  a  duel  between  these  two;  but  both  decided 
it  was  best  to  leave  the  issue  to  the  future  rather  than  to  two 
leaden  bullets,  and  the  matter  was  dropped.  But  feeling 
still  ran  high  against  Major  Bingham,  and  he  and  his  wife, 
a  daughter  of  John  B.  Miller  of  Wilkes,  left  Watauga  together 
and  rode  on  horseback  to  one  of  the  western  counties,  where 
they  taught  school  till  a  better  feeling  pervaded  their  home 
county,  when  they  returned.  He  soon  removed  to  States- 
ville,  where  he  studied  law  and  practiced  law.  He  died 
there,  a  respected  citizen  and  able  lawyer,  and  time  has  fully 
vindicated  his  memory  of  the  unjust  suspicion  that  once  drove 
him  from  his  home;  and  no  one  now  doubts  his  entire  loyalty 
to  the  cause  of  the  Southern  Confederacy. 

Post-Bellum  Troubles.  Soon  after  the  surrender  de- 
serters from  both  armies  committed  depredations  in  and  near 
Jefferson.  The  citizens  of  Jefferson  sent  a  delegation  to 
Salisbury  for  protection,  and  returned  soon  afterward  with 

W.  X.  C— 10 


626        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Captain  Wills  of  New  York,  who  organized  a  home  guard 
in  every  voting  precinct.  Union  and  Confederate  soldiers 
who  had  served  honorably  were  admitted,  but  their  ranks 
were  closed  to  deserters  from  each  army.  Jonathan  Osborne 
was  made  captain  of  the  North  Fork  company.  Order  was 
soon  restored  but  not  before  40  or  50  of  these  deserters  had 
started  into  Jefferson,  the  leader  of  whom  carried  a  United 
States  flag.  They  came  up  Helton  street,  but  when  opposite 
the  jail  they  were  met  by  Joshua  Baker,  who  had  been  sheriff. 
Single-handed  and  alone,  he  seized  the  flag,  and  and  swore 
that  no  such  gang  of  horse-thieves  should  disgrace  it  by  carry- 
ing it.  His  brother,  Zack  Baker,  stood  near  and  told  him 
to  hold  on  to  the  flag.  These  two  intrepid  men  cowed  the 
band  of  outlaws  and  the  flag  was  yielded  up  and  given  into 
the  keeping  of  a  Union  man.  Zach  Baker  was  equally  brave, 
and  no  deserter  ever  entered  his  dwelling  near  Creston  till 
negro  soldiers  belonging  to  the  regular  United  States  army 
came  at  the  close  of  hostilities  and  did  some  pilfering.  Mr. 
Baker  had  sent  word  to  these  white  marauders  that  he  was 
waiting  for  them  with  a  welcome  they  would  not  soon  forget. 
They  tried  to  take  some  of  his  horses  once,  but  he  defied  them 
to  do  so;  and  on  another  occasion,  after  they  had  secretly 
stolen  a  few  horses,  he  followed  them  to  Tennessee,  identified 
the  horses  as  his  property,  and  took  them  back  with  him  in 
spite  of  the  threats  of  the  robbers  to  kill  him. 

NOTES. 

>See  Vol.  I,  "  Literary  and  Historical  Activities  in  N.  C,  1900-1905,"  pp.  427  to  484. 

sFrom  The  Morning  Post,  Raleigh,  May  11,  1904. 

'Co.  A  of  this  regiment  went  from  Ashe  county,  and  the  "Wilkes  Volunteers"  from 
Wilkes.     Z.  B.  Vance  was  its  first  colonel,  but  was  soon  elected  governor  of  the  State. 

'From  "Asheville's  Centenary." 

<The  New  Legal  Building,  the  finest  office  building  in  the  city,  stands  there  now. 

^See  Governor  Vance's  Correspondence,  1863. 

^Statements  of  Gen.  James  M.  Ray  and  Judge  J.  C.  Pritchard. 

'Literary  and  Historical  Acti\dties  in  N.  C,  Vol.  I,  p.  485. 

^Series  1,  Vol.  LIII,  p.  326,  Rebellion  Records. 

•Condensed  from  Rebellion  Records,  Series  1,  Vol.  XXXIX,  p.  232.  The  guide,  J.  V. 
Franklin,  says  Kirk  had  only  130  men;  but  J.  C.  Chappell,  who  was  with  Kirk  also,  says 
he  had  300  whites  and  26  Indians.  Wm.  Blalock,  who  saw  them  at  Strawberrj'  Plains,  says 
Kirk  had  200  men.  The  official  report  says  the  number  was  1.30.  It  was  supposed  by  the 
people  of  Burke  that  Kirk  intended  to  take  an  engine  and  car  and  go  to  Morganton  and 
release  and  arm  the  Federal  prisoners  there. 

'"According  to  VVm.  Blalock,  Kirk's  men  passed  through  Crab  Orchard,  and  went  up 
Chucky  river,  passing  through  Limestone  cove,  and  crossing  the  mountain  at  Miller's  gap, 
two  miles  from  Montezuma,  then  called  Bull  Scrape.  They  then  got  to  the  Clark  settle- 
ment, two  and  one-half  miles  from  Montezuma,  and  camped  there  in  a  pine  thicket.  Next 
day  they  passed  through  the  Barrier  Settlement  on  Jonas's  Ridge. 

"Letter  of  J.  V.  Franklin  to  J.  P.  A.,  March  2,  1912. 

i2From  Judge  A.  C.  Avery's  account  in  Vol.  IV,  N.  C.  Regiments. 

isj.  V.  Franklin's  letter  before  quoted. 

"Hack  Norton  of  Madison  county,  N.  C,  was  his  name,  according  to  same  letter. 

'^Judge  Avery's  account,  before  quoted. 

isStatement  of  Col.  George  Anderson  Loven  to  J.  P.  A.  at  Cold  Spring  tavern,  near 
Jonas's  Ridge  postoffice,  N.  C,  June,  1910. 

I'J.  V.  Franklin's  letter  before  quoted. 


CIVIL  WAR  PERIOD  627 


ih:;oI.  G.  a.  Loven's  statement  before  quoted. 

"Col.  George  W.  Kirk  was  bora  in  Greene  county,  Tenn.,  June  25,  1837,  and  died  at 
Gilroy,  Calit.,  Febnmry  15,  Ui05. 

^oj.  V.  Fnmkliu's  lottor  Ix-foro  quoted. 

•'Captain  James  W.  Terrell  in  The  Commonwealth,  .•\shovillo,  Juno  1,  1893. 

*'^From  an  account  written  by  -Mrs.  MarKiiret  Jane  Walker,  wife  of  VVm.  Walker.  She 
was  born  March  15,  1826.     Married  October  15,  1844. 

"Ibid. 

2'Froin  the ' '  Woman'a  Edition"  of  the  Asheville  Citizen,  Nov.  28,  1895,  by  Miss  Fanny 
L.  Patton. 

"Related  by  Judge  G.  A.  Shuford. 

"Ibid. 

"By  8.  F.  Thompson,  clerk  of  the  court,  Sparta,  N.  C. 

"Series  I,  Vol.  XXV,  Part  1,  Heliellion  Records. 

"Vol.  II,  N.  C.  llegimeats,  1861-05,  p.  475. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 
POLITICAL 

In  the  Days  of  Good  "Queen  Bess."  On  the  16th 
day  of  Jul3%  1584,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  colony  landed  on 
Roanoke  Island,  and  took  formal  possession  of  the  country 
in  the  name  of  the  Queen.  No  day  more  prophetic  of  the  love 
of  individual  liberty,  and  no  more  gallant  leader  could  have 
been  found  for  the  beginning  of  a  people  who  afterwards 
fought  at  Alamance,  drafted  the  Mecklenburg  "Resolves," 
and  "framed  the  first  written  compact  that,  west  of  the 
mountains,  was  writ  for  the  guidance  of  liberty's  feet."  ^  The 
first  colony  was  lost;  but  others  followed,  and  on  the  18th 
day  of  August,  1585,  Virginia  Dare  became  the  first  of  that 
sweet  and  gentle  galaxy  of  beautiful  and  exemplary  women 
who  have  made  North  Carolina  what  it  is  today.  In  1663, 
by  a  grant  from  King  Charles  II,  all  the  country  lying  be- 
tween the  Pacific  and  Atlantic  oceans,  and  included  within 
the  31st  and  36th  parallels  of  north  latitude,  was  given  to  cer- 
tain men,  and  William  Drummond  was  appointed  governor 
of  the  colony  of  Carolina.  North  Carolina,  the  State,  was 
modest,  therefore,  when,  after  the  Revolutionary  War,  she 
claimed  all  territory  west  of  the  mountains  to  the  Missis- 
sippi only.  "In  1690  that  portion  of  the  province  lying  north 
of  the  Santee  river  was  styled  North  Carolina,  and  the  four 
southern  counties  were  called  South  Carolina.  From  this  pe- 
riod began  that  long  series  of  oppressions  and  grievances  which 
finally  culminated  in  the  overthrow  of  the  British  and  the 
establishment  of  the  independence  of  the  colony. 

Clarendon.  "In  1729  this  territory  would  have  been  em- 
braced in  the  county  of  Clarendon.  ^  At  this  time  the 
county  of  New  Hanover,  with  indefinite  western  boundaries 
which  seem  to  have  extended  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  then  called 
the  South  Seas,  was  formed,  and  the  name  of  Clarendon  as 
a  county  disappears.  From  New  Hanover  county  in  1738 
was  cut  off  and  erected  the  county  of  Bladen,  whose  western 
limits  were  left  undefined.  Again  from  the  county  of  Bladen 
was  formed  in  1749  the  county  of  Anson,  still  with  undefined 
western  limits.     Here  Buncombe's  genealogy  divides  into  two 

(628) 


POLITICAL  629 


branches,  to  be  united  again  in  her  own  creation.  That  por- 
tion of  her  territory  which  was  taken  from  Burke  may  be 
traced  from  this  point  as  follows.  In  1758  Rowan  county 
was  formed  from  a  part  of  Anson  county,  and  up  to  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Revolutionary  War  continued  in  its  entirety. 
In  1777  was  formed  from  its  western  portion  a  new  county 
called  Burke. 

Bl xcombe's  Ancestry.  "That  portion  of  Buncombe  county 
which  was  taken  from  Rutherford  may  be  traced  as  follows  : 
In  1762  was  formed  from  the  western  part  of  the  county  of 
Anson  a  new  county  called  in  honor  of  the  new  queen  of 
England,  Princess  Charlotte  of  Mecklenburg,  by  the  name  of 
Macklenburg  county.  In  1768  the  western  part  of  Mecklen- 
burg county  was  erected  into  a  new  county,  and  named  in 
honor  of  North  Carolina's  notorious  Colonial  governor,  Tryon 
county,  but  during  the  struggle  for  independence  the  North 
Carolinians  were  but  little  disposed  to  honor  the  name  of 
their  former  oppressor,  and  when  in  1779  this  county  had  be- 
come inconveniently  large,  it  was  formed  into  two  new  coun- 
ties, and  the  name  of  Tryon  dropped,  and  the  eastern  part 
called  Lincoln,  while  the  western  portion  received  the  name  of 
Rutherford  county,  in  honor  of  Gen.  Griffith  Rutherford." 

Locke's  Constitution.  It  is  frequently  forgotten  that  for 
several  years  the  colony  of  Carolina  was  governed  by  Locke's 
"grand  model"  constitution;  and  but  a  few  lawyers  know 
that  it  is  set  forth  in  full  in  the  second  volume  of  the  revised 
Statutes  (1837)  North  Carolina,  where  can  also  be  found 
that  much  vaunted  but  little  knowTi  "palladium"  of  our  lib- 
erties, "Magna  Carta."  Locke's  plan  provided  that  these 
backwoodsmen  were  to  have  "two  kinds  of  nobles  put  over 
them  :  greater  nobles,  who  were  called  landgraves;  and  lesser 
nobles,  who  were  named  casiques.  The  head  of  the  nobles 
was  to  be  called  Palatine. " ' 

The  Edenton  Tea  Party.  In  Edenton  on  October  25, 
177-4,  fifty-one  ladies  crowded  into  the  home  of  Mrs.  Eliza- 
beth King  and  signed  an  agreement  to  do  all  in  their  power 
to  carry  out  the  wishes  of  the  New  Bern  convention,  and  de- 
clined to  allow  any  more  English  tea  to  be  served  on  their 
tables.  * 

The  Revolution.  In  1773,  John  Harvey,  Speaker,  laid 
before  the   House  of  Commons  appeals   from  several   other 


630        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

colonies  for  its  concurrence  in  the  appointment  of  a  committee 
to  enquire  into  the  wrongs  imposed  by  England  on  the  colo- 
nists. In  August,  1774,  the  Assembly  or  Congress  met  at 
New  Bern,  in  defiance  of  the  proclamation  and  denunciation  of 
royal  authority.  It  endorsed  the  plan  for  a  general  congress 
in  Philadelphia  in  September  following.  In  February,  1775, 
John  Harvey  issued  a  call  for  the  Assembly  to  meet  at  New 
Bern  on  the  4th  of  the  foUomng  April,  and  a  notice  to  the 
people  to  send  delegates  to  a  convention  to  be  held  at  the 
same  time  and  place.  On  the  20th  of  May,  1775,  the  people 
of  Mecklenburg  adopted  a  declaration  of  independence,  a  copy 
of  which  was  sent  to  the  Continental  Congress  at  Philadelphia. 
Governor  Martin,  the  royal  governor,  fled  and  the  provi- 
sional congress  met  at  Hillsboro  on  the  20th  of  August,  1775, 
and  adopted  measures  for  offensive  and  defensive  warfare.  On 
the  4th  of  April,  1776,  the  provincial  congress  met  at  Halifax, 
and  on  the  12th  of  that  month  expressed  the  readiness  of  the 
people  to  declare  their  independence  of  the  Crown,  appoint- 
ing a  committee  of  safety,  with  Cornelius  Harnett  as  chair- 
man. On  the  12th  of  November,  1776,  a  convention  of  the 
people  adopted  a  constitution,  which  provided  for  a  legisla- 
ture, judiciary,  etc.,  and  the  election  of  the  governor  by  the 
Legislature. "  ^ 

Seeds  of  Sectionalism.  Most  of  the  population  was  in 
the  east  and  this  constitution  provided  that  each  county 
should  have  two  members  of  the  House  of  Commons,  as  the 
popular  branch  was  called,  and  one  Senator.  But,  with  the 
rapid  settlement  of  the  western  part  of  the  State,  dissatis- 
faction arose,  and  as  early  as  1790  efforts  were  made  to  rem- 
edy this  uneven  representation.  By  1818  the  feeling  had 
grown  so  intense  that  there  was  talk  of  a  separation  into  two 
States.  ^  The  western  members  wanted  the  members  from 
each  county  to  correspond  to  the  number  of  inhabitants,  and 
demanded  that  the  governor  be  elected  by  the  people  direct. 
Largely  through  the  efforts  of  David  L.  Swain,  then  governor, 
the  question  of  calling  a  State  convention  was  left  to  a  vote 
of  the  people  and  adopted  by  5,856  majority.  ^ 

Early  Legislation.  In  the  "  Laws  of  North  Carolina,"  as 
revised  by  Henry  Potter,  J.  L.  Taylor  and  Bart.  Yancey,  Esqs., 
in  two  volumes,  published  in  1821,  is  found  provision  for 
entry  takers  and  surveyors,  establishing  courts   (1777)   and 


POLITICAL  631 


regulating  procoedings  therein,  clireeting  nietiiods  of  electing 
members  of  the  legisliiture,  to  encourage  the  building  of  pub- 
lie  mills  (ch.  122);  making  parts  of  Surry  county  and  of 
"the  District  of  Washington,  now  a  part  of  Tennessee, 
into  Wilkes  county  (ch.  127);  while  chapter  154,  laws 
of  1779,  prohibits  hunting  deer  in  night  time  with 
guns  anil  lire-light;^  chapter  212,  laws  of  1784,  pro- 
hibits killing  deer  in  woods  on  the  east  side  of  the  Ap- 
palachians between  the  20th  of  February  and  loth  of 
August,  but  permitting  the  slaughter  to  continue  to  the  west. 
Chapter  227,  laws  of  1784,  empowers  the  county  courts  of  pleas 
and  quarter  sessions  to  order  the  laying  out  of  public  roads. 
Chapter  201  of  the  laws  of  1784  describes  the  lands  granted  to 
General  Nathanael  Greene  (acts  of  1782)  to  be  laid  off  by  Ab- 
salom Tatum,  Isaac  Shelby  and  Anthony  Bledsoe,  beginning  on 
the  south  bank  of  the  Duck  river.  That  is  now  a  part  of  Maury 
county,  Tenn.  Chapter  123,  laws  of  1777,  provides  a  penalty 
for  burning  or  setting  fire  to  woods.  Haywood's  Manual, 
p.  377,  provides  for  the  enrollment  (with  certain  excepted 
classes)  of  all  males  between  18  and  45  years  of  age,  fixes 
penalties  for  failing  to  attend  musters,  gives  such  members  of 
the  militia  free  passage  over  all  ferries,  and  exempts  them  from 
working  roads  on  muster  days.  The  confiscation  of  lands  belong- 
ing to  all  who  took  up  arms  against  the  United  States  is  pro- 
vided for  (ch.  17,  laws  of  1777),  while  chapter  2,  laws  of  1779, 
gives  a  list  of  those  whose  lands  have  been  forfeited  (Haywood's 
IManual,  p.  123).  Military  land  warrants  were  provided  for 
in  ch.  18,  laws  of  1741  (Haywood's  Manual,  p.  448),  and  on 
page  450  is  found  the  requirement  that  prisons  shall  contain 
a  criminals'  room,  a  debtors'  room,  a  female  prisoners'  room 
and  a  negroes'  room. 

Prisons  in  Towns  and  Country.  But  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord,  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twelve  there  appeared 
in  an  Asheville  daily  newspaper  the  following:^ 

"'I  have  been  visiting  these  places  for  five  years,'  said  Mr.  Crab- 
tree.  '  I  have  been  urging  that  North  CaroHna  do  away  with  the  chains 
and  establish  the  merit  system.  The  convicts  need  help.  The  work  needs 
evangelists,  chaplains.     The  pri.soners  have  no  onoouragomont.' 

"One  of  the  Buncombe  road  camps,  that  in  lower  Hominy,  was  vis- 
ited. The  officials  were  found  to  be  kindly  and  courteous.  The  objec- 
tionable double  bunk  system  is  used.  White  and  negro  prisoners  are 
kept  together,  22  men  packed  in  a  30  by  eight  feet  iron  cage.  Sanitary 
conditions  are  very  poor  as  to  bed  clothing." 


632        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

There  are  also  laws  concerning  runaways,  slaves,  free 
negroes  and  mulattoes. 

Confiscation.  The  act  of  1779  (ch.  153,  p.  384,  Potter's 
Revisal)  refers  to  an  act  of  1777  for  the  confiscation  of  the 
property  of  all  persons  inimical  to  "this  or  the  United  States," 
and  provides  methods  for  carrying  that  act  into  effect.  A 
list  of  those  whose  property  is  declared  forfeited,  comprising 
almost  an  entire  page,  is  given. 

Financial  Legislation.  In  1783  (ch.  185,  p.  435)  the 
legislature  declared  that  "the  opening  of  the  land  office  and 
the  granting  of  lands  within  the  State  would  not  only  redeem 
the  specie  and  other  certificates  due  from  (doubtless  meaning 
*to')  the  pubhc,  but  greatly  enhance  the  credit  thereof  (sic)." 
In  1783  (ch.  187)  a  table  was  given  showing  the  scale  by  which 
to  determine  the  value  of  the  depreciation  of  paper  currency, 
estimated  in  specie;  and  a  "table  of  coins,"  giving  the  value 
in  North  Carolina  currency  of  a  guinea,  a  half-guinea,  a  French 
guinea,  a  moidore,  a  four  pistole  piece,  a  pistole,  a  double 
Johann'es,  French  and  English  crowns,  a  dollar,  a  pistareen 
and  a  shilling. 

Washington  District  and  County,  In  1777  (ch.  126, 
p.  349)  the  State  recognized  the  "late  district  of  Wash- 
ington," the  old  Watauga  Settlements,  by  erecting  it  into 
a  new  and  distinct  county  by  the  name  of  Washing- 
ton county.  It  was  to  begin  at  the  most  northwesterly 
part  of  Wilkes,  on  the  Virginia  line,  and  run  south  36  miles; 
then  west  to  the  ridge  of  the  Great  Iron  mountains; 
thence  southwestwardly  to  the  Unicoy  mountain  where  the 
trading  path  crosses,  and  then  south  to  the  South  Carolina 
line,  and  then  due  west  to  the  "great  river  Mississippi,  then 
up  the  river  to  a  point  due  west  from  the  beginning."  Thus, 
Washington  county  embraced  what  is  now  Tennessee. 

For  the  Relief  of  Moravians,  Quakers,  Mennonites 
AND  DuNKARDS.  In  1780  (ch.  166,  p.  406)  an  act  was  passed 
which  recited  that  as  an  act  had  been  already  passed  which 
required  all  persons  to  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  State 
or  be  sent  out  of  it,  and  deprived  of  civil  rights  therein,  which 
oath  certain  persons  "pretended"  the  Mennonites,  Quakers,  etc., 
etc.,  had  not  taken,  and  had,  under  this  pretext,  entered  upon 
and  were  then  claiming  the  lands  of  those  sects,  it  was  enacted 
that  all  such  entries  and  proceedings  thereon  should  be  null 
and  void. 


POLITICAL  633 


Formation  of  First  Counties.  In  1791  Buncoml)e  was 
formed  from  Burke  and  Rutherford  counties;  in  1799  (Laws 
of  N.  C,  p.  98)  Ashe  was  formed,  and  it  is  the  shortest  act  of 
the  kind  on  record:  "all  that  part  of  the  county  of  Wilkes 
lying  west  of  the  extreme  height  of  the  Appalachian  moun- 
tains shall  be,  and  the  same  is  iiereby  erectetl  into  a  separate 
and  distinct  county  by  the  name  of  Ashe."  In  1808  Hay- 
wood was  formed  out  of  the  western  part  of  Buncombe,  and 
it  extended  to  the  Tennessee  line.  The  formation  of  these 
three  counties  required  an  interval  of  about  ten  years  between 
each.  Then  followed  the  dead-lock  of  twenty  years,  extend- 
ing to  1828,  when  IVIacon  was  allowed  to  become  a  county, 
it  having  been  taken  from  Haywood.  Yancey  was  formed 
in  1833,  out  of  Burke  and  Buncombe.  It  had  thus  taken 
forty-two  years  to  get  five  counties  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge. 
But  the  leaven  of  discontent  was  working,  and  the  convention 
of  1835  was  called  by  a  vote  of  the  entire  people  of  the  State. 

Convention  of  1835.  The  convention  met  at  Raleigh  in 
January,  1835,  and  the  demands  of  the  west  for  the  election 
of  representatives  and  governor  by  the  direct  vote  of  the  peo- 
ple were  granted;  the  right  of  suffrage  which  hitherto  had  been 
enjoyed  by  certain  "free  persons  of  color"  ^  was  abrogated. 
Catholics  were  reUeved  of  political  disal)ility,  the  governor's 
term  was  extended  to  two  years,  and  biennial,  instead  of 
annual  sessions  of  the  legislature  provided  for.  But  some- 
thing had  been  held  back,  and  that  was 

"Free  and  Equal  Suffrage."  The  first  Democratic 
governor  chosen  by  the  people  was  David  S.  Reid,  in  1850, 
who  favored  what  was  called  "free  and  equal  suffrage."  To 
understand  this  phrase  it  will  be  necessary  to  understand 
that,  under  the  constitution  of  1835,  white  males,  21  years 
old,  who  had  paid  their  taxes  could  vote  for  members  of  the 
house  of  commons;  but  they  could  not  vote  for  senators  unless 
they  owned  fifty  acres  of  land.  "Free  Suffrage"  meant  to 
allow  any  free  white  man  to  vote  for  a  senator,  whether  the 
voter  o\\Tied  land  or  not. ' " 

The  Fly  Still  in  the  Ointment.  Thus,  the  new  con- 
stitution still  left  something  to  be  desired:  the  senate  was  to 
consist  of  fifty,  senators,  the  number  from  each  senatorial  dis- 
trict being  determined,  not  by  population,  but  by  the  amount 
of  taxes  paid.  That  did  not  suit  the  white  men  of  the  west 
at  all. 


634        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Prevalence  of  Eastern  Names.  With  the  exception  of 
Swain,  no  county  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  is  named  for  a  citi- 
zen of  this  section;  and,  except  Bakersville  and  Bryson  city, 
no  county  seat  is  named  for  a  son  of  the  west.  These  honors 
had  to  be  bartered  away  to  get  the  legislature  to  consent  to 
the  formation  of  every  other  county  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge. 
For  even  eastern  men  admit  that  we  obtained  our  just  dues 
only  by  barter  and  trade. 

Sectionalism  Rampant.  Of  this  period  Chief  Justice 
Clark  ^  ^  says  : 

"During  the  time  Capt.  Burns  was  in  the  legislature  [1821  to  1834] 
the  east  had  a  disproportionately  large  representation.  The  west  had 
increased  very  greatly  in  population  and  demanded  an  increase  in  rep- 
resentation, either  by  the  creation  of  new  counties  in  the  west  or  by 
calling  a  constitutional  convention.  These  measures  were  voted  down 
in  the  general  assembly,  or  if  a  new  county  was  created  in  the  west  a 
new  one  was  created  in  the  east — just  as  in  congress  before  the  war,  if 
a  non-slave-holding  state  was  admitted  into  the  Union,  a  slaveholding 
state  was  admitted  to  balance  it.  Capt.  Burns,  though  he  was  from 
Carteret  county,  on  the  very  borders  of  the  ocean,  his  was  the  odd  vote 
that  created  Macon  county  in  1827.  In  1822  he  voted  for  Davidson 
county.  He  voted  for  the  creation  of  Yancey  county  in  1827,  the  vote 
being  a  tie.  The  speaker  voted  'aye',  but  the  bill  was  lost  in  the  senate. 
In  1828  he  voted  for  Cherokee,  though  the  measure  then  failed,  the 
county  not  being  created  till  eleven  years  later,  in  1839.  In  1833  Capt. 
Burns  was  in  the  senate  and  again  voted  for  the  creation  of  Yancey 
county,  which  measure  then  passed.  The  grateful  west  promptly  named 
the  county  seat  of  the  new  county  'Burnsville.' 

"We  of  this  day  can  hardly  realize  the  bitter  feeling  that  then  ex- 
isted between  the  east  and  west  in  our  State  until  the  inequality  of  repre- 
sentation was  remedied  by  the  constitutional  convention  of  1835." 

As  the  Cherokees  agreed  to  go  west  in  1835  we  should  have 
here  a — 

Recapitulation  of  Indian  Treaties,  the  principal  of 
which,  concerning  the  mountains  of  Western  North  Carolina, 
may  be  briefly  summed  up  as  follows  : 

Treaty  of  1761,  by  which  the  Blue  Ridge  was  made  the 
boundary ; 

Treaty  of  1772  and  purchase  of  1773,  by  which  the  ridge 
between  the  Nollechucky  and  the  Watauga  rivers,  from  their 
sources  in  the  Blue  Ridge  westward,  and  from  the  Blue  Ridge 
to  the  Virginia  line,  was  made  the  boundary  hne; 

Treaty  of  Hopewell,  1785,  by  which  the  line  was  moved 
westward  to  a  line  running  just  east  of  Marshall,  Asheville 
and  Hendersonville; 


POLITICAL  ^  635 


Treaty  of  Holston,  1791,  establishing  Meigs  &  Freeman's 
line; 

Treaty  of  1819  by  which  the  line  was  moved  west  to  the 
Nantahala  river; 

Treaty  of  New  Echota,  or  1835,  by  wliich  the  Cherokees 
surrenderetl  all  hinds  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  agreed  to 
remove. 

From  1833  to  1849.  Notwithstanding  the  changes  wrought 
in  the  constitution  by  the  convention  of  1835,  the  west  made 
but  httle  progress  poUtically,  as  during  those  sixteen  years 
only  one  additional  county  was  permitted  to  organize,  and 
that  was  Henderson,  taken  from  the  southern  part  of  Bun- 
combe in  1838.  But,  although  the  Senate  was  to  continue 
to  represent  the  landed  interests  till  1857,  when  the  consti- 
tution was  amended  by  the  Legislature  so  as  to  distribute 
senators  according  to  population, '  -  between  1848  and  1862 
seven  new  counties  were  estal^lished  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge, 
viz.:  Watauga,  1849;  Jackson,  1851;  Madison,  1851;  Alle- 
ghany, 1859;  Mitchell,  1861;  Transylvania,  1861;  and  Clay, 
1861. 

A  Natural  Diplomat.  ^^  "in  1848  WilHam  H.  Thomas 
entered  the  Senate  from  Macon  county,  and  remained  there 
till  1862.  In  those  twelve  years  he  accomplished  more  for 
western  North  Carolina  than  any  other  man  who  ever  lived. 
In  addition  to  securing  the  creation  of  the  seven  new  coun- 
ties above  referred  to,  he  had  the  Western  Turnpike  from 
Salisbury  to  Murphy  constructed  and  paid  for  out  of  the  sale 
of  Cherokee  lands;  he  secured  a  charter  for  the  Western  North 
Carolina  Railroad  and  saw  it  finished  to  within  a  few  miles  of 
Morganton  at  the  foot  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  had  the  charter 
so  altered  that  after  the  road  should  reach  Asheville  it  should 
go  west  toward  ]\Iurphy  as  rai)idly  as  it  proceeded  northwest 
toward  Paint  Rock.  In  addition  to  this  he  caused  turnpike 
roads  to  be  built  all  through  the  mountains,  and  helped  to 
organize  the  companies  which  constructed  them,  by  giving 
barbecues  and  holding  public  meetings  at  which  he  taught 
the  people  the  importance  of  making  good  roads.  And,  in 
the  meantime,  he  was  using  his  powers  of  persuasion  to  in- 
duce South  Carolina  to  endorse  four  million  dollars  of  the 
bonds  of  the  Blue  Ridge  Railroad  that  was  to  enter  our  State 
at  Rabun  gap  and  proceed  down  the  Little  Tennessee  to  Cin- 


636        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

cinnati.  He  was  also  engaged  at  this  time  in  looking  after 
the  affairs  of  the  Eastern  Band  of  Cherokees,  by  whom  he 
had  been  adopted  when  a  youth.  He  lived  to  see  the  rail- 
road completed  to  Murphy."  A  monument  of  bronze  is  due 
to  his  memory  from  the  people  of  Western  North  Carolina. 

Secession.  On  the  30th  day  of  January,  1861,  the  Legis- 
lature submitted  to  the  people  the  question  of  holding  a  con- 
vention to  consider  secession;  but  it  was  voted  down.  But 
when,  in  April,  1861,  President  Lincoln  issued  a  proclamation 
calling  on  North  Carolina,  with  the  other  states  still  in  the 
Union,  to  contribute  her  quota  of  troops  to  be  used  in  co- 
ercing those  states  which  had  withdrawn  to  return  to  the 
Union,  the  Legislature  voted  for  a  convention,  and  on  the 
20th  day  of  May  it  unanimously  adopted  the  ordinance  of 
secession. 

North  Carolina  Did  Not  Fight  for  Slavery.  ^^  "One 
of  the  most  significant  proofs  of  the  fact  that  the  status  of 
the  negro  was  not,  at  the  South,  regarded  as  the  issue,  was 
the  ardor  with  which  the  non-slaveholding  portions  of  the 
population  flew  to  arms  at  the  call  of  their  respective  states, 
and  the  fidelity  they  exhibited  for  the  cause  through"  four 
years  of  struggle,  self-denial,  suffering,  death  and  social  de- 
struction. 

Few  Slave-Holders  in  the  Mountains.  "Especially  was 
this  true  of  the  North  Carolina  mountaineer.  In  the  greater 
portion  of  that  section  of  the  State  extending  from  the  eastern 
foot-hills  of  the  Blue  Ridge  to  the  western  boundaries  of  Clay 
and  Cherokee,  the  slave-owners  in  1861  were  so  rare  that  the 
institution  of  slavery  may  be  said,  practically,  to  have  had  no 
existence;  and  yet  that  region  sent  more  than  fifteen  thousand 
fighting  men — volunteers — into  the  field.  ^  ^ 

Regiments.  "The  Sixteenth,  Twenty-fifth,  Twenty-ninth, 
Thirty-ninth,  Fifty-eighth,  Sixtieth,  Sixty-second,  Sixty-fourth, 
Sixty-fifth  and  Sixty-ninth  regiments  were  composed  exclu- 
sively of  mountain  men;  and  in  addition  they  were  numer- 
ously represented  in  the  "Bethel,"  Ninth,  Eleventh, 
Fourteenth,  the  "Immortal  Twenty-sixth,"  the  Nine- 
teenth regiments,  and  other  organizations.  This  estimate 
does  not  include  a  large  number  of  men  from  the 
same  territory,  who  during  the  progress  of  the  war  were  em- 
bodied in  independent  commands,  and  did  gallant  service  in 


POLITICAL  637 


the  campaigns  in  Virginia,  in  the  aoutlnvcst  and  in  tlie  im- 
mediate locality  of  their  homes.  These  mountaineers  were 
the  descendants  of  the  sturdy,  hard-fighting  Scotch-Irish,  who, 
to  a  man,  were  Wliigs  in  the  llevohition,  and  by  their  stub- 
born resistance  of  the  British  aggressions,  contributed  so  much 
to  the  estabUshment  of  the  independence  of  their  country. 
Nor  does  it  include  thousands  who  joined  the  Federal  army. 

Not  Rebels,  But  Sons  of  Revolutionary  Sires.  "The 
men  of  Western  Carolina,  whose  sublime  devotion  and  cour- 
age, with  that  of  their  comrades  from  other  portions  of  the 
South,  have  made  the  heights  of  Gettysburg  and  Fredericks- 
burg and  Sharpsburg,  the  plains  of  Manassas  and  Chicka- 
hominy,  the  wilderness  of  Chancellorsville  and  Chickamauga, 
the  valleys  of  Virginia,  Georgia  and  Tennessee,  immortal, 
had  in  their  veins  the  blood  of  the  patriots  who  fought  at 
Brandywine,  GermantowTi,  Monmouth,  Yorktown,  Savannah, 
Guilford,  Eutaw  Springs  and  Kings  Mountain — and,  let  it 
never  be  forgotten,  they  fought,  and  fighting  died,  for  the 
same  great  divine  right — the  right  of  a  people  to  ordain  and 
control  their  own  government. "  ^  ^ 

Our  "  War  Governor's  "  Right  Hand.  ^ «  Governor  Vance 
was  the  colonel  of  the  26th  North  Carolina  regiment  when 
he  was  elected  to  the  high  office  of  governing  his  people  in  the 
most  momentous  and  troublous  time  in  their  history;  but 
notwithstanding  that  fact,  he  realized  that  he  was  not  a  trained 
and  educated  soldier.  He  therefore,  summoned  to  his  side 
at  the  outset  of  his  term  that  accomplished  officer  and  gen- 
tleman. General  James  Green  Martin,  who  had  graduated 
from  West  Point  in  time  to  lose  an  arm  in  the  Mexican  War 
and  to  be  brevetted  for  gallantry  on  the  field  of  Cherubusco. 
He  was,  therefore,  continued  as  adjutant  general,  to  which 
position  Gov.  Clark  had  appointed  him  in  1861,  and  the  legis- 
lature wisely  gave  him  great  power  and  put  money  freely  at 
his  command,  in  preparing  our  troops  for  battle.  Without 
factories  and  without  markets,  forty  thousand  armed  and 
well-drilled  men  had  been  turned  over  to  the  Confederacy  within 
seven  months;  while  in  less  than  one  year  after  North  Caro- 
lina left  the  Union  the  State  had  nearly  sixty  thousand 
men  in  camp.  He  did  not  stop  then,  but  as  rapidly  as  pos- 
sible Gen.  Martin  added  regiment  after  regiment  until  seventy- 
two  regular  regiments  had  been  formed.     Later  in  the  war 


638        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

three  regiments  of  boys  too  young  for  regular  duty  were  organ- 
ized. In  addition  to  these,  in  the  days  of  sore  need,  five  regi- 
ments of  old  men  were  pressed  into  the  service  of  the  Con- 
federacy. Then  came  the  Home  Guard,  the  whole  aggregating 
125,000  soldiers. 

Arma  Virumque.  And  not  only  did  he  make  soldiers,  but 
he  also  went  actively  into  the  manufacture  of  arms.  He 
hired  two  Frenchmen  to  make  swords  and  bayonets  at  the 
armory  at  Wilmington,  while  workmen  in  Guilford  made  300 
rifles  a  month.  The  State  took  charge  of  the  old  United  States 
arsenal  at  Fayetteville  and  made  excellent  rifles.  One  pow- 
der mill  near  Raleigh  made  weekly  4,000  pounds  of  powder. 
Pistols,  swords,  cartridge-boxes,  gun-caps,  bayonets,  car- 
tridges, powder,  lead,  etc.,  to  the  value  of  $1,673,308  were 
furnished  the  soldiers  before  April,  1864. 

Quartermaster;  also  Commissary.  The  Legislature  in 
1861  directed  Gen.  Martin  to  clothe  the  soldiers  as  best  he 
could,  and  he  started  a  clothing  factory  at  Raleigh,  and  required 
all  the  mills  in  the  State  to  send  him  every  yard  of  cloth 
they  made.  Officers  were  sent  into  the  far  South  to  buy  all 
the  shoes  and  cloth  they  could  find,  while  women  at  home 
furnished  blankets,  quilts  and  comforts,  even  cutting  up  their 
carpets  and  lining  them  with  cotton  to  be  used  for  blankets. 
In  1862  Gen.  Martin  asked  Gov.  Clark  to  buy  a  ship 
to  run  the  blockade  and  bring  in  supplies  from  foreign 
ports;  but  as  the  Governor's  term  was  nearly  out,  he 
asked  Gen.  Martin  to  submit  his  plan  to  Governor  Vance. 
He  did  so,  and  the  Governor  approved  it;  and  Gen.  Martin 
sent  John  White  to  England,  where  he  bought  the  Ad- 
Vance,  named  in  honor  of  the  Governor.  This  ship  brought 
in  many  cargoes  of  goods  before  it  was  captured.  The  State 
bought  cotton  and  rosin  and  in  foreign  ports  exchanged  these 
for  such  supplies  as  were  most  in  demand.  Other  ships  ran 
the  blockade  also,  bringing  in  250,000  pairs  of  shoes  and  cloth 
for  250,000  suits,  2,000  fine  rifles,  60,000  pairs  of  cotton  cards, 
500  sacks  of  coffee  for  the  sick,  medicine  to  the  value  of  $50,- 
000  and  other  articles.  For  these  supplies  the  State  spent 
$26,363,663.  From  these  stores  North  Carolina  contributed 
largely  to  the  Confederate  government,  and  during  the  last 
months  of  the  war  we  were  feeding  one-half  of  General  Lee's 
army. 


POLITICAL  639 


General  Martin  Takes  Command  at  Asiieville.  His 
work  of  organizing  and  supplying  the  troops  having  ended, 
Gen.  Martin  took  command  of  the  troops  in  and  around  Ashe- 
ville  in  18G4.  He  spent  the  rest  of  his  life  here,  and  died  a 
"mountain  man"  just  as  "Zeb"  Vance  had  always  been, 
though  his  residence  had  been  in  Charlotte  for  years,  and  we 
are  proud  of  their  records. 

j\L\NY  Welcome  Peace.  The  sentiment  for  the  Old  Union 
did  not  wholly  die  in  Western  North  Carolina  even  during  the 
heat  of  the  armed  conflict  which  followed  secession;  and  after 
having  in  vain  asserted  by  nearly  four  years'  warfare  its  con- 
scientious contention  that  the  general  government  had  no 
right  to  force  any  state  to  furnish  troops  to  coerce  any  other 
state  to  remain  in  the  Union,  many  of  the  best  and  most  in- 
fluential citizens  of  these  mountains,  after  the  defeat  of  Hood 
at  Franklin,  Tennessee,  and  the  evacuation  of  Savannah  by 
the  Confederates,  considered  further  resistance  as  not  only 
futile  but  a  needless  waste  of  blood  and  treasure,  and  that 
such  people  at  home  should  make  known  their  sentiments  to 
the  commanders  of  the  Union  forces  in  the  South.  Their 
hope  was  thus  to  avert  further  bloodshed  and  the  destruction 
of  property;  and,  as  Sherman  had  not  then  started  on  his 
barbarous  march  through  South  Carolina,  it  is  interesting  to 
consider  how  much  of  suffering  and  loss  might  have  been 
spared  to  the  women  and  children  of  that  State  and  elsewhere 
if  their  counsel  had  been  followed. 

Peaceful  Overtures.  In  pursuance  of  this  sentiment 
there  is  the  best  authority  for  making  public  the  following 
facts:  In  January,  1865,  there  met  in  one  of  the  rooms  of 
the  Old  Buck  Hotel  at  Asheville  the  following  men:  A.  S. 
Merrimon,  Weston  Holmes,  Alfred  M.  Alexander,  J.  E.  Reid, 
J.  L.  Henry,  Adolphus  E.  Baird,  G.  M.  Roberts,  I.  A.  Harris, 
and  Adolphus  M.  Gudger.  A  paper  declaring  that  the  people 
were  tired  of  further  warfare  and  desired  peace  and  the  res- 
toration of  the  Union  was  prepared  by  Judge  A.  S.  Merrimon 
and  signed  by  each  of  the  above-named  citizens.  Adolphus 
M.  Gudger  undertook  to  have  it  d(>livered  to  Judge  John 
Baxter  at  Knoxville.  He  did  so,  and  it  was  put  into  the 
hands  of  the  military  commander  then  in  charge  of  that  city. 
Major  W.  W.  Rollins,  now  postmaster  at  Asheville,  saw  and 
read  it  in  January,  18G5.     It  doubtless  did  much  good  in  the 


640        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

saving  of  property  when  the  Union  forces  invaded  this  terri- 
tory in  April  and  May  following.  Of  these  men  A.  M.  Alex- 
ander, J,  L.  Henry  and  I.  A.  Harris  were  officers  of  the  Con- 
federate Army  at  the  time  they  signed  that  paper.  All  are 
now  dead  except  Dr.  I.  A.  Harris,  who  lives  at  Jupiter,  Bun- 
combe county.  This  paper  is  said  to  be  in  existence,  and  its 
exact  wording  would  be  a  matter  of  great  interest  at  this  time 
when  there  is  so  universal  a  sentiment  in  favor  of  the  Union.  ^  ^ 

After  the  War.  During  the  Civil  War  which  followed 
secession,  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  was  not  suspended  in 
North  Carolina  or  New  York;  but  after  peace  had  been  declared 
Governor  W.  W.  Holden,  provisional  governor,  suspended 
it,  and  appointed  Col.  George  W.  Kirk,  who  had  raided  the 
mountain  section  during  the  war,  to  enforce  martial  law. 
North  Carolina  sent  more  troops  into  the  Confederate  army 
than  any  other  Southern  State;  and  while  there  were  many 
desertions  from  the  soldiers  who  had  joined  the  Confederacy 
from  the  West,  the  mountain  section  was  by  no  means  a  lag- 
gard in  defence  of  the  cause  of  the  Confederacy. 

Reconstruction.  Gov.  Holden  called  a  convention  which 
met  in  Raleigh  October  2,  1865,  but  its  work  was  rejected  by 
the  people  by  a  vote  of  19,570  for  and  21,552  against,  many  of 
the  whites  being  then  disfranchised.  Gen.  E.  R.  Canby,  com- 
manding the  Second  Military  District,  ordered  a  constitutional 
convention  which  met  January  14, 1868.  The  office  of  lieutenant 
governor  was  created,  and  that  of  superintendent  of  public 
works;  all  voters  were  made  eligible  to  office;  the  number  of 
the  Supreme  and  Superior  courts  was  increased  and  provi- 
sion was  made  for  their  election  and  that  of  magistrates  by 
the  people;  the  County  Court  system  was  abolished  and 
county  government  by  a  board  of  commissioners  substituted. 
The  sessions  of  the  Legislature  were  changed  back  to  one 
each  year;  provision  was  made  to  estabUsh  a  penitentiary; 
negroes  were  given  equal  rights  before  the  law  with  all  whites, 
and  a  census  of  the  State  was  ordered  every  ten  years.  A 
homestead  of  $1,000  in  real  estate  and  $500  in  personal  prop- 
erty was  exempted  from  execution;  Gov.  W.  W.  Holden  was 
impeached  and  removed  from  office  in  1871;  and  Lieutenant 
Governor  Tod  R.  Caldwell  succeeded  him. 

The  Exhaustion  of  the  Judiciary.  One  of  the  charges 
against  Gov.  Holden  had  been  the  suspension  of  the  writ  of 


POLITICAL  641 


habeas  corpus  in  Alamance  and  Caswell  counties,  during  what 
was  called  Kirk's  War,  and  the  existence  of  the  Ku-Klux 
Klan  in  18G9  and  1870,  when.  Col.  Kirk,  having  refused  to 
recognize  the  writs  of  the  Supreme  Court,  Chief  Justice  Pear- 
son had  declared  that  "the  judiciary  was  exhausted."  Judge 
George  W.  Brooks,  of  the  United  States  District  Court  for  the 
eastern  district,  however,  pitted  the  strong  arm  of  the  United 
States  against  this  defiance  of  judicial  authority,  and  Kirk  and 
Holden  yielded.  ^  * 

Convention  of  1875.  There  was  a  Constitutional  Con- 
vention, against  the  calling  of  which  the  eastern  counties  had 
voted  solidly,  held  in  Raleigh,  September  6,  1875,  which  pro- 
vided that  separate  schools  should  be  provided  for  white 
and  colored;  that  there  should  be  criminal  and  inferior 
courts;  that  there  should  be  a  department  of  agriculture; 
limiting  the  per  diem  of  members  of  the  Legislature  to  four 
dollars  a  day  during  a  session  of  sixty  days;  providing  for  the 
election  of  magistrates  by  the  Legislature;  reducing  the  num- 
ber of  judges,  and  disfranchising  persons  who  had  been  con- 
victed of  infamous  crimes.  Sessions  of  the  Legislature  were 
again  made  biennial.  In  1900  an  amendment  was  adopted  re- 
quiring a  quasi-educational  qualification  for  voters  after  1908, 
except  for  the  descendants  of  those  who  could  vote  prior  to 
1860.  The  period  during  which  that  exception  was  opera- 
tive passed  in  1908;  but  the  fact  that  certain  "free  persons  of 
color"  had  enjoyed  the  right  to  vote  prior  to  the  constitution 
of  1835,^^  saved  the  exception,  commonly  called  the  "grand- 
father clause,"  from  discriminating  against  anyone  "on  ac- 
count of  race,  color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude. " 

Regulating  Passenger  Rates.  In  1908  the  Legislature 
passed  an  act  limiting  passenger  rates  on  railroads  to  two 
cents  per  mile;  and  the  railroads,  after  some  litigation,  finally 
compromised  by  agreeing  to  charge  not  over  two  and  one- 
half  cents  per  mile. 

State-Wide  Prohibition.  In  1908  the  Legislature  sub- 
mitted to  the  people  the  question  of  prohibiting  the  manu- 
facture and  sale  of  malt  and  spiritous  liquors  anywhere  in 
the  State,  and  the  measure  was  adopted  by  a  large  majoritj\ 

The  "No-Fence"  Law.  In  1885,  pursuant  to  an  act  of 
the  Legislature  passed  at  the  request  of  Hon.  Richmond  Pear- 
son, member  of  the  House  from  Buncombe  county,  the  voters 

W.  N.  C.-41 


642        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

of  that  county  voted  to  eliminate  fences  in  most  of  the  to\NTi- 
ships,  and  requiring  the  o^\^le^s  of  cattle,  sheep,  horses  and 
"hawgs"  to  keep  them  in  bounds.  Buncombe  was  the  pio- 
neer county  in  adopting  this  economic  reform;  and  Richmond 
Pearson  the  legislator  who  had  the  courage  to  secure  its  en- 
actment. A  quarrel  grew  out  of  this  matter  which  resulted 
in  the  sending  of  a  challenge  to  Mr.  Pearson  by  Adjutant 
General  Johnston  Jones;  but  the  day  of  duelling  had  passed 
forever,  and  the  matter  was  adjusted. 

Upon  the  election  of  Hon.  Z.  B.  Vance  as  governor  and  a 
Democratic  Legislature  the  magistrates  were  empowered  to 
elect  the  coimty  commissioners.  This  was  done  to  enable  the 
eastern  counties  to  control  their  board  of  commissioners  in 
counties  where  negro  votes  predominated.  But  it  finally  re- 
sulted in  great  dissatisfaction,  and  helped  to  defeat  the  Demo- 
cratic Party  in  1894.  The  Republicans  changed  the  law,  in 
1895,  making  the  county  commissioners  elective  by  the  people. 

Swain,  Graham  and  Avery.  Not  much  was  left  to  be 
done  in  the  way  of  division  of  the  mountain  territory  when 
the  Civil  War  came  to  put  a  stop  to  legislation  along  this 
line.  Swain  county  was  formed  in  1871  and  in  1872  Graham 
was  formed  out  of  a  portion  of  Cherokee  because  it  was  cut 
off  from  the  rest  of  the  State  by  two  high  ranges  of  moun- 
tains on  the  east  and  south  and  by  the  Little  Tennessee  river 
on  the  north.  Its  county  seat  is  Robbinsville.  The  county 
seat  of  Swain  is  Bryson  City,  named  for  the  late  Col.  Thad.  D. 
Bryson  who,  as  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  secured  its 
establishment  as  a  county.  Avery  county  was  formed  in  1911, 
and  its  county  seat  is  Newland,  named  for  Lieut.  Gov.  New- 
land  of  Caldwell.  It  is  at  the  Old  Fields  of  Toe,  and  the 
court  house  and  jail  are  completed.  In  this  county  is  some 
of  the  finest  scenery  in  the  South. 

Only  Crumbs  for  the  West.  Although  Gen.  Thomas 
Love  had  been  in  the  Senate  and  the  House  from  1793  to 
1828,  except  in  1797-98,  and  John  and  Elisha  Calloway  and 
George  Bower  from  Ashe  almost  as  long,  it  was  not  until 
Governor  Swain  was  elected  by  the  Legislature  a  Superior 
Court  judge  for  one  of  the  eastern  circuits  that  there  was  the 
shghtest  breach  in  the  wall  of  sectionalism.  His  election  by 
the  legislature  to  the  governorship  in  1832  and  afterwards  to 
to  the  presidency  of  the  University  followed;  but  up  to  his 


POLITICAL  643 


election  to  the  bench  there  had  never  been  a  judge  from  west 
of  the  Ridge  and  there  has  never  been  a  judge  from  this  sec- 
tion elected  to  the  Supreme  Court,  Judge  Augustus  S.  Mer- 
rimon  having  moved  from  this  locahty  long  before  his  eleva- 
tion to  that  office.  And,  with  the  exception  of  Judge 
Swain,  there  was  never  a  Superior  Court  judge  from  the 
mountains  till  1868,  when  Judges  James  L.  Henry  and  Riley 
Cannon  were  elected  under  Reconstruction.  Gov.  Zebulon  B. 
Vance  of  Buncombe  was  elected  governor  in  1862-64,  and 
Gov.  Locke  Craig  of  the  same  county  in  1912;  but  they  and 
Governor  Swain  are  the  only  governors  this  part  of  the  State 
has  ever  had.  Hon.  James  L.  Robinson  of  Macon  and  Rufus 
A.  Doughton  of  Alleghany  have  been  presidents  of  the  Sen- 
ate, and  James  L.  Robinson  was  elected  speaker  of  the  House 
in  1872  and  1874,  but  it  was  not  till  1901  that  Hon.  Walter  E. 
Moore  of  Jackson  was  elected  speaker.  In  1876  Dr.  Samuel 
L.  Love  was  elected  State  auditor  from  Haywood,  and  the 
Hon.  Robert  M.  Furman  in  1894.  Hon.  Theodore  F.  David- 
son was  elected  attorney  general  in  1884  and  1888  and  R. 
D.  Gilmer  in  1900.  General  Thomas  L.  Clingman  of  Bun- 
combe was  elected  to  the  U.  S.  Senate  in  1858,  and  Judge 
Jeter  C.  Pritchard  in  1895  and  1897.  Col.  Allen  T.  David- 
son was  elected  to  the  Provisional  Congress  of  the  Confeder- 
acy in  1861  and  in  1862  by  the  people.  In  1864  Judge 
George  W.  Logan  of  Rutherford  county  succeeded  him.  Hon. 
M.  L.  Shipman  of  Henderson ville  has  been  labor  commissioner 
for  several  years. 

Felix  Walker.  ^ "  When  the  Missouri  question  was  under 
discussion,  Mr.  Walker  secured  the  floor,  when  some  impa- 
tient member  asked  him  to  sit  down  and  let  a  vote  be  taken. 
He  refused,  saying  he  must  ''make  a  speech  for  Buncombe," 
that  is,  for  his  constituents.  Thus  "bunkum,"  as  it  is  usually 
spelt,  has  become  part  of  our  vocabulary.  Mr.  Walker  was 
born  in  Hampshire  county,  Va.,  July  19,  1753,  and  became 
a  merchant.  His  grandfather,  John  Walker,  emigrated  in 
1720  from  Derry,  Ireland,  to  Delaware,  where  his  father, 
also  named  John,  was  born.  The  younger  John  moved  first 
to  Virginia  and  afterwards  to  North  Carolina,  settling  within 
four  miles  of  Kings  Mountain.  He  Avas  a  member  of  the 
j&rst  convention  at  Hillsboro,  July,  1775,  and  of  the  Provin- 
cial Congress  which  met  there,  August  21,   1775,  afterwards 


644        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

serving  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  He  died  in  1796.  Felix 
went  with.  Richard  Henderson  to  Kentucky  (then  called  Louisa), 
1774-1775,  where  he  was  badly  wounded  by  Indians.  He  then 
joined  the  Watauga  settlement  and  became  the  first  clerk  of  the 
court  of  Washington  county.  While  holding  this  office  he  went  to 
Mecklenburg  county,  and  was  made  captain  of  a  company 
of  State  troops  which  was  placed  at  NoUechucky  to  guard 
the  frontier  against  the  Indians.  After  serving  four  years  as 
clerk  he  moved  to  Rutherford  county,  N.  C,  where  in  1789  he  was 
appointed  clerk  of  the  court  of  that  county.  He  represented 
that  county  in  the  General  Assembly  in  1792,  1799,  1800, 
1801,  1802,  and  1806.  In  1817  he  was  elected  member  of 
Congress,  and  for  two  succeeding  Congresses.  R.  B.  Vance 
succeeded  him  in  1823.  Walker  was  a  candidate  again  in  1827, 
but  withdrew  in  favor  of  Sam.  P.  Carson,  who  defeated  both 
Vance  and  James  Graham.  Walker  then  removed  to  Missis- 
sippi, where  he  died  in  1828,  at  CUnton. 

Israel  Pickens  was  born  in  Cabarrus  county,  N.  C,  Jan- 
uary 30, 1780;  moved  to  Burke  county,  receiving  Hmited  school- 
ing; State  Senator  in  1808  and  1809;  elected  as  Democrat  to  12th, 
13th  and  14th  Congresses  (March  4,  1811-March  3,  1817);  ap- 
pointed Register  of  Land  Office  of  Mississippi  territory  in 
1817;  Governor  of  Alabama,  1821-1825;  appointed  from  Ala- 
bama to  United  States  Senate  to  fill  vacancy  caused  by  death 
of  Henry  Chambers,  serving  from  February  17,  1826,  to  No- 
vember 27, 1826;  died  near  Matanzas,  Cuba,  April  24,  1827.2" 

James  Graham  was  born  in  Lincoln  county,  January, 
1793;  graduated  from  University  of  North  Carolina,  1814;  ad- 
mitted to  bar  and  practiced;  moved  to  Rutherford  county,  which 
he  represented  in  the  House  of  Commons  1822-1823, 1824, 1828- 
1829;  elected  to  the  23d,  24th,  25th,  26th  and  27th  Congresses, 
and  served  from  December  2,  1833,  to  March  3,  1843,  excepting 
from  March  25,  1836,  to  December  5,  1836,  when  a  Democratic 
house  declared  the  seat  vacant,  but  at  a  new  election  Graham 
was  again  elected;  defeated  for  the  28th  Congress;  elected  as 
a  Whig  to  the  29th  Congress  (March  4,  1845,  to  March  3, 
1847);  died  in  Rutherford  county,  September  25,  1851.^0 

Thomas  L.  Clingman  was  born  at  Huntersville,  July  27, 
1812;  graduated  from  University  of  North  Carolina,  1832; 
studied  and  practiced  law;  elected  to  House  of  Commons 
in  1835;  moved  to  Asheville  in  1836;  elected  State  Senator  in 


POLITICAL  645 


1840;  elected  as  a  Whig  to  28th  Congress  (March  4,  1843- 
March  3,  1845);  defeated  by  James  Graham  to  29th  Congress; 
reelected  to  30th,  31st,  32d,  33d,  34th  and  35th  Congresses 
(March  4,  1847-December  6,  1858)  when  he  resigned;  appointed 
in  1858  United  States  Senator  as  a  Democrat  to  fill  vacancy  caused 
by  resignation  of  Asa  Biggs;  was  elected  to  United  States  Senate 
and  served  from  May  6, 1858,  to  January  21, 1861,  when  he  with- 
drew; was  formally  expelled  from  United  States  Senate  July  11, 
1861;  appointed  May  17,  1862,  brigadier  general  in  the  Con- 
federate service,  and  commanded  a  brigade  composed  of  the 
8th,  31st,  51st,  and  61st  North  Carolina  infantry;  delegate 
to  the  Democratic  national  convention  of  1868;  was  a  delegate 
to  the  State  Constitutional  convention  of  1875;  explored  and 
measured  mountain  peaks  and  developed  mineral  resources 
of  several  regions;  died  November  3,  1897;  buried  in  Asheville. 

Zebulon  Baird  Vance,  born  in  Buncombe  county  May 
13, 1830,  attended  Washington  College,  Tennessee,  was  clerk  at 
hotel.  Hot  Springs,  North  Carolina;  attended  University  of  North 
Carolina;  admitted  to  bar  in  January,  1852,  when  he  was  elected 
county  attorney  of  Buncombe;  member  of  House  of  Commons, 
1854;  elected  as  a  Democrat  to  35th  Congress  to  fill  vacancy 
caused  by  resignation  of  Thomas  L.  Clingman;  reelected  to 
the  36th  Congress,  and  served  from  December  7,  1858,  to 
March  3,  1861 ;  entered  Confederate  Army  as  captain  in  May, 
1861,  and  made  colonel  in  August,  1861;  was  elected  governor 
August,  1862,  and  1864;  was  member  of  Democratic  national 
convention  of  1868;  elected  to  United  States  Senate  November, 
1870,  but  was  refused  admission,  and  resigned  in  January, 
1872;  he  was  defeated  for  United  States  Senate  in  1872  by 
Hon.  A.  S.  Merrimon;  was  elected  governor  over  Hon.  Thomas 
Settle  in  famous  campaign  of  1876;  elected  to  United  States 
Senate  in  1879;  reelected  in  1884  and  1890,  serving  till  his 
death  in  Washington,  D.  C,  April  14,  1894  2" 

Alexander  Hamilton  Jones  was  born  in  Buncombe 
county  July  21,  1822,  was  educated  at  Emory  and  Henry  Col- 
lege; he  was  a  merchant,  a  strong  Union  man  during  the  Civil 
War,  and  in  1863  joined  the  Union  Army  and  was  captured 
in  East  Tennessee  while  raising  a  regiment  and  im- 
prisoned at  Asheville  and  at  Camp  Vance  below  ]Morgan- 
ton,  and  at  Camp  Holmes  and  at  Libby  Prison  at  Rich- 
mond, Virginia.     He  made  his  escape  November  14,  1864, 


646        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

and  joined  the  Union  Army  at  Cumljerland,  Maryland. 
After  the  war  he  returned  to  Hendersonville  and  was  elected 
a  delegate  to  the  State  Convention  to  frame  a  new  constitu- 
tion in  1865.  He  was  elected  a  representative  to  the  39th 
Congress  but  was  refused  a  seat.  He  was  reelected  to  the 
40th  Congress  and  was  admitted  July  6,  1868.  He  was  re- 
elected to  the  41st  Congress  and  made  his  home  in  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  till  1876,  and  in  Maryland  till  1884,  when  he  came 
to  Asheville,  where  he  resided  till  1890,  going  thence  to 
Oklahoma,  where  he  remained  till  1897,  when  he  moved  to 
Long  Beach,  California,  where  he  died  January  29,  1901.  He 
married  Sarah  D.  Brittain,  daughter  of  William  and  Rachel 
Brittain  of  Mills  river,  in  1843,  of  which  marriage  five  children 
were  born:  Col.  Thad  W.  Jones,  U.  S.  A.,  Otho  M.  Jones, 
and  Mrs.  J.  P.  Johnson,  Mrs.  Thomas  J.  Candler,  and  Miss 
Charlotte  Jones,  spinster.  His  widow  died  in  January,  1913, 
aged  92. 

Gen.  Robert  Brank  Vance.  He  was  born  in  Buncombe 
county,  April  24,  1828,  and  was  the  eldest  son  of  David  and 
Mira  Vance.  When  21  years  of  age  he  was  elected  clerk  of 
the  county  court,  and  reelected  till  1858,  when  he  retired 
voluntarily.  He  was  a  Union  man  and  voted  against  seces- 
sion, but  went  into  the  Confederate  Army  when  war  was 
declared.  He  was  first  captain,  but  soon  afterwards  elected 
colonel  of  the  29th  North  Carolina  Infantry,  becoming  brig- 
adier general  in  1863,  after  the  battle  of  Murfreesborough. 
He  was  captured  at  Cosby's  creek,  Tenn.,  in  January,  1864, 
and  kept  a  prisoner  till  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  elected 
to  the  43d  Congress  in  1872,  and  thereafter  till  1885.  He 
succeeded  in  securing  daily  mails  in  every  county  in  his  dis- 
trict, and  many  money-order  offices.  He  was  appointed  com- 
missioner of  patents  in  1885,  and  obtained  an  appropriation 
for  dredging  the  French  Broad  river  between  Brevard  and 
Asheville,  a  small  steamer  having  been  operated  there  a  short 
time  in  1876.  He  was  in  the  State  Senate  in  1893.  He  was  a 
sincere  Christian,  and  the  most  useful  congressman  who  ever 
went  from  that  district.  He  died  at  Alexander,  ten  miles 
below  Asheville,  November  28,  1899. 

Edmund  Spencer  Blackburn,  born  in  Watauga  county, 
September  22,  1868;  attended  common  schools  and  academies; 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  May,  1890;  was  reading  clerk  of  North 


POLITICAL  647 


Carolina  Senate,  1894-1895;  representative  in  State  Legisla- 
ture, 1896-1897;  was  elected  speaker  pro  tem  of  this  Legisla- 
ture; appointed  assistant  United  States  Attorney  for  western 
district  in  1898,  and  assisted  in  the  prosecution  of  Breese 
and  Dickerson  in  the  First  National  Bank  case;  elected  as 
republican  to  57th  Congress  (March  4,  1901-March  3,  1903) ; 
reelected  March  4,  1905;  and  died  at  Elizabethton,  Tenn., 
March  10,  1912.  Interment  at  Boone,  N.  C.  Edmund 
Blackburn  was  the  first  of  his  family  to  settle  in  Watauga, 
then  Ashe  county,  and  married  a  relative  of  Levi  Morphew,. 
who  is  still  living  on  the  New  river,  well  up  in  the  nineties^ 
Edmund's  children  were  Levi,  Sallie,  and  Edmund,  Levi  hav- 
ing been  the  grandfather  of  E.  Spencer  and  M.  B.  Blackburn 
of  Boone.  Levi  Morphew  is  a  son  of  Sallie  Blackburn. 
Among  the  first  Methodist  churches  in  Watauga  was  the  one 
built  by  the  Blackburn  family  on  Riddle's  Fork  of  Meat  Camp 
creek,  called  Hopewell,  the  Methodists  having  worshiped  in 
Levi  Blackburn's  house  prior  to  that  time.  Henson's  chapel 
on  Cove  creek  was  probably  the  first  Methodist  church  in 
Watauga.  The  first  church  built  in  Boone  was  built  about 
1880. 

Romulus  Z.  Linney.  He  was  born  in  Rutherford  county 
December  26,  1841;  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  of 
the  country,  at  York's  Collegiate  Institute,  and  at  Dr.  Mil- 
len's  school  at  Taylorsville;  he  served  as  a  private  in  the  Con- 
federate army  until  the  battle  of  Chancellorsville,  where  he 
was  severely  wounded,  and  was  discharged.  He  then  joined 
a  class  in  Dr.  Milieu's  school  at  Taylorsville,  of  which  Hon. 
W.  H.  Bower  was  a  member;  studied  law  with  the  late  Judge 
Armfield ;  was  admitted  to  practice  by  the  Supreme  Court  in  1 868 ; 
was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  in  1870,  1872,  1874,  and  again 
in  1882;  was  elected  to  the  54th,  55th  and  56th  Congresses  as  a 
Repubhcan,  receiving  19,419  votes  against  18,006  for  Rufus  A. 
Doughton,  Democrat,  and  640  for  Wm.  M.  White,  Prohi- 
bitionist. He  married  Dorcas  Stephenson  in  Taylorsville.  In 
1880  he  became  interested  in  Watauga  so  much  that  he  bought 
property  there,  and  in  September,  1902,  he  bought  a  tract  of 
land  he  called  Tater  Hill  on  Rich  mountain,  where  he  built 
two  rock  houses.  He  was  influential  in  getting  a  wagon  road 
built  along  the  top  of  the  Rich  mountain  range  from  the  gap 
above  Boone  to  a  gap  just  north  of  Silverstone.     He  contrib- 


648        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

uted  $500  to  the  Appalachian  Training  School.  Above  the 
front  door  of  the  chief  building  of  this  college  is  written  in 
marble  the  following  quotation  from  one  of  his  speeches  de- 
livered July  4,  1903  :  "Learning,  the  Handmaid  of  Loyalty 
and  Liberty.  A  Vote  Governs  Better  than  a  Crown."  He 
died  at  Taylorsville,  April  15,  1910.  His  mother  was  a  sister 
of  the  late  Judge  John  Baxter. 

Thomas  Dillard  Johnston  was  born  at  Waynesville, 
North  Carolina,  April  1,  1840.  His  father  was  William 
Johnston  and  his  mother  Lucinda  Gudger,  a  daughter  of 
the  late  James  Gudger  and  a  grand-daughter  of  Col.  Robert 
Love  of  Waynesville.  He  went  to  school  to  the  late  Capt. 
James  N.  Terrell  in  a  log  school  house  in  Waynesville,  when 
about  ten  years  of  age.  In  1853  he  entered  the  school  of 
the  late  Col.  Stephen  D.  Lee,  in  Chunn's  Cove,  where  he 
remained  till  the  summer  of  1857,  when  he  entered  the  State 
University;  but,  his  health  failing,  he  returned  to  Asheville 
to  which  place  his  family  had  removed,  and  were  living  in  a 
brick  house  that  stood  on  the  corner  now  occupied  by  the 
Drhumor  Block.  He  began  the  study  of  law  with  the  late 
Judge  James  L.  Bailey  at  his  law  school  near  the  foot  of 
Black  Mountain,  where  he  remained  till  the  summer  of  1861, 
when  he  obtained  license  to  practice  in  the  County  Court. 
In  May,  1861,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the  Rough  and 
Ready  Guards,  the  second  Asheville  company  to  enter  the 
service  of  the  Confederacy.  He  was  desperately  wounded 
three  times  at  Malvern  Hill,  and  for  a  long  time  his  life  was 
despaired  of.  Recovering,  however,  he  became  quartermas- 
ter to  Col.  W.  C.  Walker's  battahon  and  Capt.  J.  T.  Levy's 
battery  of  artillery.  In  1866  he  was  admitted  to  practice  by 
Chief  Justice  Pearson.  He  was  defeated  in  1867  for  county 
solicitor  by  Col.  V.  S.  Lusk,  and  in  1868  Col.  Lusk  defeated 
him  for  circuit  solicitor.  In  1809  he  was  elected  mayor  of 
Asheville,  and  in  1870  he  was  elected  to  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. He  canvassed  the  Ninth  Congressional  District  in 
1871  in  favor  of  a  State  convention  to  amend  the  Constitu- 
tion, but  the  measure  was  defeated.  He  was  a  candidate  for 
elector  in  1872  on  the  Greeley  ticket.  In  1875  he  again  advo- 
cated a  similar  convention,  which  was  called.  He  was  elected 
to  the  Legislature  again  in  1872  and  in  1876  to  the  State 
Senate.     On  the   10th  of  July,    1879,   he  married   Miss  N. 


POLITICAL  649 


Leila  Bobo  of  South  Carolina.  In  1884  he  was  elected  to 
Congress,  defeating  H.  G.  Ewart,  and  again  in  1886,  defeating 
W.  H.  Malone.  In  1888  he  was  defeated  for  Congress  by  H. 
G.  Ewart.  He  died  June  23,  1902.  He  gave  the  United 
States  the  site  of  the  present  postoffice  in  1888,  and  assisted 
in  the  education  of  a  number  of  worthy  young  men.  Of 
him  it  has  been  said  that  "his  word  was  better  than  his  bond, 
and  his  bond  was  as  good  as  gold. " 

James  Montraville  Moody.  He  was  born  February  12, 
1858,  in  Cherokee,  now  Graham,  county,  but  while  he  was 
yet  an  infant  his  parents  moved  to  and  settled  on  Jonathan's 
creek,  Haywood  county.  He  attended  the  neighborhood 
schools  and  at  seventeen  years  of  age  went  to  Waynesville 
Academy  under  the  tutelage  of  John  K.  Boone,  after  which 
he  went  to  the  Collegiate  Institute  at  Candler,  Buncombe 
county.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1881,  and  in  1886 
was  Republican  nominee  for  solicitor,  and  defeated  Judge  G. 
S.  Ferguson  for  that  position,  serving  four  years.  In  1894 
he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  from  the  34th  District, 
then  composed  of  Haywood,  Buncombe  and  Madison.  He 
was  appointed  major  and  chief  commissary  and  served  on 
the  staff  of  Major  General  J.  Warren  Keifer  in  the  Spanish- 
American  War  of  1898.  In  1900  he  was  elected  from  the 
Ninth  District  over  W.  T.  Crawford,  Esq.,  a  member  of  Con- 
gress, and  was  renominated  in  1902  by  the  Republicans,  but 
was  defeated  by  Mr.  J.  M.  Gudger,  Jr.,  two  years  later.  On 
May  20,  1885,  Mr.  Moody  married  Miss  Margaret  E.  Haw- 
kins.    He  died  February  5,  1903. 

William  Thomas  Crawford.  He  was  born  on  Crabtree 
creek,  Haywood  county,  N.  C,  June  1,  1856.  He  attended 
the  pubUc  schools  of  this  neighborhood,  and  in  1882  the  old 
Waynesville  Academy.  In  1885  and  1887  he  served  as  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  the  State  legis- 
lature. In  1888  he  was  Presidential  elector  on  the  Demo- 
cratic ticket,  and  in  1889  he  served  as  engrossing  clerk  of  the 
House.  In  1889  and  1890  he  studied  law  at  the  University  of 
North  CaroHna.  In  1890  he  was  elected  to  Congress.  In  1891 
he  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  On  the  30th  of  November,  1892,  he 
was  married  to  Miss  Inez  Edna  Coman,  daughter  of  J.  R. 
Coman  and  wife,  Laura  McCracken,  daughter  of  David  V. 
McCracken.     J.  R.  Coman's  father  was  that  scholarly  and  ec- 


650        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

centric  gentleman,  Matthew  J.  Coman,  son  of  James  Coman, 
of  the  city  of  Raleigh,  N.  C.  Matthew  J.  Coman  was  a  class- 
mate of  President  James  K.  Polk  at  the  University  of  North 
Carolina,  was  a  fine  classical  scholar,  and  was  born  in  Raleigh 
in  1802.  In  1892  Mr.  Crawford  was  again  elected  to  Con- 
gress, defeating  Hon.  Jeter  C.  Pritchard.  He  was  defeated 
for  the  54th  Congress.  Was  re-elected  to  the  56th  Congress, 
but  was  unseated  by  Hon.  Richmond  Pearson  by  a  majority  of 
one  vote.  He  was  defeated  for  re-election  to  Congress  in  1900. 
He  was  Presidential  elector  on  the  Democratic  ticket  in  1904. 
He  was  elected  to  the  60th  Congress  (1907  to  1909).  He 
practised  law  in  Waynesville  till  his  death,  November  16, 
1913.  Even  his  political  rivals  admitted  that  he  had  more 
strength  before  the  people  than  any  man  since  the  death  of 
his  near  kinsman,  the  late  Col.  William  H.  Thomas,  for  whom 
he  was  named.     His  widow  and  seven  children  survive. 

James  Lowery  Robinson.  He  was  a  son  of  James  and 
Matilda  Lowery  Robinson,  was  born  September  17,  1838, 
married  Miss  Ahce  L.  Siler,  daughter  of  Julius  T.  and  Mary 
Coleman  Siler,  October  12,  1864.  He  died  July  8,  1887.  On 
his  mother's  side  he  was  descended  from  the  Lanes  and 
Swains,  his  mother  having  been  a  niece  of  Gov.  D.  L.  Swain. 
He  attended  Emory  and  Henry  College  of  Virginia,  volun- 
teered as  a  private  in  the  Confederate  army  and  was  pro- 
moted to  a  captaincy,  fighting  gallantly  till  discharged  be- 
cause of  a  wound  he  carried  all  his  life.  He  represented 
Macon  in  the  House  from  1868  to  1872,  inclusive,  when  he  was 
elected  speaker,  to  which  position  he  was  reelected  in  1873 
and  1874.  A  silver  service  presented  at  the  end  of  his  ser- 
vice as  speaker  was  inscribed  :  "From  the  Republicans  and 
Democrats  of  the  House  :  a  testimonial  of  ability,  integrity 
and  impartiality."  From  1876  to  1879,  inclusive,  he  served 
as  State  Senator  from  the  then  42d  District,  composed  of 
Jackson,  Swain,  Clay,  Macon,  Cherokee  and  Graham  coun- 
ties; and  on  November  20,  1876,  was  elected  president  of  the 
Senate  by  a  vote  of  thirty-six  to  six.  He  was  nominated  for 
lieutenant  governor  by  the  Democrats  in  1880  and  elected, 
serving  as  governor  in  September,  1883,  during  the  absence 
of  Governor  Jarvis  from  the  State,  and  many  important 
grants  and  State  papers  bear  his  signature  as  "Acting  Gov- 
ernor."    His  first  official  act  as  governor  was  to  pardon  James 


POLITICAL  651 


J.  Penn,  sentenced  from  Cherokee  for  perjury.  But  his  great 
work  was  in  his  efforts  to  secure  the  construction  of  railroads 
through  the  western  part  of  the  State.  He  was  appointed 
Inspector  of  Public  Lands.  From  1886  to  1887  he  was  Spe- 
cial Indian  Agent.  He  was  a  good  man  as  well  as  being  a 
statesman. 

NOTES. 

'Constitution  of  the  Watauga  Association. 
'From  Asheville's  Centenary. 
»Hill,  p.  43. 
<Ibid.,  p.  152. 
'Polk. 
«Hill,  249. 

'Col.  Byrd,  in  his  WritiriKs,  calls  fire  hunting  driving  game  to  a  central  point  by  means 
of  fires  set  around  a  circumference, 
^Gazette  Neu-s.  November  30,  1912. 
'Handbook  of  North  Carolina,  by  L.  L.  Polk,  p.  22. 

1  "Hill.  263. 

"Address  of  Judge  Walter  Clark  at  Burns\nlle,  July  5,  1909,  unveiling  statue  to  Cai>- 
tain  Otway  Burns. 

'2Hill,  p.  264. 

''Capt  James  W.  Terrell  in  The  Commomrealth,  Asheville,  June  1,  1893. 

nFrom  "Thirty-Ninth  Regiment"  by  Lieut.  Theo.  F.  Davidson  in  Vol.  II,  of  "His- 
tories of  the  Several  RcKiments  and  Battalions  from  North  Carolina,"  p.  699. 

i^A.ccordinK  to  Wheeler's  "  History  of  North  Carolina"  there  were  only  4,669  slaves  in 
1850  in  this  entire  mountain  region. 

i*From  Ch.,  37,  of  Hill's  "Young  Peoples'  Histon.'  of  North  Carolina." 

•'In  "The  Last  Ninety  Days  of  the  War,"  Ch.  16,  when  Federal  General  Gillam  was 
approaching  Swannanoa  gap  Love's  regiment  and  Porter's  battery  went  there  and  forti- 
fied it;  and  ' '  Palmer's  brigade  was  ordered  to  meet  them  there;  but,"  Gen.  Martin  adds,  ' '  I 
regret  to  say  the  men  refused  to  go." 

isHill,  357,  35S. 

I'Polk,  22. 

2  The  Biographical  Congressional  Directory  states  that  he  died  in  Asheville,  which  is 
erroneous. 


APPENDIX 

DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION 

Arden  Chapter.  On  the  31st  of  October,  1899,  at  Arden 
House,  Arden,  Buncombe  county,  was  formed  the  Arden 
Chapter  of  the  D.  A.  R.  Mrs.  Maria  Beale,  regent  and 
acting  historian;  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Child,  vice-regent  and  sec- 
retary; Miss  Bertha  F.  Beale,  corresponding  secretary;  Mrs. 
Ella  H.  Morrison,  treasurer;  Mrs.  Jane  Banks  Amiss,  regis- 
trar. 

Dorcas  Bell  Love  Chapter,  of  Waynesville,  was  organ- 
ized by  Miss  Mary  Love  Stringfield,  a  great-granddaughter 
of  Robert  Love,  and  Miss  Lucy  Biddle  Lewis,  January  9, 
1899.  The  first  officers  follow:  Mary  Love  Stringfield, 
regent;  Annie  E.  Gudger,  secretary;  Elizabeth  Briscoe,  treas- 
urer; Nora  Welch,  historian;  Bessie  Love,  registrar;  Love  B. 
Gilmer,  vice-regent.  The  present  officers  (January,  1913) 
follow:  Mrs.  Marietta  Welch  Way,  regent;  Maria  Love 
Mitchell,  vice-regent;  Florence  V.  Camp,  secretary;  Sarah 
Stringfield,  treasurer;  Jessie  Howell  Rogers,  register;  Love 
B.  Gilmer,  historian;  Ella  B.  Atkins,  treasurer.  The  first 
annual  State  Conference  of  the  national  society  was  held  at 
Waynesville,  July  2  to  5,  1901,  upon  invitation  of  the  Dorcas 
Bell  Love  chapter.  On  the  23d  of  August,  1902,  this  chapter 
unveiled  a  bronze  tablet  to  the  memory  of  Robert  Love,  the 
son  of  Dorcas  Bell  Love,  in  the  court  house  at  Waynesville. 

1760  1845 

In  Memory  of 

COL.  ROBERT  LOVE. 

Founder  of  Waynesville. 

Soldier,  Statesman,  Benefactor. 

Erected  by  the 

Dorcas  Bell  Love  Chapter,  D.  A.  R., 

August  23,  1902. 

Dorcas  Bell  was  the  daughter  of  James  Bell,  of  Augusta 
county,  Va.,  and  the  wife  of  Samuel  Love. 

Edward  Buncombe  Chapter  of  Asheville  was  or- 
ganized October  12,  1903,  Mrs.  Thomas  Settle,  regent;  Mrs. 
J.  M.  Campbell,  vice-regent;  Miss  Lelia  May  Johnston  (now 

(652) 


APPENDIX  653 


Mrs.  Duncan  Cameron  Waddell,  Jr.,)  secretary;  Mrs.  Theo- 
dore S.  Morrison,  treasurer;  Miss  Nan  Erwin,  registrar;  Mrs. 
J.  E.  Ray,  historian.  Its  officers  in  January,  1913,  are:  Mrs. 
Theodore  S.  IMorrison,  regent;  Mrs.  E.  C.  Chambers,  vice- 
regent;  Miss  Hattie  M.  Scott,  secretary;  Miss  Maria  T. 
Brown,  treasurer;  Mrs.  Chas.  A.  Moore,  registrar;  Mrs.  M.  E. 
Child,  historian;  Mrs.  T.  Wooh'idge,  chaplain;  Mrs.  J.  Edwin 
Ray,  honorary  chaplain.     This  chapter  was  named  for 

Edward  Buncombe,  of  whom  Wheeler's  History  of  North 
Carolina  contains  the  following  account:  "Colonel  Edward 
Buncombe  was  a  native  of  St.  Kitts,  one  of  the  West  India 
islands.  He  inherited  land  in  Tyrrell  county  and  built  a  house, 
now  in  the  possession  of  his  descendants. 

"With  his  regiment,  he  joined  the  army  of  the  north  under 
Washington;  was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle 
of  GermantoAvn,  in  1777.  He  died  of  wounds  received  in  this 
battle,  at  Philadelphia,  while  on  parole.  He  left  one  son, 
who  died  without  issue,  and  two  daughters;  one,  who  mar- 
ried John  Goelet,  Esq.,  of  Washington,  N.  C,  and  the  other 
Mr.  Clark,  of  Bertie,  a  daughter  of  whom  is  now  the  wife  of 
John  Cox,  Esq.,  of  Edenton. 

"Edward  Buncombe  was  distinguished  for  his  manly  ap- 
pearance, indomitable  bravery,  unsullied  patriotism,  and 
open-hearted  hospitality.     Over  his  door  was  this  distitch — 

"To  BUNCOMBE  HALL, 
Welcome  All." 

UNITED  DAUGHTERS  OF  THE  CONFEDERACY 

AsHEViLLE  Chapter.  This  was  formed  April  9,  1907,  with 
Miss  Fannie  L.  Patton,  president;  Mrs.  E.  C.  Chambers, 
first  vice-president;  Mrs.  Henry  Redwood,  second  vice-presi- 
dent; Mrs.  J.  E.  Dickerson,  recording  secretary;  Miss  Willie 
Ray,  corresponding  secretary;  Mrs.  W.  D.  Hilliard,  treasurer. 

Monuments.  A  monument  designed  to  honor  the  dead 
infantry  of  Buncombe  county  was  erected  in  Newton  ceme- 
tery in  1903.  For  the  keeping  of  this  plot  and  the  annual 
decoration  of  the  graves  the  chapter  is  chiefly  indebted  to 
Miss  Julia  Hatch  and  Miss  Mary  McDowell,  as  leaders. 

Gen.  Thomas  L.  Clingman's  Monument.  This  stands 
in  the  court  house  lot  and  is  thus  engraved:  "Erected  by 
Robert  E.  Lee  Chapter,   Children    of  the  Confederacy,  and 


654        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

Friends;  In  Honor  of  Gen.  Clingman,  Colonel  of  the  25th 
N.  C.  Reg. — Brig.  Gen.  Confederate  army — U.  S.  Senator. 
Clingman's  Dome -Smoky  Range,  6660  ft.  —  Next  to  Mt. 
Mitchell  6714  ft.,  highest  East  of  the  Rockies." 

The  Robert  E.  Lee  Chapter  was  an  auxiliary  of  this 
chapter,  and  was  organized  in  April,  1894,  under  the  super- 
vision of  Mrs.  Edward  McDowell.  Mrs.  E.  B.  Glenn  followed 
Mrs.  McDowell  in  fuller  enlistment  of  interest  as  a  study 
circle  and  choir.  The  historical  department  is  under  the 
direction  of  Mrs.  J.  E.  Ray.  Among  those  who  have  been 
active  and  helpful  from  the  organization  are  Mrs.  J.  P.  Sawyer, 
Mrs.  Duffield,  Mrs.  Stockton,  Mrs.  W.  W.  West,  Miss  Mary 
Ck  McDowell,  Mrs.  Betty  Child,  Mrs.  WiUiam  Breese,  Miss 
Carrie  Furman,  Mrs.  Martha  C.  Kepler,  president  from  Jan- 
uary, 1899,  to  November,  1907;  Mrs.  Henry  Redwood,  presi- 
dent from  1907  till  November,  1910;  Mrs.  C.  E.  Chambers, 
who  has  served  since  as  president.  Mrs.  Edith  C.  L.  Cain, 
Mrs.  E.  W.  West,  Mrs.  Daisy  S.  Cleminger,  Miss  Pearl  K. 
Stevens,  Mrs.  B.  K.  Bassett,  Miss  Nancy  Grant,  Mrs.  Eph- 
raim  Clayton,  Mrs.  Malcolm  Piatt,  Miss  Ethel  Ray,  Mrs. 
F.  B.  Dickerson,  Mrs.  E.  W.  West. 

THE  MEN  OF  BUNCOMBE 
By  J.  P.  Arthur 

(Read  at  Centennial  Celebration  of  Buncombe  County,  August  11,  1892) 

More  than  a  hundred  years  ago,  over  the  mountain  walls, 

Over  the  trackless  forest-path,  over  the  water-falls; 

Over  a  hundred  miles  of  swamp,  over  the  sandy  plain. 

Our  fathers  came  to  this  fair  clime  to  build  them  homes  again. 

Away  from  the  glistening  sad  sea-shore,  away  from  the  haunts  of  men. 

Away  from  the  busy  marts  of  trade,  away  from  brake  and  fen; 

Away  from  the  glare  and  grind  of  life,  away  from  grasping  greed. 

Into  this  wilderness  they  came  and  planted  deep  their  seed. 

Driving  their  kind-eyed  cows  along,  trusting  their  faithful  dogs, 

To  Swannanoa's  stream  they  came  and  built  their  home  of  logs; 

With  a  Bible  on  the  mantel-shelf  and  a  rifle  over  the  door. 

The  Men  of  Buncombe  started  life  a  hundred  years  ago. 

Look  out  on  these  everlasting  hills  and  towering  mountains  blue. 

Look  out  on  these  verdant,  smiling  plains,  bright  rivers  winding  through; 

Look  up  at  the  grand  ethereal  vault,  the  arching,  heaven-kissed  dome — 

Look  out,  look  up  at  land  and  sky  our  fathers  chose  for  Home! 

Italian  lands  with  sunsets  grand,  bright  noons  and  rosy  morns, 

Match  not  the  gorgeous  draperies  of  our  opalescent  dawns; 

And  famed  Arcadia  holds  no  nook  one  half  so  fair  as  this. 

Nor  the  "Island  Vale  Avillion"  airs  which  breathe  so  soft  a  kiss! 


APPENDIX  655 


Kings  Mountain's  fight  and  Cowpcns'  fray,  Ciuill'ord  and  Alamance 

The  story  of  their  valor  tell  with  halo  of  romance; 

But  now,  their  swords  to  ploughshares  turned,  their  strife  with  man  is  o'er; 

They  battle  with  harsh  nature's  moods  and  conquer  as  before. 

The  forests  girdled  by  their  axe  in  burning  log-heaps  glow, 

While,  pulsing  'neath  its  brood  of  grain,  the  mother-earth  smiles  through! 

Many  an  idle  stream  is  bound  and  harnessed  to  a  wheel. 

And  thousands  herbs  and  weeds  are  made  their  secret  balms  to  yield. 

The  martins,  nesting  in  the  gourd,  like  sentinels  kept  ward 

For  robber  hawks,  while  timid  fowl  strutted  the  wide  barn-yard; 

Lithe,  antlered  red-deer  roamed  the  hills,  close  followed  by  their  fawns, 

Cropping  the  dainty,  crisp  young  grass  in  dew-bespangled  dawns. 

The  anvil's  clang,  the  saw's  hoarse  snore,  the  bellow's  wheezing  lay 

The  scythe's  long  swish,  the  hammer's  ring  made  music  all  the  day; 

The  furrow-scoured  ploughshare  bright,  the  sharp  lip  of  the  hoe, 

The  mattock,  flail  and  reaping-hook  were  friends  of  the  men  of  yore. 

The  wild  deer  furnished  food  and  clothes;  and,  on  a  thousand  hills, 

Their  cattle  grazed  knee-deep  in  grass,  their  sheep  browsed  by  the  rills; 

Myriads  of  gold-enameled  bees  winged  their  swift  flight  in  glee, 

And,  honey  laden,  homeward  hummed  to  hives  beneath  the  tree. 

Rude  were  these  homes,  but  fairer  far  than  many  a  palace  grand, 

For  the  love  of  God  breathed  everywhere — the  love  of  God  for  man. 

They  manufactured  all  they  used  and,  with  their  muscles  strong, 

They  felled  the  woods,  they  sowed  the  fields  with  many  an  old-world  song. 

They  had  no  artificial  wants,  no  artificial  airs. 

No  false  conventions  warped  them  from  nature's  sweet  courtesies  : 

And  what  cared  they  for  heraldry  or  long  ancestral  tree, 

When  Church  and  State  for  years  had  bound  the  world's  best  yeomanry? 

Their  eyes  turned  backward  but  to  see  the  wrongs  which  they  had  flown; 

And  men  were  valued  for  their  worth — not  for  their  sires'  renown; 

And,  though  the  lettered  page  was  closed,  and  learning  held  in  thrall, 

Nature's  grand  university  stood  open  to  them  all; 

And  many  a  useful  art  they  knew  and  practiced  far  and  wide; 

Grew  flax  and  hemp,  made  shoes  and  tools  and  tanned  the  raw  cow-hide; 

By  lunar  signs  they  sowed  their  seeds,  reaped,  threshed  and  garnered  in; 

Made  spoons  and  cups  of  bone  and  horn,  candles  in  molds  of  tin. 

The  hearth,  the  deep-mouthed  fire-place,  the  look  the  old  clock  had; 

The  swinging  crane,  the  steaming  pots,  the  ovens  ember-clad; — 

The  room  ranged  round  with  feather-beds,  the  fire-lighted  wall. 

The  sweet  home-faces  round  the  board  lapsed  memories  recall. 

Outside,  the  soft,  low  murmurous  wind,  moving  in  stately  stride, 

Deep-toned,  portentious,  awful,  grand,  sobbed  on  the  mountain-side; 

Broke  on  life's  sentient  silences,  spoke  to  the  spirit's  ear — 

Hushed  as  the  music  of  the  stars,  but  speaking,  weird  and  clear. 

Lonely  the  lot  of  those  who  first  planted  their  roof-tree  here. 
With  never  a  word  from  home  or  friends  their  lonely  hearts  to  cheer  : 
Cold  were  the  winter  nights  and  long  the  short-lived  winter  days 
Till  spring,  at  last,  broke  into  song  with  bird-note  roundelays. 


656        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 


Far  off  in  raptured  solitudes  and  bosky  mountain  dells, 
In  fancy's  footless  wanderings,  they  heard  home-chiming  bells; 
They  heard  the  murmur  of  the  sea  in  soughings  of  the  pines 
And  traced  again  Ben  Lomond's  form  in  shadowy  mountain  lines. 
Sometimes,  by  dimpled,  purling  streams — high  in  the  spirit's  noon — 
They  stood  again  on  Shannon's  shore,  or  by  the  banks  of  Doon; 
Over  the  wolf's  fierce  howl  there  rose  the  spinning-wheels'  low  croon. 
And  the  panther's  curdling  shriek  was  drowned  in  the  click  of  the  clack- 
ing loom. 

Still,  not  unlighted  were  their  lives  by  mirth  and  homely  wit — 

Orlando  wrestled  in  the  groves  and  Touchstone  made  his  hit  : 

Corn-shuckings,  dances,  toiu-neys,  games,  the  WTestling  match  and  race, 

Won  many  a  smile  from  Chloe's  eyes  for  Strephons'  skill  and  grace. 

Vesta  kept  lit  the  glowing  hearth,  or,  if  its  fire  died, 

Aeneas  came  with  flint  and  steel  and  all  her  wants  supplied  : 

The  tallow-dip,  with  constant  drip,  gave  light  with  fitful  start, 

While  Orpheus's  music  won  Eurydice's  soft  heart. 

Bearing  their  own  they  still  could  bear  each  other's  burdens  then — 

Their  humble  board  was  free  to  all  the  wandering  sons  of  men. 

Together  by  their  brawn  they  reared  each  other's  cabin  walls. 

Sat  by  the  sick  and  ministered  each  to  the  other's  calls. 

And  holy  men  of  God  were  there  whose  lives  were  a  hymn  of  praise — 

Their  altar  by  each  fire-side,  their  temples  'neath  the  trees; 

Statesmen  and  soldiers,  judges,  priests  have  gone  from  these  lowly  doors, 

Their  hearts  alight  with  love  they  learned  as  they  knelt  on  puncheon  floors. 

Their  crops  laid-by,  from  cove  and  glen,  from  vale  and  sunny  slope. 
They  gathered  then  as  Druids  did  to  feed  the  spirit's  hope; 
Camp-meeting  lays  the  pillared  aisles  of  forest  swept  along. 
Soared  to  the  fretted,  leafy  vault  in  ecstacy  of  song. 
Sweet-throated  Davids  of  the  fane,  rapt  wild-bird  psalmists  true, 
Joined  in  man's  grand,  triumphant  strain  and  thrilled  the  woodlands 

through. 
Anthems  more  glad  did  never  melt  cathedral  solitudes 
Than  the  sweet  strains  the  song  birds  poured  through  these  inspired  woods. 
Fair  flowers  swung  by  acolytes  unseen  their  incense  poiu-ed 
From  brimming  censers,  lavishty,  to  Him  who  was  adored. 
No  need  of  robed  priest  or  choir,  nor  shrill  bell  pealing  clear — 
God  in  His  holy  temple  was,  in  word,  in  song,  in  prayer! 
And,  so,  they  lived  from  year  to  year,  sequestered  from  the  world; 
Driving  their  herds  to  market  oft  through  weary  weeks  of  toil. 
And  when  War's  dreaded  drmn-beat  rolled  o'er  mountain  peak  and  crag, 
Some  fought  for  the  cause  of  Home  and  Law,  and  some  for  Right  and  the 

Flag. 

If  some  of  the  sheeted  dead  could  rise  and  be  with  us  today; 

Could  see  yon  two  bright  lines  of  steel  climbing  their  heavenward  way; 


APPENDIX  657 


Crossing  the  mountain  passes  high,  bearing  Steam's  panting  steeds, 

They'd  stand  spell-bound,  uncovered  here,  awed  by  our  mighty  deeds. 

And  time  and  distance  they  would  see  have  almost  passed  away  : 

The  league  at  last  is  but  an  ell,  the  long  year  but  a  day  : 

Our  words,  our  music  and  our  plays,  though  written  years  agone, 

In  phonograph  arcanimis  live,  as  faces  live  in  stone. 

Lightning,  the  Arab  of  the  sky,  has  been  enslaved  at  last, 

And  bears  our  burdens,  lights  our  homes  and  runs  our  errands  fast; 

Climbs  the  steep  hill-sides,  turns  our  wheels,  plunges  'neath  ocean's  wave, 

Flashes  a  signal  over  the  seas  the  sinking  ships  to  save. 

But,  ah,  their  eyes  in  pained  surprise  would  note  Wealth's  lavish  waste, 

And  weep  at  the  shrunken  forms  of  want  and  childhood's  haggard  face; 

Would  sigh  at  Fashion's  furbelows,  and  Miss  McFlimsey's  moods, 

And  pity  that  excrescence,  called  the  lah-de-dah-de  doods. 

No  orison  of  poesy  nor  sculptured  column's  prayer 

Pleads  now  to  save  from  Lethe's  wave  the  names  we  hold  so  dear; 

But  kind,  remembering  valleys  keep  some  monuments  they  reared 

In  the  rude  forms  of  humble  homes  and  hills  of  forests  bared. 

And  we,  their  grandsons,  honor  now  these  men  of  kingly  mold; 

We  glory  in  their  poverty,  their  strife  with  want  and  cold; 

We  honor  every  mark  and  scar  where  stood  a  cabin-home. 

And  crumbhng  grave-stones  on  the  hill  that  mark  the  rest  of  some. 

Gone  now  is  many  a  mountain  home,  the  buck-skin  suit  is  gone, 

And  stately  piles  to  heaven  rise  where  diamonds  rare  are  worn; 

But  the  frugal  lives  of  honest  toil  the  Men  of  Buncombe  led 

Have  left  their  imprint  on  the  soil  tho'  their  hero-hearts  be  dead! 

Our  heritage?     An  honest  name,  strong  arms  and  healthy  frames. 

The  evidence  that  virtue's  thorns  wound  less  than  vice's  chains; 

The  proof  that,  'twLxt  ourselves  and  wealth,  Conscience  should  ever  stand. 

Full-armed  for  justice,  truth  and  right — a  drawn  sword  in  her  hands! 

Story  has  told  and  Song  has  sung  the  deeds  of  other  climes. 

And  the  record  of  men's  victories  is  statued  in  their  rhymes; 

But,  though  the  trump  of  Fame  has  missed  their  story,  sad  and  true. 

The  Men  of  Buncombe  builded  well,  ay,  better  than  they  knew! 

VANCE'S  MONUMENT  AT  ASHEVILLE 
By  J.  P.  Arthur 

Deep  bedded  in  his  native  soil  it  stands. 

Rugged  and  strong,  like  him  of  whom  it  speaks; 

Firm  and  inspiring  as  his  mountain  peaks, 
Beautiful  as  the  work  of  his  kind  hands. 
This  monument  all  reverence  commands. 

What  soul-enkindling  memories  it  wakes! 

Almost  the  silence  of  the  tomb  it  breaks! 
Almost  his  clarion  voice  the  scene  commands! 
Once  more  the  wisdom  of  the  sage  unfolds 

As  the  true  statesman  wrests  from  War's  grim  chance 

W.  N.  C.-42 


658        HISTORY  OF  WESTERN  NORTH  CAROLINA 

His  prostrate  State,  and  her  bright  future  molds. 

Read  the  inscription,  teUing  at  a  glance 
The  briefest  epic  any  language  holds — 

A  patriot's  story  in  that  one  word  :    VANCE! 

POPULATION  IN  1850 

From  Wheeler's  History  of  North  Carohna  it  appears 
thatj'-^in  Ashe  county  there  were  8,096  whites;  86  free 
negroes;  595  slaves;  8,539  free  population;  587  persons 
over  20  who  cannot  read  or  write.  Buncombe  county  con- 
tained 11,607  whites;  107  free  negroes;  1,717  slaves;  12,738 
federal  population;  1,533  persons  who  cannot  read  or  write. 
Cherokee  contained  6,493  whites;  337  slaves;  eight  free  ne- 
groes; 6,703  representative  population.  Haywood  county 
contained  5,931  whites;  710  Indians;  418  slaves;  15  free  ne- 
groes; 6,906  representative  population.  Henderson  contained 
5,892  whites;  924  slaves;  37  free  negroes;  6,483  representative 
population.  Macon  had  5,613  whites;  121  Indians;  549  slaves; 
207  free  negroes;  6,169  representative  population.  Watauga 
contained  3,242  whites;  29  free  negroes;  129  slaves;  3,348 
representative  population. 

County  1910  1900  1890 

Alleghany 7,745  7,759  6,523 

Ashe 19,074  19,581  15,628 

Avery 

Buncombe 49,798  44,288  35,266 

Cherokee 14,136  11,860  9,976 

Clay 3,909  4,532  4,197 

Graham 4,749  4,343  3,313 

Haywood 21,020  16,222  13,346 

Henderson 16,262  14,104  12,589 

Jackson 12,998  11,853  9,512 

Macon 12,191  12,104  10,102 

Madison 20,132  20,644  17,805 

MitcheU 17,245  15,221  12,807 

Swain 10,403  8,401  6,577 

Transylvania 7,191  6,620  5,881 

Watauga 13,556  13,417  10,611 

Yancey 12,072  11,464  9,490 

WILLIAM  MITCHELL  DAWSON 

The  reference  on  page  152  is  to  a  narrative  by  J.  M.  Daw- 
son which  has  been  withdrawn. 


INDEX 

PAGE 

Abbott,  J.  C.     Sketch  of  186 

Abel,  James.     Veteran  of  Revolution  112 

Abingdon.     Largely  Presbyterian  215 

Aborigines.     Were  Catawbas  and  Cherokees 10 

Acts  of  Cession.     Congress  urged  States  to  cede  western  lands. .  28 

North  Carolina  cedes  Tennessee 28 

Objects  of  act  of  cession 38 

Preempted  pensioners'  reservations 37,  38 

Twenty-nine  million  acres  ceded 113 

Tennessee's  view  of  cession 113 

Act  void  if  not  accepted 116 

Adair,  John.     Traded  with  Indians 12 

Adams  (Judge),  Joseph  S.     Sketch  of 404 

Adams,  Minister.     Disregarded  instructions 26 

Adams,  Talbott  W.     Editor  of  newspaper 452 

Adams,  W.  J.     Owned  nickel  mine 194 

Addington,  Henry.     Early  settler  of  Macon 173 

Agriculture.     As  formerly  practiced 254,  289 

Facts  about  climate,  soil  and  products 519,  520 

Alamance.     Effect  of  battle  of 74 

Bancroft  praised  heroes  of 75 

Albemarle  Sound.     Included  in  colonial  grant 19 

Alexander,  James  and  John.     Sketch  of 196 

Alexander,  James  Mitchell.     Sketch  of 150,  152 

Alexander   (Governor),  Nathaniel.     Sent  Governor  Irvin  copy 

of  act  34 

Alexander,  Samuel  H.     Hero  of  Emma  burglary 307 

Alleghany.    Meaning  of  name 7,  196 

Alleghany  County.     Early  history  of 196  to  200 

Civil  War  and  Reconstruction  trials 614,  615,  616 

Allen,  Isaac.    Boundary  line  commissioner 48 

Allen,  A.  Irvine.    Chain  bearer 182 

Allen  (Col.),  William.     Veteran  of  Revolution 112 

Allison   ( Hon. ) ,  John.     Quoted 75 

Allison,  S.  H.     Facts  about 207,  208 

Allman,  John  R.     Opened  first  hotel 175 

Allman,  Nathan  G.     Sketch  of 177 

Alum  Cave.     Medicines   obtained   from 49 

Ammons  (Rev.),  Joshua.     Sketch  of 176 

Andrews   (Col.),  A.  B.     Letters  quoted  from 477,  478,  479 

Geyser  named  for,  described 478 

Ancient  Diggings.     Facts  about 12 

659 


660  INDEX 


PAGE 

Anderson  and  Ray.     See  "Ray  and  Anderson." 

Anderson  Family.     Sketch  of 179 

Anderson  Road.     Facts  about 241 

Anecdotes  of  Bench  and  Bar.     Several   related,   344,   379,   384, 

387,  391 

Angel,  Wm.     Early  settler  of  Macon 173 

Animal  Pictures.     On  Paint  Rock 47 

Antes  ( Brother) ,  J.  H.     Left  Edenton 61 

Found  whetstones,  etc 64 

Appalachian.     Name  preferred  by  geographers 7 

Appalachian  Training  School.    Boone  cabin  stood  near 82 

Facts    about 436,  437 

Apples.     Facts  about 518,  519,  520 

North  Carolina  mountains  the  home  of 520 

Facts  and  literature  about 519,  520 

Arms.     Manufacture  of  in  Civil  War 638 

Arrellano,  Luna  Y.     Sent  to  Florida 12 

His  lieutenant  led  expedition 12 

Arrington,  Eli.     Carried  Rhynehart  when  dying 49,  309 

Arthur,  John  P.     Poems  by 7,  60,  123,  654,  657 

Located  Boone's  trail 82,  83,  84 

Articles  of  Confederation.    Western  lands  an  obstacle  to 27 

Asbury  (Bishop),  Francis.     Crossed  Cataloochee,  Note  48 59 

Sketch  of  and  diary  extracts 215  to  223 

Asheville  in  Civil  War.    A  military  center,  etc 602 

Locations  of  Confederate  buildings  in 602,  603 

Raids  upon  and  capture  of  town 619,  620,  621 

Asheville.     On  old  Indian  battle  ground 10 

Dispute  over  selection  as  county  seat 18 

Georgia  and  N.  C.  commissioners  met  at 34 

First  named  Morristown 145 

John  Burton's  grant  covered  part  of  site 145 

Sketches  of  the  old  town 146  to  149 

Gravity  line 510 

Asheville  and  Greenville  Plank  Road.     Building  of,  etc 237 

Asheville  Street  Railway.    Building  of,  etc 509 

Ashe  County.     Old  battle  ground  in 108 

Early  history  of 159  to  166 

Few  evidences  of  Indian  occupancy 250 

Finest  county  in  State,  and  needs  railroad 489 

Lost  population  for  want  of  railroads 489 

Askew  Family.     Sketch  of ,. 196 

Ashland.     Schools  and  paper 437 

Aston  (Miss),  Anna.    Published  Woman's  edition  of  the  Ci^i^e/?.,  146 

Sketch  of   445 

Aston  (Judge),  E.  J.     Sketch  of 396 

Atkin  (Rev.),  Thomas.     Established  newspaper 449 

Atkinson  (Capt),  Natt.     Sketch  of 453 

Atkinson  (Bishop),  Thomas.    Connection  with  Valle  Crucis 432 


INDEX  661 


I'ACiE 

Attorneys.    Sketches  of  several 380  to  406 

Avery  (Judge),  A.  C.     Sketch  of 405 

Avery  County.     Early  history  of 213,  214 

Gained  population  because  of  railroad 489 

Avery- Jackson  Duel.     Accounts  of 357  to  359 

Avery's  Place.     Formerly  Bright's HI 

Avery,  Waightstill.    First  appearance  in  North  Carolina 89 

Grants   to 140 

Fought  duel  with  Jackson 357  to  359 

Avery  (Col.),  W.  W.     Killed  by  Kirk's  men 607,  608 

Axley,  Felix.     Father  of  Murphy  Bar 186 

Bacon.    A  "recruit  of" 46 

Bailey,  James,  Sr.     Commissioner  to  select  county  seat 200 

Bailey  (Judge),  John  L.     Sketch  of 398 

Baird,  Bedent.     Bought  Burton's  lots 145,  295 

Baird,  Bedent  E.     Wrote  A.  E.  Baird 295 

Baird,  David  F.     Sketch  of 35I 

Baird  (Miss),  Delilah.     Romance  of 300,  331,  332 

Baird  Families.     Sketches  of  the  two 294,  295 

Baird,  Israel.    Home  of  in  Asheville 148 

Baker,  George  F.     Reestablished  Andrews  geyser 478 

Baker,  John.     In  advance  guard 105 

Baker,  Jonathan.     Cowed  horse  thieves 626 

Baker,  Silas.    Poisoned  Wm.  Mast  and  wife 347,  348 

Baker,  Zachariah.    Sketch  of 165 

Bakersville,  History  of 201 

Balds.    Described 9,519,530,531,  533 

Baldwin   (Rev.),  Wm.     Pioneer  preacher 224 

Ballard,  David.     Worked  for  25  cents  a  day 289 

Ballou  Family.     Pioneers  in  iron  mining 547,  548,  559,  560 

Balsam  Trees.    Cover  many  mountains 530 

None  on  the  Unakas 54O 

Bank  of  Cape  Fear.    Branch  of  at  Asheville 147 

Banner  Elk.    Arrowheads  found  at 10 

Baptists.    Just  appearing  in  1776 14 

Baring,  Charles  B.     Built  at  Flat  Rock 493 

Sketch  of,  with  romance 494 

Built  "The  Lodge,"  and  "Tumble  Down  Style" 496 

Baring  (Mrs.),  Charles  S.    Built  St.  Johns-in-the-Wilderness.  . .  494 

Baring  (Mrs.),  Susan.    Wrote  peculiar  poem 185 

Barkers.     Fanciful  sect 17 

Barnard,  Alexander.     Sketch  of 207 

Barnard,  Hezekiah.     Boast  of 286 

Barnard,  Luke.     Early  settler  of  Macon 207 

Barnett's  Station.    Boundary  line  party  reached 46 

Barnett,  William.     Boundary  line  commissioner 34 

Battle,  Abraham.    Early  citizen  of  Jackson 192 

Battleground.    Asheville  on  site  of  old  Indian 10 


662  INDEX 


PAGE 

Battleground.     One   in   Ashe   County 108 

Forgotten  one  in  Alleghany 329 

Battle  (Dr.),  S.  W.     Built  street  railway 509 

Battle,  Wain.     Helped  carry  Rhynehart 209 

Baxter  (Judge),  John.     Sketch  of 397 

Baxter-Erwin  Duel.    Account  of 368,  369 

Beale,  William.     Sketch  of 187 

Bean,  William.    Lived  in  Tennessee  in  1769 67 

First  permanent  settler  in  Tennessee 69 

Bear  Meat.    Col.  Byrd  discovered  merits  of 21 

Bears.     Mrs.  Norton  killed  one 341 

Mrs.  Clauson  drowned  one 334 

Bell  (Hon.),  George.    Congressman 208 

Bell   (Mrs.),  Katy.     Taught  school 147 

Bench  and  Bar.    See  Chapter  XV 

Berin,  W.  C.     Edited  Xoi'th  Carolina  Baptist 452 

Berry,  Logan.    Sketch  of 176 

Berry,  William.    Sketch  of 186 

Best,  W.  J.  &  Co.     Owned  W.  N.  C.  R.  R.  Co 476 

Bible.    Pioneer's  right  to  interpret 13 

Parts  of  translated  into  Cherokee  language 574 

Big  Glades.     Tories  routed  there 108 

Biltmore  House  and  Village.    Facts  about 505,  506 

Bingham   (Major),  Harvey.     Sketch  of 624 

Bismarck,  Otto  Von.    Collegemate  of  Judge  King 496 

Blackburn  (Hon.),  E.  Spencer.    Sketches  of 189,  646 

Black,  Burrell.     Piloted  Boone 82 

Blair,  W.  P.    Stage  coach  contractor 242 

Blalock,  Tilmon.     Commissioner  to  lay  off  lots 200 

Blassingame,  John.     Boundary  line  commissioner 29 

Bledsoe,  Anthony.    Extended  Virginia  boundary  line  in  1771. .  .  23 

Blood  Avenger.     Facts  about 573,  574 

Blount,  John  Gray.    Land  speculator 129 

Granted  one  million  acres 131 

Suffered  land  to  become  forfeited 137 

Strother  devised  land  to 138 

Blount  (Hon.),  William.     Sketch  of 129 

Expelled  from  United  States  Senate 130 

Blowing  Rock.    Two  springs,  flowing  east  and  west 8 

Description  of;  hotels  and  residents  of 500 

Fortified  by  Colonel  Kirk  during  war 617 

Blue  Ridge.    True  water  divide 8 

Peaks  of  highest  east  of  Rockies 9 

First  white  man  to  cross  in  North  Carolina 11 

Slow  approach  of  whites  to 70 

Bly  or  Blythe,  Bettie.    Heroine  of  "Yonaguska" 187 

Persuaded  Yonaguska  to  spare  Welch 574 

Blythe  (Rev.),  James.    Edited  newspaper 452 

Blythe,  Joseph.    Boundary  line  commissioner 29 


INDEX  663 


PAGE 

Board  of  Trade  (London).     Action  of  as  to  N.  C.  line 24 

Boat  Ride.     A  thrilling  one 339 

Bone  and  Horn.    Uses  of  in  early  days 274 

Books.     Primitive  school  books 422 

Boone's  Cove.    Boundary  line  party  reached 45 

Boone.  Daniel.    Killed  bear  in  1760 69 

Employed  by  Henderson 69 

Companion  of  James  Robertson 69 

Why  Boone  was  not  in  Revolutionary  War 79 

His  home  at  Holman's  ford 81 

His  first  trip  to  Kentucky 81 

Inscription  on  Boone  Tree  doubted 81 

His  trail  in  North  Carolina  located  in  1909 82,  83 

His  trail  in  North  Carolina  marked  in  1913 94 

Monument  erected  on  site  of  his  cabin 83 

His  relatives  in  Watauga  and  Ashe  Counties 84 

Henderson's  connection  with 85 

Boone's  "Split-bullet" 86 

Sketch  of  Boone  and  Henderson  by  Judge  Clark 86 

Boone's  family   87 

His  poverty  and  litigation 91 

Recorded  evidence  of  residence  of  the  Boones  in  Watauga 

and  Ashe  counties  94 

Boone,  Jesse.    Deed  to  Elrod 84 

Boone,  Jonathan.     Deed  to  Hardin 94 

Boone,  Squire,  Sr.     Sketch  of 87 

Boone,  Squire,  Sr.    Visited  Holston  in  1767 81 

Boone  Courthouse.    Facts  about 189 

Citizens  killed,  Stoneman  and  Kirk's  raids 189,  617,  618 

Botany  and  Botanists.     Former  attracted  latter  in  early  days, 

513,  514 

Names  and  work  of 513,  514 

John  Lyon,  Pathetic  sketch  of 343 

Boundary  Lines.      (See  also  "Indian  Boundary  Lines.")     Con- 
nected story  of  never  told  before 18 

Virginia  and  North  Carolina  lines   19  to  23 

North  and  South  Carolina  lines   23  to  31 

Georgia  and  North  Carolina  lines 31  to  37 

Tennessee  and  North  Carolina  lines  37  to  51 

Litigation  and  disputes  over 56  to  58,  185 

Bounties.      Forge 276 

Powder    275 

Bower  (Col.),  George.     Sketch  of 164,  165 

Bowman's  Bluff.     Facts  about 183,  184 

Bowman  (Capt.).    Fell  at  Ramseur's  Mill 71 

Bowman  House.     Site  of 201 

Bowman  (Judge),  J.  W.     Sketch  of 404 

Brabson  (Doctors),  A.  W.  and  A.  C.     Sketches  of 175 

Brevard.     Early  history  of 202,  203 


664  INDEX 


TAGE 

Bridges.     Facts  about 240,  241 

Bright's  Place.     Facts  about Ill 

Bright's  Trace.     Followed  by  Sevier 110 

Bristol,  G.  W.     Sketch  of 205,  206 

Brittain    (Gen.),  Ben.   S.     In  senate  four  times 173 

Register  deeds  in  Cherokee 186 

Brittain,  Phillip.    Helped  form  Henderson  County 181 

Brittain,  William.     Kept  hotel 493 

Brooks,  Jesse.     Merchant  in  Murphy 186 

Brown,  Byron.    Facts  about 207 

Brown   Family.     Sketch   of 190 

Brown,  Jacob.     Opened  store  on  NoUechucky 67 

Brown  (Mrs.),  James  Potter.    Formerly  Cora  Urqhardt 493 

Brown,  John  S.     Commissioner  to  settle  dispute 200 

Brown,  T.  Caney.     Started  good  roads  movement 245 

Brown,  W.  A.  G.     Edited  Carolina  Baptist 452 

Brownlow  (Rev.),  W.  G.     Sketch  of 226 

His  quarrel  with  Posey 226,  227 

Bryan,  Francis.     Early  settler  of  Glade  Creek 197 

Bryan,  J.  M.     Edited  Carolina  Baptist 452 

Bryan,  W.  L.     Built  first  hotel  in  Boone 189 

Built  Boone  Cabin  Monument 84 

Awarded  prize  for  buckwheat 520 

Bryant,  Morgan.     Took  up  Mulberry  Fields 65 

Justice  of  court 197 

Bryson,  Andrew.     Killed  by  Hall 50,  371 

Bryson  City.     Early  history  of 208,  210 

Bryson  (Col.),  Daniel.     Sketch  of 193 

Bryson,  Goldman.     Killed  by  Confederates 187,  188 

Bryson  (Col.),  Thad.  D.    First  representative  of  Jackson 192 

Sketch  of   210 

Bryson,  William  H.     Early  settler  of  Macon 173 

Buck  Forrest.     Facts  about 204 

Buck  Hotel.     Location  of 148 

Buckley  (Prof.),  S.  B.     Measured  mountains 49 

Buckwheat.    Prizes  for  best 520 

Buffaloes.     Facts  about 250,251,253,517,  518 

First  seen  by  whites 518 

Buffalo  Trails.     Only  roads  in  1752 62 

Location  of  many 251 

Bugle.    Called  to  prayer  and  work  at  Valle  Crucis 431 

Sile  Baker's  348 

Buncombe  County.    Early  history  of 143,  145 

Roads  in  235 

Backward  in  1890 245 

Subscription  to  railroad  stock 479 

Genealogy  of    628,  629 

Buncombe  (Col.),  Edward.    County  named  for 143 

Sketch  of   653 


INDEX  665 


PAGE 

Buncombe  Good  Roads  Association.     Facts  about 246 

Buncombe  Turnpike.     Building  of 237 

Ending  of  245 

Burgin  (Gen.),  Alney.     Sketcli  of 360,  361 

Burglary,  The  Emma.     Described 307 

Burkett,  Daniel.    Early  resident  of  Jefferson 163 

Burleson,  Aaron.    Killed  by  Indians 250 

Burleson   (Mrs.),  Eliza.     Facts  about 294,  295 

Burleson  Family.     Sketch  of 295 

Burnett,  (Rev.),  J.  S.     Pioneer  preacher 225 

Burns  (Capt.),  Otway.     Sketch  of 178 

Monument  to 179 

Burnsville.     Early  history  of 178,  179 

Burrington,  Governor.     Proclamation  of 23,  24 

His  claims  as  to  boundary  line 24 

Burt  (Gen.),  Armistead.     Knew  of  Calhoun-Hanks-Lincoln  tra- 
dition     318 

Burton,  John.    Sold  land  covering  part  of  Asheville 145,  295 

Burton   (Judge),  R.  H.     Boundary  line  commissioner 29 

Buxton,  (Rev.)  Jarvis.     Took  charge  of  Valle  Crucis 430 

Removed  to  Asheville  in  1847 430 

Bynum's  Bluff.     A  noted  place 537 

Cabins.    Of  pioneers  described 71,  258,  259,  262,  263 

Dave  Orr's  41 

Esmeralda's    538 

Cades  Cove.     Boundary  line  party  reached 50 

Caesar's  Head.     Commissioners  reach  agreement  at 35 

Caldwell,  (Rev.)  Joseph.     Showed  error  as  to  latitude 25 

Scientist  on  boundary  line  survey 34 

Calhoun.     Name  of  first  county  seat  of  Mitchell 201 

Calhoun,  (Hon.)  J.  C.     Foretells  height  of  mountains 8 

Tradition  concerning  Nancy  Hanks  and  A.  Lincoln.  .317  to  320 

Calhoun-Hanks  Tradition.     Facts  relating  to 317  to  320 

Calloway   Family.      Sketch   of 87,  88 

Calloway,  Joseph.     Notified  Robert  Cleveland 105 

Calloway,   Richard.     His  connection  with   Cleveland's   capture 

103,  104 
Calloway,   Thomas.     His   connection   with   Cleveland's   capture 

103,  105 

Calloway,  William.     His  connection  with  Cleveland's  capture,  105 

Calvert,  Original  name  of  Colvard  family 293 

Cameron,  (Col.)  J.  D.     Edited  newspaper 451 

Camp  Vance  Raid.     Account  of  Colonel  Kirk's 605  to  609 

Campbell,  David.     Elected  Judge  in  Franklin 113 

Cane  Creek.     Church  established  in 224 

Candler,  George  W.     Sketch  of 393 

Candler,  (Mrs.)  Mattie  S.    Quoted 101 

Cannon,  (Judge)  R.  H.     Sketches  of 392,  404 


666  INDEX 


PAGE 

Cansler,  James.     Sketch  of 175 

Cams,  Thos.  P.     Boundary  line  commissioner 34 

Carpenter,  William.     Register  deeds  of  Graham 210 

Carpenters.    Of  old  times  and  new 262,  263 

Carrier,  Edwin  G.     Facts  about  his  enterprises 509 

Carriger  Family.     Facts  about 325 

Carringer,   (Rev.)   Isaac.     Sketch  of 212 

Carson  Family.     Sketch  of 71 

Carson,  Joseph.     Owned  Buck  Forest 204 

Carson,  (Mrs.)  Lucy  A.     Recollections  of  Jefferson 163 

Carson,  (Hon.)  Samuel  P.    Sketch  of 360 

Carson-Vance  Duel.     Account  of 359  to  368 

Carter,   (Judge)   E.  D.     Sketch  of 398 

Carter,  Landon.     Speaker  of  Franklin  senate 113 

Carter,  Thomas  D.     Sketch  of 456 

Carver,  Reuben.     Surveyor  of  Graham 210 

Cases  Decided.    See  Chapters  XVI  and  XIX. 

Cashiers  Valley.     Early  history  of 497 

Caswell,  J.  W.     Boundary  line  commissioner 22 

Catalan  Forges.     Described 277  to  279 

Mentioned 547 

Cataloochee  Stories.    Related  by  Col.  A.  T.  Davidson 335,  336 

Cataloochee  Valley.    Civil  War  outrages  in 616,  617 

Cataloochee  Turnpike.    End  of  first  boundary  line  survey. ..  .48,  52 

Crossed  by  Asbury  in  1810,  Note  48  on  page 59 

Cathey,   James   H.     Quoted 309,    310,  311 

Cathey,    (Col.)    Joseph.     Sketch  of 171 

Catholics.     Not  liked  by  settlers 13 

First  to  send  missionaries  to  Cherokees 568 

Cavaliers.     Had  no  kinship  with  Presbyterians 13 

Celo,  or  Bolens  Pyramid.     Facts  about 181 

Celts.    Settlers  of  1730 13 

Cemetery  Company,  the  Asheville.    Incorporated 508 

Cession.     See  Act  of  Cession 

Chambers,  Joseph.     Sketch  of 170 

Chambers,  Samuel.     Deserted  Sevier 110 

Chapman,  Thomas.    Elected  clerk  of  Franklin  legislature 113 

Character  of  Early  Settlers.  Roosevelt's  and  Miss  Morley's  esti- 
mates    13  to  16 

Chastine,  Abner.     Facts  about 207 

Chastine,  J.  P.     Appointed  sheriff  of  Clay 205 

Cherokees.     See  Chapter  XXVI. 

Cherokee  Indians.  See  "Indian  Boundary  Lines,"  "Indian  Mas- 
sacres," "Indian  Mounds,"  "Indian  Names,"  "Indian 
Tribes,"  and  "Indian  Treaties,"  in  this  Index. 

Those  living  in  Graham  and  hiding  out 212 

Origin  of  and  resemblance  to  the  Hebrews 566 

Superior  tribe  566 

Tradition  as  to  white  predecessors 567 


INDEX  667 

PAGE 

Cherokee  Indians.     Tradition  as  to  Lilliputian  race 567 

Introduction  of  small  arms  and  smallpox 567 

City  of  refuge ^^'^ 

Early  incidents  and  wars ^^^ 

Massacre  at  Fort  Loudon 568,  569 

Three  States  send  punitive  expeditions 569  to  571 

Treaties:   facts  about  several 571,  572 

See  also  "Treaties  With  Indians" 54  to  56,  90 

Nanakatahkee  and  Junaluska,  Facts  about 572 

Yonaguska.     Facts  about 572 

Blood  Avenger  573,  574 

Removal  Treaties.     Facts  about 572,  573 

Baptists  established  missions 574 

Sequoya  and  his  syllabary 574 

Portions  of  Bible  translated  into  Cherokee 575 

Outrages  follow  discovery  of  gold  in  Georgia 575 

Cruelties  of  the  Removal 576  to  579 

Escape,  capture  and  death  of  Old  Charley 578,  579 

How  Eastern  Band  came  to  remain  in  N.  C 579,  580 

Recognition  of  rights  of  Eastern  Band 580 

N.  C.  permits  this  band  to  remain  permanently 852 

Lanman's  accounts  of  the  Cherokees  in  N.  C 582,  583 

Why  Col.  Thomas  enlisted  Indians  in  his  legion 583,  584 

Cherokee  scouts  and  Home  Guards 585 

Confederate  Congress  provided  funds 586 

A  few  Cherokees  desert  to  Federals 586,  587 

Eastern  Band  adopt  new  government 587 

Status  of  Indian  lands 587 

Arbitration    settled    litigation 588 

Quakers  took  charge  of  education,  etc 589 

Suit  for  balance  due  under  Removal  Treaty 590 

Eastern  Band   incorporated 590 

Legal  status  of  band  still  uncertain 591 

Present  material  condition 591 

Litigation  over  sale  of  timber 592 

Result  left  in  doubt 594 

N.  C.  has  always  stood  for  the  citizeznship  of  Band 594 

Final  distribution  of  funds  due  Eastern  Band 594,  595 

Western  Band  dissolved  as  a  tribe 595,  596 

Population  of  Eastern  Band 596 

How  to  make  arrow  and  spear-heads 596,  597 

Cherokee  Myths.    Condensation  of  a  few 597  to     599 

Cherokee  County.     Early  history  of 185  to     188 

Cherryfield.    Location  and  settlement  of 204 

Cherry,  J.  P.     Sheriff  of  Clay 205 

Childs,  L.  D.  and  Eben.     Gave  land  for  county  seat 200,     201 

Eben  appointed  commissioner  to  lay  off  lots 200 

Childs  Place.    Passed  by  Sevier HI 

Childsville.    Formerly  called  "Calhoun" 201 


668  INDEX 

PAGE 

"Chimbleys  and  Shinies."     Described 540 

Chimneys,  The.    Described 534 

Chimney  Rock.     Described 538 

Chissel,  Fort.     Built  in  1758 12 

Christy,  John  H.     Sit  etch  of 449 

Chunn,  Samuel.    Owned  part  of  Asheville 147 

Sketch  of   151 

Churches,  Facts  about  some  of  the  early 283 

Churton,  Mr.     Stopped  by  Indians.     Facts  about 61,  62 

Churton,  William.    Boundary  line  commissioner 22 

Civil  Engineers  on  railroad 472  to  474 

Civil  War  Period.    See  Chapter  XXVII. 

Civil  War  outrages.     Account  of  a  few,  600,  611,  612,  613,  614, 

615,  616,  617,  618 

Clark,  Richard.    Fed  White  when  lying  out 335 

Named  Bunk  Mountain 336 

Clark,  (Hon.)  Walter.     Sketch  of  Boone  and  Henderson 86 

Clauson,  (Mrs.)  Peggy.     Drowned  bear 334 

Clay  County.     History  of 205  to  208 

Its  need  of  railroads 489 

Clayton,  Ephraim.     Settled  on  Mills  River,  etc 202,  203 

Clayton,  George.     Built  first  courthouse 202 

Clayton,  George  and  John.    Facts  about 182,  202 

Clegg  &  Donohoe.     Started  Evening  Journal 454 

Clemmons,  E.  T.     Stagecoach  contractor 243 

Cleveland,  (Col.)  Ben.    His  capture  and  rescue 101  to  106 

His  character  and  death 107,  108 

Cleveland,  (Capt.)  Robert.    Rescued  his  brother 105 

Clingman,  (Gen.)  Thomas  Lanier.     Measured  mountains. 297  to  299 

Mount  Mitchell  controversy 297  to  299 

Highest  peak  once  bore  his  name.    Note  13,  page 326 

Noted  and  explained  natural  phenomena 306 

Fought  duels  367 

Dr.  Baird's  tribute  to 384 

Opposed  Littlefield's  election 462 

Sketch  of 644,  645 

Monument  to 653 

Clingman-Yancey  Duel.     Account  of 367 

Clocks.     Sun  dials  the  only  ones  in  early  days 282 

Grandfather,  owned  by  Hortons 101 

Cloud,  (Judge)  John  M.     Stories  of 344 

Clyde,  Logan  &  Buford.     Sketch  of 477 

Coche,    ( Mme. ) .     Facts  about 147 

Coffey,  Anna  and  Smith.     Related  to  Boone 84,  85 

Coffey  Family.     Sketch  of 191 

Coffey,  T.  J.  &  Bro.    Built  courthouse,  ran  hotel,  etc 189 

Cole,  Arthur  D.     Bought  and  sold  roots  and  herbs 289,  331 

Cole,  R.  H.     Lost  office  because  of  Big  Snow 297 

Coleman,  James.     First  settler  of  Clay 207 


INDEX  669 


PACK 

Coleman,   (Col.)   David.     Sketch  of 403 

Coleman,  Mark.     Early  settler  of  Macon 173 

Coleman,  William.     Kept  post  office 149 

Collins,  Robert.     Sketch  of 209 

Cut  riding  way  to  Clingman's  Dome 299 

Colonial  Charters.     Conferred  inchoate  rights  only 26 

Colvard,  Andrew  and  Jefferson.     Daring  frontiersmen 188 

Founded  influential  families 188 

Colvard,  Buck  and  Neil.    Men  of  integrity 187 

Colvard  Family.     Facts  about 210  to  212 

Colvard,   Peyton.     Sketch   of 293 

Daughter  born  when  Negro  Mountain  fell 293 

Commissioners.     See  Chapter  XIX.     To   settle  with   Swepson 

and  Littlefield 462 

Their  settlement  with  Swepson 262,  263 

Their  settlement  with  Littlefield 264 

Commissioners  of  State  Boundaries. 

Defended  by  W.  L.  Saunders 18 

Disagreements  betw^een  those  of  North  Carolina  and  Vir- 
ginia   19  to  24 

For  N.  C.  and  S.  C.  lines,  incidents,  etc 24  to  30 

For  N.  C.  and  Georgia,  incidents,  etc 31  to  35 

N.  C.  and  Tennessee,  two  lines,  diaries,  etc 38  to  51 

Commisteen,  Big  Fat.    A  Cherokee  living  in  Graham 212 

Cone,  Moses  H.     Sketch  of 501 

Cone  Family.     Sketch  of 501 

Cone  Memorial  Park 501 

Congress.     Instructed  Jay  and  Adams  as  to  treaty 26 

Confederacy.     Our  section's  relation  to 600,  601,  603,  604 

Strong  Union  sentiment  in  mountains 600,  604,  614 

Confiscation.     Of  property  of  persons  disloyal 632 

Conley,  Joseph.     Commissioner  to  select  county  seat 200 

Conley,  W.  H.    Important  citizen  of  Jackson 192 

Constitutions.     Of  State  of  Franklin 113 

Of  Cherokees   573,  587 

Locke's    629 

Of  1835    633 

Of  1875    641 

Continental   Line.     Grants   and   pensions   to   soldiers   and   oflB- 

cers  of    134,  135 

Conventions.     At  Jonesboro,  Tenn 113 

At  New  Echota 573 

Of  1835    633 

Convicts.    Made  county  roads 245 

Made  good  citizens  of  Murphy 479 

Should  be  employed  building  mountain  railroads 489 

Cooperation.     Among  early  settlers 225,  273,  274 

Cooper  Family.     Sketch  of 212 

Cooper,  (Capt.)  J.  W.     Sketches  of 187,  212 


670  INDEX 

PAGE 

Cooper,  Meredith  D.     Built  Hume  Place  and  mill 202 

Cooper,  N.  F.     County  commissioner  of  Graham 210 

Corn.    De  Soto  passed  through  fine  growth  of 12 

First  100  bushels  to  an  acre 109 

De  Soto's  soldiers  passed  through  country  poor  in 518 

John  M.  Sawyer  took  prize  for  best  at  Columbia  Exposi- 
tion       519 

Corotuck  Inlet.    Boundary  line  commissioners  meet  at 20 

Cotton.     Small  patches  of  raised  in  early  days 255 

Councill  Family.     Sketch  of 94 

Councill,   (Judge)  W.  B.     Sketch  of 189 

Councill,  Jacob  M.     Killed  by  Stoneman's  men 617 

Counties.     Formation  of  the  first 630 

Courts.    Judges  ordered  to  hold  in  ceded  territory 113 

Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions  only  in  Watauga  Settlement. . . .  113 

First  courts  held  in  Buncombe 144 

First  courts  held  in  Ashe 159 

First  courts  held  in  Haywood 167 

Haywood  Superior  Court  held  in  Buncombe  at  first 169 

Establishment  and  jurisdiction  of  various 373,  374,  387 

Covenanters.    Early  settlers  were  descendants  of 13 

Cox,  (Dr.)  Aras  B.     Quoted 109 

Sketch  of   164 

Cox  Family.     Lived  on  border  of  Ashe 198 

Coxe,  (Col.)  Frank.     Built  Battery  Park  Hotel 508 

Crab  Apples.    Spangenberg  party  find 65 

Crawford,  James.     Deserted  Sevier 110 

Crawford,  James  G.    Sketch  of 175 

Crawford,  (Hon.)  W.  T.     Sketch  of 649 

Criminals.    Mountains  not  settled  by 14 

Unsettled  boundary  lines  sanctuary  for 19 

Seclusion  required  short  stay  of 33 

Crisp  Family.     Sketch  of 212 

Crockett,  David.    Married  Miss  Patton  on  Swannanoa 364 

Attended  Vance-Carson  duel 364 

Crouce.     Settled  on  Blue  Ridge 198 

"Crusoe  Jack."    Tradition  as  to  grant  to 239 

Currency.    Of  State  of  Franklin 113 

Little  money  in  early  days 284 

Legislation  concerning 632 

Curry,  Mr.    Entertained  boundary  line  party 42 

Currituck  Inlet.    Compass  set  on  shore  of 21 

Curtis,  (Capt.)  William  A.     Questioned  correctness  of  map 36 

Cutbirth,    Ben.      Sketch   of 80,  81 

Lived  on  New  River  above  Old  Fields 103 

Abused  by  Riddle 103 

Daughter  of  abused  by  Riddle 104 

Cutbirth,  Daniel.     Planned  to  rescue  Cleveland 104 


INDEX  671 


I'ACiE 

D  hlonega,  Ga.     Discovery  of  gold  at 575 

Dandridge,  Will.     Boundary  line  commissioner 20 

Daughters  of  American  Revolution. 

Marked  Boone's  trail 94 

Erected  monuments  on  Sevier's  trail 124 

Arden  Chapter   652 

Dorcas  Bell  Love  Chapter 652 

Edward  Buncombe  Chapter   652 

Davenport's  Place.     Sevier's  men  rest  at  spring  at Ill 

Davenport,  W.     Kept  diary  of  second  N.  C.-Tenn.  survey 48 

Davidson,  (Col.)  A.  T.     Recollections  of  Charles  Moore 99 

Recollections  of  R.  and  T.  Love 127 

Recollections  of  many  others 169,  170,  224,  225,  422,  423 

His  old  stories  of  Cataloochee 335,  336 

Sketch  of  400,  401,  402,  403 

Opposed  Littlefield's  election  as  president 462 

Davidson,  Ben.    Asbury  lectured  at  home  of 217 

His  creek  now  called  Pisgah  Forest  station,  note  on  page. .  214 

Davidson,  (Miss)  Elvira.     Sketch  of 322,  323 

Davidson,  George.     Chain  bearer 39 

Davidson,  Harvey.     Sketch  of 187 

Davidson,  "Neddy."     Stories  of 342 

Davidson,  Samuel.     Killed  by  Indians 143,  250 

Davidson,  (Hon.)  T.  F.     Contributed  to  Asheville's  Centenary.  .  146 

Davidson,  (Col.)  Wm.    Secured  act  to  create  Buncombe  County,  143 

First  court  held  at  home  of 144 

First  Senator  from  Buncombe 151 

Sketch  of   151 

Davidson,  W.  Mitchell.     Sketch  of 152 

Davie,  Oroondates.     Boundary  line  commissioner 22 

Davis,  Ethan.     Owned  mill  place 202 

Davis,  Nathaniel.    Early  settler  of  Madison 196 

Davis,  Thomas.     Built  courthouse 202 

Davis,  Warren.     Carson's  second  in  duel 361 

"Davis."     Early  name  of  Bakersville 201 

Deaver,  R.  M.    Founder  Asheville  Saturday  Register 451 

Deaver,  (Col.)  Reuben.     Built  and  operated  Sulphur  Springs..  502 

De  Choiseul,  Count.    Lived  at  Flat  Rock 493 

French  consul   496 

Declarations  of  Independence.    First  at  Halifax 75 

Mecklenburg  Resolves 96 

Deer.      Facts   about 295,  296 

De  Journett,  W.  C.     Surveyed  Alleghany  County 197 

Delk,  Randall.    Conviction  and  execution  of 387,  388 

Dellinger,  M.  P.  and  W.    Filed  builder's  lien 201 

Delosia,  Edward.    Facts  about  him  and  his  mine 338 

Democracy  of  Colonists.     Described  by  Colonel  Byrd 74 

Denton,  John.     Sketch  of 212 

De  Soto,  Fernando.    Named  Appalachians 6 


672  INDEX 


PAGE 

De  Soto.     Might  have  reached  our  mountains 12 

Devil's  Cap.     Described 536 

Devil's  Courthouse.     Described 534 

Devil's  Creek.     Facts  about 44 

Devil's  Looking  Glasses.     One  near  Greasy  Cove 45 

One  near  Zim  Roberts's 50 

Deweese,  John  L.     Settled  with  railroad 460,  461 

Dick,  Judge  R.   P.     Sketch  of 400 

Dickey,  B.  K.  and  George.     Sketches  of 173,  187 

Dickson,  (Dr.)   Samuel.     Sketch  of 424 

Dillard,  (Capt.)  1'homas.     Daughter  married  Robert  Love 125 

Dills,  "Bill."     Confession  of 302 

Dills,  (Hon.)  J.  R.     Member  of  influential  family 192 

Dills,  Phillip.     Pioneer  of  Jackson  County 192 

Dills,  W.  A.     Pioneer  of  Jackson  County 192 

Dillsboro.     Efforts  to  remove  courthouse  to 193 

Talc  and  other  minerals  near 194 

Disputed  Territory.     Facts  regarding 19 

In  the  "Rainbow  Country" 50,  56 

Lost  Cove  controversy 57 

Macon  County  line 57 

Line  between  Cherokee,  Graham  and  Tenn 58 

Doak,   (Rev.)   Samuel.     Pioneer  teacher 421 

Dobb's  Fort.     Facts  about 69 

Dodge,   (Rev.)   D.  Stuart.     Helped  schools 439 

Dogs.    Getting  up  an  appetite  for 73 

Facts   about    254,  269 

Given  by  Indians  for  food 517 

William   Sawyer's  faithful 339 

Killed  sheep 524 

Donelson's,  (Col.)  John,  party.    Met  Richard  Henderson 23,  93 

Dotson,  Elijah.     Long  distance  quarrel 347 

Dotson,  Joseph.    Sketch  of 184 

Douthett's  Gap.    Boundary  line  commissioners  agree  at 35 

Douthett,  Father  John.    Visited  by  Asbury 219 

Doughton  Family.    Always  prominent  in  Ashe  and  Alleghany. .  198 

Doughton,  Joseph.     Early  settler  in  Ashe 198 

Dougherty,  (Prof.)  D.  D.    Took  charge  of  Watauga  Democrat..  452 

Dougherty  Brothers.    Started  and  conducted  schools. .  .434,  436,  437 

Draper,  ( Dr. )  Lyman  C.     Quoted 103  to  108 

Drayton,  (Rev.)  John  G.     Originated  Ravenswood  and  preached 

at  St.  Johns 496 

Owned  Magnolia  Gardens  on  Ashley  River 496 

"Dragging  Canoe."    Opposed  Henderson's  purchase 87 

Dream.    Rachel  Grant's  remarkable  one 338 

Duckett,  Josiah.     Soldier  of  the  Revolution 196 

Ducktown  Copper  Mine.    Erroneous  tradition  as  to  loss  of 18 

Duckworth  Family.     Prominent  and  influential 202,  203 

Duel  Hill.    YiTst  county  seat  of  Madison 195 


INDEX  673 


PAGE 

Duels.    Laws  concerning 356 

Duncanson,  F.  S.     Made  oil  painting  of  old  Asheville 146 

Dunkards.     Law  for  relief  of 632 

Dyche,  A.  M.     Sketch  of 186 

Dyer,  Ben.     Sued  Delilah  Baird 301 

Dyes.     Facts  about 290 

Eagle  Hotel.    Owned  by  the  Pattons 149 

Easter  Chapel.    Visited  by  Bishop  Ives 432 

Ears.    Certificates  given  when  missing 375,  379 

Echota.     City  of  Refuge,  facts  about 566,  567 

Old  capital  of  Cherokees,  location,  etc 567 

Eden,  Governor.    Agreement  with  Governor  Spottswood 21 

Edenton  Tea  Party.    Account  of 629 

Edney,  (Gen.)  Bayles.    Wit  and  humor  stories  of 391 

Edney,  Govan.     Sketch  of 184 

Edney,  James  M.    Controlled  newspaper 449 

Edney,  Samuel.    Asbury  visited 222 

Education.     North  Carolina  a  laggard  in,  and  Aycock's  record, 

420,  421 

Quakers  take  charge  of  that  of  Cherokees 589 

Edwards,  David  and  "William.    Early  settlers  of  Ashe 198 

Edwards,  Morgan.    Commissioner  to  lay  off  lots 197 

Eggleston,  (Dr.)  W.  G.    Edited  The  Citizen 451 

Elizabethton,  Tenn.     Battle  monument  at 275 

Isaac  Lincoln  owned  lots  in 324 

Elk  Cross  Roads.    Cleveland  taken  by  when  prisoner 104 

Eller,  Jacob,  Henry  and  John.    Sketches  of 166 

EUicott's  Rock.    Georgia  and  N.  C.  line  begins  on 31 

Exact  location  of 36 

Emigrants.    Facts  about  the  early  ones 13 

Emma  Burglary.     Described 307 

England.    Owned  nothing  north  of  31  degrees  north  lattitude.  . .  26 

England,  Eph.     Built  courthouse 202 

Enloe,  Abraham.     Tradition  as  to  Nancy  Hanks  and  Abraham 

Lincoln 308  to  317 

Enloe,  Asaph.     Early  settler  of  Macon 173 

Enloe,  W.  A.     Of  a  leading  family 192 

Entry  and  entry  takers.    Office  of  closed  in  Tennessee 137 

Floating  entries  described 142 

Episcopalians.    Not  liked  by  early  settlers 13 

Equoneetly  Path.     Boundary  line  party  reached 50 

Erwin,  Andrew.    Sketch  of 153 

Visited  by  Asbury 221 

Erwin-Baxter  Duel.     Account  of 368,  369 

Erwin,  W.  C.     Commissioner  to  settle  dispute 200 

Estatoe.    Legends  of 213 

Evans,  David.    Donated  land  for  Sparta 197 

Everett.  Col.     Bought  Lowndes  farm 203 

w.  N.  c— 13 


674  INDEX 


PAGE 

E wart,  (Judge)  H.  G.     Sketch  of 400 

Explorers.    Names  of  several  of  earliest 77,  78 

Fagg,  (Col.)  John  A.    Attended  duel 370,  371 

Fined  Superior  Court  Judge 378 

Fain,  Mercer.    Sketch  of 186 

Fairs.    Two  ordered  for  Buncombe  by  the  court 387 

Western  North  Carolina  Fair  incorporated 508 

Farmer,  Henry  Tudor.     Sketch  of 494,  495 

Farnsworth,  David.     Kept  stock  stand 196 

Farnsworth,  Robert.    Lived  at  Jewel  Hill 196 

Farragut,  Admiral.    Of  mountain  pioneer  stock 15 

Farthing  Family.    Sketch  of  family  of  preachers 189,  190 

Farthing,  J.  Watts.     Owns  Jesse  Boone  deed,  whose  wife  he 

knew    84 

Farthing,  (Rev.)  L.  W.     Related  stories  of  old  times 354 

Farthing,  Thomas.    Commissioner  to  select  county  seat 200 

Fashion.     On  a  back  seat 257 

Fences.    Made  of  most  valuable  hardwoods 254 

No-fence  law  adopted 641 

Ferguson,  (Col.)  Patrick.    Death  of 102 

Fessenden,  (Prof.)  N.  A.     Principal  of  school 208 

Fire  Hunters.    By  day,  described  by  Col.  Byrd 252 

By  night,  described  by  Col.  Bryan 522 

Fish  and  Fish  Traps.    Facts  about 281,  282 

Trout  and  bass 521 

Fist-Fights.     Facts  about 274 

Fitzwilliam,  Richard.     Career  as  boundary  line  commissioner, 

20,     21 

Flails  and  Threshing  Floors.    Facts  about 281 

Flat  Top  Manor.    Facts  about 501 

Flax.     Facts  about 282 

Flowers,  Wild.    Facts  about 512  to  514 

Flower  Mission.     Origin  and  history  of 445 

Flournoy,  Thomas.     Boundary  line  commissioner 34 

Forests.    Facts  about  the  primeval 512 

Wealth  of  and  fires  in 515 

Pioneers  in 514 

Still  standing  in  Western  North  Carolina 516 

Advance  in  price  of  forest  lands 517 

Forest  Reserves.    Table  showing  facts  about 516 

Advance  in  price  of  timber  lands 517 

Originators  of  movement  for 516 

Pisgah  Forest  leased  to  Carr 517 

Pisgah  Forest  sold  to  United  States 506 

Forge-Bounties.    Terms  upon  which  they  were  granted 276 

Forges.     Description  of  old  Catalan 277  to  279 

Description  of  water  trompes  or  blasts 278 

Catalan  forges  and  water  trompes  mentioned 547 


INDEX  675 


PACE 

Fort  Defiance.     Primitive  houses  at 71 

Fort  Dobbs.     Facts  about 69 

Fort  Loudon.     Facts  about 67  to  69 

At  junction  of  Tellico  Creek  and  Little  Tenn.    Massacre  at  568 

No  monument  marks  spot 70 

Fort  Prince  George.     At  head  of  Savannah,  where  Oconostota 

was  held  as  hostage 568 

Indians  driven  from  neighborhood  of 568 

Forts  for  Removal  of  Cherokees.    Names  and  locations  of.  .576,  577 

Foster,  (Capt.)  R.  P.     Built  railroad 509 

Foster,  Thomas.     Sketch  of 153 

Visited  by  Asbury 216 

Set  a  slave  free 386 

France.    Action  after  Revolutionary  War 26 

Francis,  Michael.     Sketch  of 382 

Franklin,  Jesse.    Organized  corps  of  surveyors   174 

County  seat  of  Macon  named  for 174 

Franklin,  State  of.    See  Chapter  VL 

Franklin,  town  of.     Sacred  town  of  Cherokees 174 

Named  for  Jesse  Franklin 174 

Early  history  of 174,  175 

Battle  fought  near,  in  which  British  were  defeated 568 

"Freest  of  the  Free."    Bancroft's  characterization  of  North  Car- 
olinians     75 

Freeman,  Thomas.    Surveyed  Meigs  &  Freeman  line 52 

Notes  of  survey  lost 52 

French  Licks.     Henderson  meets  Donelson's  party  at 23 

Facts  about   123 

French,  (Rev.)  M.     Connected  with  Valle  Crucis 430,  431 

Frolics.     Description  of 268 

Fruit.     Facts  about  and  literature  on 518 

Fry,  Joshua.    Boundary  line  commissioner 22 

Furman,  Robert  M.     Sketch  of 554 

Gage,  Wm.     Speaker  of  Franklin  House 113 

Gahagan  Family.     Early  settlers  of  Madison 196 

Gale,  C.     Boundary  line  commissioner 20 

Gallaspie,  Gun  maker.     Lived  at  head  of  French  Broad 336 

Gallows  Field.     Where  Doubleday  now  is 147 

Gambill  Family.    Lived  on  border  of  Ashe 198 

Gambill,  Robert,  Sr.    Commissioner  to  lay  off  lots 197 

Game.     Amount  killed 252,  253 

Some  still  left 520 

Preserved  on  Biltmore  estate 506 

Games  of  Schools.    Described 271,  422 

Gardner,  Mrs.  Nancy.    Sketch  and  recollections  of 179,  180 

Gardoquoi,  Minister.    Corresponded  with  Western  leaders.  .120,  121 

Garland,  Mary.     Killed  wild  cat 333,  334 

Garrett,  Wm.     Early  settler  of  Madison 196 


676  INDEX 


PAGE 

Gash  Family.    Descended  from  Revolutionary  soldier 202 

Gash,  Leander.    Defeated  Rollins  for  Senate 449 

Prominent  and  influential 202 

Gash,  Thomas  L.     Represented  Transylvania 202 

Gaston,  J.  P.     Brought  first  news  of  surrender 621 

Gems,  Native.    Facts  about 564 

Ginseng.     Factores  for  working 170 

Andre  Michaux  taught  natives  to  prepare  for  market 523 

Great  abundance  formerly 523 

Dr.  Gailen  established  industry 170 

Col.  Byrd's  rhapsody  over 523,  524 

Large  root  of  found  by  David  Miller 523 

Gentian.     Another  name  for  ginseng 523 

Gentry,  (Col.)  Allen.    Deeds  of  lost  when  residence  burned. . . .  197 

Gentry  Family.     Dr.  Cox's  sketch  of 109 

Gentry,  Richard.     Sketch  of 109 

Devised  "Old  Fields" 109 

Pioneer  preacher    224 

Geology.     See  Chapter  XXIV,  Geology  of  North  Carolina  Moun- 
tains.   Where  to  get  official  facts  about 542,  543 

Georgia.    Contributed  no  settlers  in  1730 13 

Germans.    Settlers  of  1730 13 

Gholey,  John.    Commissioner  of  Graham  County 210 

Ghormley  Family.    Sketch  of 211 

Glance,  Jacob  and  John.    Early  settlers  of  Madison 196 

Gold.     Discovery  of  at  Dahlonega,  Ga 575 

Gold  Spring.    Owned  by  John  B.  Love 192 

"Golden  City."    Facts  about 340 

Graham  County.     Early  history  of 210  to  212 

Graham,  (Dr.)  C.  C.    His  testimony  as  to  Lincoln's  birth 317 

Graham,  (Hon. )  James.    Sketch  of 644 

Grains.    Facts  about  cultivation  of  and  literature 519 

When  it  was  too  cold  to  raise  corn 521 

Grant,   (Mrs.)    E.  N.     Erected  monument  to  her  father,  Prof. 

Mitchell  299 

Grant,  Colonel.     Conquered  Cherokees  in  1761 54 

Grant,  James  A.    Merchant  in  Murphy 186 

Grant,  Rachael.    Had  remarkable  dream 338 

Grants.    Various  facts  as  to  grants  from  the  State,  19,  27,  60, 

61,  62,  63,  64,  108,  131  to  138 

Granville,  Earl  of.     Why  grants  from  him  are  good 60,  61 

Entries  under  preferred 133 

Grasses.     Facts  about 519,  520 

Gray,  James  K.    Early  settler  of  Macon 173 

Graybeal  Family.     Sketch  of  165 

"Greasy  Corner."     Formerly  a  fine  residence 149 

Greasy  Cove.     Boundary  line  party  reached 44,  45 

Now  railroad  shops  at  Erwin,  Tennessee 45 

Great  Britain.    Action  as  to  31st  parallel 26 


INDEX  677 

i'Al.K 

Greene  Family.    Sketch  of 101 

Greene,  John  F.     Commissioner 197 

Greene,  (Judge)  L.  L.     Self-made  man 189 

Sketch  of   400 

Greenlee,  James.    Selected  large  boundaries  of  land 71 

Greenville,  S.  C.     In  stage-coach  days 242 

Greenville,  Tenn.    Made  capital  of  State  of  Franklin 113 

In  stage-coach  days 242 

Greer,  Benjamin.    Helped  rescue  Cleveland  and  kill  Ferguson. .  102 

Grler,  David.    Hermit,  romance  and  sketch  of 335 

Gudger.  A.  M.  and  R.  L.     Lived  on  Sandy  Mush 196 

Gudger,  (Col.)  James  and  Wife.     Lived  in  Madison 19G 

James  a  delegate  to  convention  of  1835 196 

Gudger,  (Judge)  J.  C.  L.     Sketch  of 397 

Gudger,  Capt.)  James  M.,  Sr.     Boundary  line  commissioner 57 

Guinn,  James  W.    Early  settler  of  Macon 173 

Gun  Powder.    Facts  about  bounty,  etc 275 

Guyot,  (Prof.)  Arnold.     Measured  mountains 49 

Statement  as  to  Mount  Mitchell  controversy 297  to  299 

Gwyn,  James.     Story  of 379 

Gwyn,  W.  B.     Built  and  operated  railway 509 

Hackney,  George  L.     Combined  Gazette  and  News 452 

Hailen.  Doctor.     Established  ginseng  industry 170 

Halford,  David.     Residence  of 150 

Hall,  George.    Veteran  of  Revolution 112 

Hall,  Wm.    Killed  Bryson  across  State  line 50 

Caused  new  legislation 306,  371 

Hammermen.    Facts  about  279 

Hampton,   (Gen.)   E.  R.     Edited  newspaper 452 

Hampton,  (Gen.)  Wade.    Summer  home  in  Cashier's  Valley 498 

Hancock,  Wm.     Early  settler  of  Clay 207 

Handy  Men.    Jacks  of  all  trades 255 

Hankins,  J.  C.     Stage-coach  contractor 242 

Hanks,  Nancy.     Traditions  of 308  to  320 

Hardin,  Jordan  and  John.    Commissioners  to  lay  off  lots 200 

Deed  from  Jonathan  Boone 94 

Hardin  Farm.     Formerly  Tallassee  Old  Town 48,  50 

Tradition  as  to  grant  of  to  Crusoe  Jack 239 

Hardy,  (Dr.)  J.  F.  E.     Resided  at  Steam  Saw  Mill  Place 18 

Owned  land  in  Asheville 148 

First  landscape  gardener,  sketch  of 504 

Harman  Family.     Sketch  of  352,  353 

Harris,  (Hon.)  C.  J.     Talc  mine  and  factory 194 

Harris,  Will.     Desperado  who  shot  up  Asheville 345 

Harrison,  Nathaniel.     Boundary  line  commissioner 19 

Harshaw,  Abraham  and  John.     Sketches  of 187 

Harshaw,  Joshua.    Early  settler  in  Clay 207 

Hartley,  John.    Born  on  the  "Cold  Saturday" 295 


678  INDEX 


PAGE 

Hatch,  (Col.)  Lewis  M.     Sketch  of 622 

Hatchets.     Stone  ones  found  in  mountains 10 

Hauling.    Facts  about 279,  284,  288 

Hawkins,  (Col.)  Benjamin.     Ran  treaty  line 52 

Hawkins,  James.     Chain  bearer 39 

Hawkins,  Robert.    Early  settler  of  Madison 196 

Hayes,  George  W.     Sketch  of 205 

Hayesville.     Early  history  of 205  to  208 

Hayne,  (Hon.)  R.  Y.     Died  in  Asheville 469 

Haywood  County.     In  Revolutionary  War Ill,  167 

Early  history  of 166  to  173 

Outrages  on  Cataloochee  during  Civil  War 616,  617 

Her  six  daughters 169 

Other  facts  of  formation  of  county 169,  170 

Surrender  of  Col.  Bartlett;  last  gun  fired 581 

"Hells."     Described  533 

"Hell's  Half  Acre."     Described 540 

Henderson,  (Dr.)  Archibald.    His  story  of  Western  expansion. .  88 

Henderson,  Bayless.    Murdered  Jarrett,  trial  and  execution,  301,  302 

Henderson  County.     Early  history  of 181  to  185 

Henderson  County  Heroes.     Account  of  some 101 

Henderson,  (Col.)  Richard.    A  boundary  line  commissioner,  22,  23 

Met  Donelson's  party 23 

Purchased  Transylvania  County 85 

Employed  Boone  to  explore  western  country 86 

Other  facts  about  his„career 87  to  94 

Hendersonville.     Early  history  of 181  to  185 

Henesea,  David  and  John.     Sketches  of 187 

Henry,  (Judge)  J.  L.     Sketch  of  403 

Henry,  Robert.     Boundary  line  surveyor    38 

Wrote  account  of  Cowan's  Ford  and  Kings  Mountain 98 

Visited   Greasy   Cove    44 

Diary  of  quoted   296 

Sketch  of 380,  381 

First  schoolmaster  of  Buncombe 421 

Henry,  (Gen.)  R.  M.     Sketch  of 392 

Henry,  Samuel.     Sketch  of   186 

Herald  of  Truth.     Editor  of,  etc 193 

Herbert,  Elijah.     Sketch  of  205 

Herbs  and  Roots.     Facts  about 289 

Herndon,  (Col.)  Ben.     Captured  and  hanged  Riddle 105 

Herndon,  Wm.  H.     Quoted  as  to  Nancy  Hanks,  etc 310  to  320 

Hiawassee  Old  Town.     Named  in  Treaty  of  1819 48 

Hickory  Nut  Gap.     Inn  at   243 

Hicks,  John  O.     Sketch  of    208,  436 

Higgins,  Holland.     Killed  by  Greer  335 

Highlands.     Early  history  of 499 

High  Rocks.     Described    536 

Hill,  Abies.     Sheriff  of  Cherokee  187 


INDEX  679 


PAGE 

Hilliard,  Alfred.     Long-distance  quarrel 347 

Hllliard,   (Dr.)  W.  L.     Bought  Alexander  residence   150 

Fought  duel   369  to  371 

Hitchcock,  ( Dr. )  C.  M.     Facts  about 337 

Hitchcock,  (Mrs.)  Caroline  H.     Her  book  quoted  from. ..  .311  to  313 

Hix  Family.     Sketch  of  354,  355 

Hix,  Samuel.     A  Tory 99 

Stories  about  351  to  354 

Hobgood,  Theodore.     Conducted  newspaper 451 

Hodges,  Gilbert  and  Holland.     Sketches  of 100 

Hodges,  Thomas.     Sketch  of 100 

Hollanders.     Settlers  of  1730  13 

Holman's  Ford.     Boone's  home  at 80,  81 

Hollow  Poplar.     Boundary  line  party  reached   44 

Hoffman,  L.  M.     Quoted 321 

Hog  Killing.     Facts  about  287,  288 

Holsclaw,  John.     Eloped  with  Delilah  Baird  300,  331,  332 

Holy  Cross,  Order  of.     Account  of 430 

Honey  Dew.     Scientific  facts  about 526,  527 

Hoodenpile,  Phillip.     Asked  pay  in  prayer  221 

Road  built  by  him 234 

Left-handed  fiddler    128 

Sketch  of   234 

Hooper,  G.  W.     Commissioner  of  Graham  210 

Horner,  (Bishop)  Junius  M.     Reestablished  Valle  Crucis 433 

Horse  Trading.     Sketch  of  267 

Horton,  John.     Built  court  house  188 

Horton,  Nathan.     Guarded  Major  Andr6  101 

Hotels.     Arsenic-Bromine    501 

Asheville  Sulphur  Springs   502 

Alexander's  Hotel    153 

Aquone  Inn    243 

Arden  or  Shufordsville 242 

Balsam  Inn    504 

Battery  Park  Hotel    508 

Belmont  Hotel    503 

Berkeley    Hotel    508 

Blowing  Rock  Hotels   500 

Bromine-Arsenic    501 

Brittain's  Flat  Rock  Hotel 493 

Bryan   Hotel    189 

Buck  Forest  Hotel  185 

Buck   Hotel    491 

Carrier's  Springs  Hotel   503 

Chimney  Rock  Inn   185 

Cloudland  Hotel  on  the  Roan 503 

Coffey   Hotel    189 

Cold   Spring  Hotel    536 

Coggins'   Springs    510 


680  INDEX 


TAI ;  E 

Hotels.     Cut- Laurel  Gap 39 

Davis's,  Col.  John's   242,  364 

Deaver's  Springs    503 

Drummer's  Home   186,  509 

Dula  Springs  499 

Eagle  Hotel    491 

Eagle's  Next    603 

Epps  Springs  507 

Esmeralda  Inn  185,  538 

Farmer  Hotel    494 

Fletcher  Hotel    185 

Flat  Rock  Hotels  493 

Franklin  Hotel  506 

Garmany's  Hotel    242 

Grand  Central  Hotel  508 

Grove  Park  Inn   510 

Halleck  Hotel   499 

Henesea  Hotel    187 

Hickory  Nut  Falls  Inn 538 

Hickory  Nut  Gap  Inn  243 

Highlands    Hotels    499 

Hot  Springs  Hotel   491,  539 

Jefferson  Inn  162 

Kenilworth   Inn    507 

Langren   Hotel    507 

Linville  City  Inn  500 

Logan's  Hotel    538 

Manor  House,  The 508 

Marshall  Hotels   242 

Margo  Terrace  Hotel    508 

Montgomery's    242 

Mountain  Park  Hotel 492,  539 

Mundays  Tavern    243 

Oakland  Heights    507 

Old  Valley  Tovv^n  Inn   507 

Osceola  Lake  Hotel  185 

Pinola  Inn   483 

Regal,  The   186 

Road  Houses  286 

Roan  Mountain  Inn 503 

Roaring  Gap  Inn  501 

Sapphire  Country  Hotels    506 

Sherrill's   Inn    243 

Swannanoa  Hotel 508 

Toxaway  Inn  506 

Turnpike  Inn   243,  256 

Valle  Crucis  Inn 433 

Valley  Town  Tavern 243,  507 

Warm  Springs  Hotels 47,  243,  492,  539 


INDEX  681 


Hotels.     Walker't:.    Mrs 243.  507 

Waynesville  White  Sulphur  Springs  507 

White  House.  The  286 

Howard.  Benjamin. — A  Tory  settler 100 

Built  cahin  for  herders 82 

Took  oath  of  allegiance  354 

Howard.  Sarah.     Married  Jordan  Councill.  Sr 100 

Howard's  Knob.     Peculiarities  of 529 

Howland,  Richard  S.     Made  great  improvements 510 

Howell.  John.     Commissioners  met  at  home  of 16S 

Hubbard,  Xenas.     Early  resident  of  Murphy 186 

Huguenots,  French.     Settlers  of  1730   13 

Hume,  R.  L.     Built  hotel  and  mill 202,  203 

Hunter,  A.  R.  S.     First  settler  of  Murphy  337 

Entertaiiied  removal  oflBcers    337 

Daughter  of  married  Dr.  Hitchcock  337 

Hunters.     Unknown,  entered  wilderness   11 

Wallen  hunted  in  1761  12 

Fire  Hunters  by  day  and  by  night 252,  522 

Were  unerring  marksmen    255 

Weiss  hunted  with  Moravians  62 

Account  of  the  first  hunters  65 

Famous  hunters  in  old  days  521,  522 

Hunting  Grounds.     French  Broad  and  Swannanoa  Valleys  were 

neutral    10 

Hyatt,  Seth.     Sketch  of  186 

Hyatt,  Ute.     Noted  for  integrity  187 

Hyde.  J.  S.     Sheriff  of  Graham   210 

Hyman-Hilliard  Duel.     Account  of 369  to  371 

Hyman.  J.  D.     Edited  newspaper  449 

Fought  duel   369  to  371 

Hurricanes.     Described    540 

Indentured  Servants.     Did  not  come  to  mountains 14 

Indian  Boundary  Lines.     Impoi  tance  of   51 

Tryon's,  Meigs  and  Freeman's,  Hawkins,  Pickens,  etc.  .51  to  54 

Decisions  as  to  Indian  Reservation  of  1783 139,  140 

Decision  as  to  Meigs  and  Freeman's  line  139 

Indian  Massacres.     Description  of  the  first 250 

Sevier  allows  massacre  of  Old  Tassal,  etc 117.  118 

Indian  Mounds. — Numbers  found  in  various  localities 10 

One  near  Hayesville  and  one  at  mouth  of  Peachtree 207 

The  "Great  Nacoochee  Mound"    517 

Cherokees  admit  building  some   567 

For  what  purposes  built   597 

Indian  Names.     Agiqua.  name  of  whole  F'ench  Broad 10 

Erati.  name  of  over-mountain  Cherokees 10 

Otari,  name  of  Valley  Town  Indians   10 

Swannanoa,  corruption  of  Shawnee 11,  598 


682  INDEX 


PAGE 

Indian  Names.     Tahkeeosteh,  name  of  French  Broad  from  Ashe- 

ville  down    10 

Zillicoah,  name  of  French  Broad  above  Asheville 10 

Nantahala,  means  Valley  of  Noon  Day  Sun 598 

Indian  Pipes.     Found  in  numerous  places   10 

Indian  Pottery.     Found  in  various  places  10 

Indian  Reservation.     Defined;  not  supported  by  treaty 55 

Indian  Traders.     Unknown  traders  pushed  through  wilderness  11 

Disregarded  Tryon's  boundary  line  and  were  killed 51 

Indian  Trails.     Two  crossed  at  Asheville  18 

Name  of  one  through  Swannanoa    Gap  11 

Indian  Treaties.     See  "Treaties  with  Indians,"  in  this  Index. 

Indian  Tribes.     Ani-Suwali,  lived  east  of  mountains 11 

Catawbas  ruled  east  of  Blue  Ridge  10 

Catawbas  w-ere  enemies  of  Cherokees 10 

Reservation  of  the  Tribes  thrown  into  South  Carolina.  ...  25 

Catawbas  attacked  by  Cherokees  in  1759 69 

Catawbas  remained  faithful  to  the  whites 69 

Cherokees  ruled  west  of  Blue  Ridge 10 

Cherokees  sided  with  French;   made  treaty,  etc 54 

Cherokees  crushed  by  combined  forces  in  1760 69 

Cherokees  were  peaceful  in  Haywood  before  Revolution. . .  Ill 

Party  of  stole  horses  and  killed  Fine Ill 

Entries  and  grants  of  Indian  lands,  void 133,  136 

Decisions  as  to  lands  of 139 

Act  to  release  purchasers  of  lands  of 141 

Chickamaugas  renegades  of  many  tribes 10,  66 

Chickamaugas  lived  near  Chattanooga  and  occupied  Nick-a- 

Jack's    Cave    66 

Indian  Wars.     French  and  Indian,  Facts  about  67 

With  Watauga  settlements  68 

With  forces  from  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas 568,  569,  570 

Indian  Weapons.     How  made   597 

Insects.     Col.  Byrd  relates  facts  about  252 

Instruments.     Of  Virginia  commissioners  questioned,  etc 19,  20 

Irby  and  Dellinger.     Built  Mitchell  court  house  and  filed  lien. .  201 

Irish  Presbyterians.     Settlers  of  1730 13 

Ives,    (Bishop)    Levi   S.   Account  of  his  Holy  Order  at  Valle 

Crucis    430   to  432 

Irvin,  Gov.  Jared.     Sent  resolutions  to  Gov.  Alexander 34 

Asked  for  new  boundary  line  commission  and  survey 36 

Israel,  Ernest.     Owns  picture  of  old  Asheville 146 

Ivy  and  Laurel.     Met  by  Strother  and  Spangenberg 40,  41 

"Ivory  Slicks."     At  Hangover  Alountain,  described 41 

Jacks,  (Rev.)  Richard.     Pioneer  preacher 224 

Jackson,  Andrew.     From  mountain  pioneer  stock 13 

Crossed  mountains  in  1788 233 

Lost  horse  race  329,  330 

Jackson- Avery  Duel.     Accounts  of  357  to  359 


INDEX  683 


TACiE 

Jackson  County.     Early  history  of  192  to  194 

Railroad  and   improvements    194 

Jackson,  John.     Allowed  himself  to  be  sold,  etc 332 

Jarrett,  Drake.     Owned  place  in  Asheville  147 

Jarrett.  (Col.)  N.  S.     In  ginseng  business 170 

Typical  citizen   173 

Early  settler  of  Franklin 174 

Sketch  of   176 

Murdered  by  Henderson    301,  302 

House  and  child  burned 302 

Jay,   (Minister)   John.     Disregarded  instructions  26 

Jefferson,  Town  of.     Early  history  of  161  to  163 

Jefferson,  Peter.     Boundary  line  commissioner    22 

Jeffries'   "Hell."     Described    533 

Jenkins,  J.  D.     Quoted  as  to  Nancy  Hanks  tradition 324,  325 

Jenkins  Family.     Sketch  of  325 

Jewel  Hill.     Contest  about  court  house 195 

Johnson,  (Rev.)  Aaron.     Pioneer  preacher  224 

Johnson,  (President)  Andrew.     Daughter  of  married 242 

Place  of  death  of 325 

Connected  with  the  Lincoln  family 326 

Johnson,  Governor.     Conduct  as  to  location  of  State  line 23,     24 

Never  dreampt  of  New  River 22 

Johnson,  (Mr.  and  Mrs.)  Harvey.     Owned  much  of  Henderson- 

ville    184 

Johnson,  John  H.     Sketch  of 205 

Home  and  hospitality  of  341 

Johnston,  Jackson.     Sketch  of 177 

Johnston,  James.     Cared  for  John  Lyon  343 

Johnston,   (Hon.)   Thomas  D.     Sketch  of 648 

Johnston,  Wm.     Built  palatial  home  in  Transylvania 203 

Johnston,  Wm.     Sketch  of  172 

Jones,  (Hon.)  A.  H.     Contractor;  sketch  of,  etc 242 

Jones,  (Dr.)  Edward  R.     Trial  and  death  of 379,  380 

Jones,  (Rev.)  Evan.     Translated  New  Testament  into  Cherokee  399 

Jones,  (Hon.)  George  A.     Sketch  of 645 

Jones,  J.  C.     Sheriff  of  Alleghany 197 

Jonesboro,  Tenn.     Largely  Presbyterian   215 

Franklin  convention  held  at   113 

Jordan,  Joseph  P.     Helped  form  Transylvania   202 

"Judge"  Fax.     Bought  his  freedom  239 

Judiciary,  "The  Exhaustion  of"  640,  641 

Junaluska.     Sketch  of,  etc 292,  293 

Justice,  Amos.     Entertained  boundary  line  party 35 

Keener,   (Rev.)   Ulrich.     Preached  to  Cherokees 574 

Keener,  Joseph.     Valuable  citizen  192 

Kelly,  John.     Sketch  of  176 

Kelly,  M.  H.     Built  gravity  line  510 


684  INDEX 


PAGE 

Keith,  (Lt.  Col.)     Forced  to  resign  because  of  cruelty 603 

Kelsey,  S.  T.     "Road  Builder" 246 

Founded   Highlands    499 

Kerr,  James.     Boundary  line  commissioner. 

Kerr,  (Col.)  J.  P.     Wrote  of  newspapers 450 

Killian,  Daniel.     Quarterly  meeting  held  at  home  of 218 

Visited  by  Asbury 219  to  222 

Gavel  from  banister  of  his  home 223 

Killian,  D.  W.     Prominent  citizen  of  Clay  208 

Kilpatrick,  Colonel.     Surveyed  the  Pickens  line 53 

Kincaid,  E.  P.     Lived  near  Murphy   187 

King,  (Rev.)  Benjamin.     Owned  Lowndes  Farm 203 

King,  Johnson.     Sketch  of  186 

King,  J.  W.     Swore  in  officers  210 

King,  (Judge)  Mitchell.     Donated  land  for  Hendersonville. . . .  493 

Home  at  Flat  Rock  493 

College  chum  of  Bismarck  496 

Kings  Mountain.     Sevier's  route  to   110,  111 

Kirby,  Colonel.     Driven  back  from  raid  on  Asheville 619 

Kirk,  (Col.)  G.  W.     Daring  raid  on  Camp  Vance 605  to  608 

Sketch  of  in  Note  19 627 

Kirk's  War.     Facts  about 640,  641 

Kirkland,  Bushwhacker  and  Turkey  Trot.     Accused  of  outrages 

during  war    618 

Kitchins.     Facts   about    257 

Knotts,  D.  J.     Published  Calhoun-Hanks-Lincoln  tradition   ....  318 

Kukluxing.     Fight  grew  out  of  prosecution  for 450 

Lake  Ushery.     Was  it  on  French  Broad? 528 

Lake  Superior.     Mocha  Stone  or  moss  agate  from 10 

Lambert,    Andrew,    alias    John    Perkins.     A    Scotchman    who 

hunted  for  the  Moravians  65 

Land.     Facts  about  254 

Status  of  Cherokees   587 

Land  Speculation.     Rush  for  land,  large  grants 135,  136,  137 

Some  of  largest  land  holders 138,  140,  141 

Land  Warrants.     To  soldiers  of  French  and  Indian  War 67 

Landreth,  Stephen.     Officer  of  grand  jury   197 

Lapland.     Former  name  of  Marshall  194 

Lashorns.     Described  in  Note  18,  page 58 

Lawrence,   (Rev.  Dr.)   Thomas.     Started  schools  in  mountains  439 

Lawson,  John.     Boundary  line  commissioner   19 

Leather  Breeches.     One  virtue  in 251 

Leatherwood,  John.     Sketch  of    170 

Leatherwood,  Samuel.     Mentioned  170 

Lee,  (Col.)  Stephen.     Sketch  of  425 

Legislation.     Some  early    630,  632 

Lenoir,  Thomas  Isaac.     Sketch  of 171 

Lenoir,  (Gen.)  Wm.     Told  of  sword  tilt  109 


INDEX  685 


PACK 

Lester,  Dr.  T.  C.     Kept  first  drug  store  in  Asheville 147 

Lewis,  Gideon.     Guide  to  Boundary  line  commissioners 41 

Famous  as  wolf  hunter 522,  523 

Lexington,  Va.     Largely  Presbyterian   215 

Librarian  of  Congress.     Quoted  as  to  De  Soto 12 

Libraries.     Rural  School  435 

Pack  Memorial   508 

Donated  by  Prof.  Wing  445 

Literary  Fund.     Account  of  420 

Limestone  Settlement.     Visited  by  Vance  and  Neely 43 

Lincoln,  Abraham.     Traditions  as  to  birth  308  to  320 

Lincoln,  Isaac.     Lived  in  Tennessee  and  owned  slaves. . .  .322  to  326 

Lincoln,  Mary.     Wife  of  Isaac,  and  owned  slaves 322  to  326 

Lincoln,  Thomas.     Facts  about 322  to  326 

Linney,  (Hon.)  R.  Z.     Sketch  of  647 

Linville  City.     Early  history  of   500 

Litigation.     See  also  Chapter  XVI. 

Over  John  Strother's  will  138 

Over  Indian  Reservation  line   139 

Over  Meigs  &  Freeman's  line   139 

Over  Cranberry  Iron  mine  141,  557,  558 

Tennessee  boundary  line  56,  57 

Two  noted  law  suits  in  Alleghany 199 

Over  laying  off  town  lots  in  Sparta 197 

Builder's  lien  on  Mitchell  court  house  201 

Over  Buck  Forest    204 

Over  Junaluska's  farm    293 

Little  Carpenter.     Agreed  to  Henderson  purchase 87 

Little,  Will.     Boundary  line  commisioner  20 

Littleton,  Governor.     Defeated  Cherokees  in  1760 54 

Locke,   (Judge)  Francis.     Stories  of  375 

Locust  Old  Field  Church.     Established  by 224 

Logan,  (Judge)  G.  W.     Sketch  of  404 

Logan,  Robert.     Chain  bearer  39 

Long,  (Rev.)  J.  R.     Built  school 193 

Long  Hungry  Branch.     Name  derived  from  212 

Lost  Cove.     Railroad  on  viaduct  in  passing  through 9 

Where  Nollechucky  breaks  through  mountains 44 

In  disputed  territory 57 

Moonshiners'   heaven    334 

Lottery.     For   Newton   Academy    386 

For  Dahlonega  gold  lands  575 

Loudon,  Fort.     See  "Fort  Loudon." 

Love,  Dillard.     Early  resident  of  Franklin  174 

Love,  John  B.     Sketch  of  192 

Owned  Gold  Spring 192 

Love,  (Captain)  Robert.     Sketch  of 174 

Love,  (Col.)  James  Robert.     Sketch  of 171 

Love,  (Dr.)  Levi.     Sketch  of 177 


686  INDEX 


PAGE 

Love,  (Col.)  Robert.     Boundary  line  surveyor 31 

Piloted  boundary  line  party 45 

Boundary  line  commissioner   48 

Military  career  disclosed  by  pension  papers  108 

Veteran  of  Revolution   112 

Thirty  years  presidential  elector 126 

Founder  of  Waynesville 127 

Defeated  Felix  Walker  for  clerk   127 

Named  Waynesville   127,  169 

Service  in  Watauga  Settlements 118  to  120 

Sketch  of   124  to  126 

Won  horse  race  329,  330 

Love,   (Dr.)    Samuel  L.     Sketch  of  171 

Mount  Love  named  for 299 

Love  (Gen.)  Thomas.     Boundary  line  commissioner 29 

His  famous  race  with  Hoodenpile  128 

Sketch   of    128,  129 

Longest  continuous  term  in  legislature 129 

Elected  speaker  of  Tennessee  senate 129 

Saved  lives  of  two  of  Sevier's  sons 128 

Loven  Family.     Came  from  Ducktown    212 

Lovick,  J.     Boundary  line  commissioner  20 

Lovill,  (Col.)  Edward  F.     Sketch  of 623 

Low,  L.  D.     Quoted  as  to  No  Man's  Land 41,  42 

Low,  T.  A.     Quoted    10 

Lowery,  Woodbury.     Quoted  as  to  C.  C.  Jones'  statement 12 

Lowndes  Farm.     Facts  about 203 

Lowrie,  (Col. )  James  M.     Sketch  of 196 

Ludwell,  Phillip.     Boundary  line  commissioner 19 

Lunsford,  Micajah.     Col.  Jarrett  murdered  near  home  of 301 

Lusk  Family.     Sketch  of 196 

Lusk,  (Col.)  Virgil  S.     Fought  Shotwell  450 

Lyle,  (Dr.)  James  M.     Sketch  of 175 

Lyon,  Archibald  O.     Sketch  of 206 

Lyon,  Captain.     His  raid  into  Graham  county 618,  619 

Lyon,  John.     Pathetic  story  of  343 

Macon  County.     Early  history  of 173  to  175 

MacRae,  Donald.     Helped  develop  Linville  City,  etc 246 

Madison  County.     Early  history  of 194  to  196 

Madison,  (Prof.)  R.  L.     Established  and  conducted  school 438 

Malone,  John  &  Co.     R.  R.  contractors,  sketch  of 474 

Malone,  (Major)  W.  H.     Edited  the  Expositor  451 

Marshall,  Town  of.     Early  history  of 194,  195 

Martin,    (Mrs.)    Hetty.     Helped  colored  people 444,  445 

Martin,  (Col.)  J.  G.     Promoted  many  improvements 

Part  owner  of  The  Citizen  451 

Built  and  operated  street  railway 509 

Martin,   (Gen.)  J.  G.     Sketch  of  621,  622 


INDEX  687 


TAGK 

Martin,  (Gen.)  J.  G.     War  experiences  In  Asheville,  etc. .  .619  to  639 

"War  Governor's  Right  Hand"  637,  638 

Martin,  Robert.     Sketch  of    205 

Mason,    David.     Hanging   of    376 

Masons,  Free.     Saved  Clem  Osborne  from  death  617 

Mast  Family.     Sketch  of   190,  352 

Mast,  (Mrs.)  Finley.     Wove  rugs  for  President 260 

Mast,  Wm.  and  wife.     Poisoning  of 347 

Mathews,  J.     Chain  bearer 39 

Mathews,  Miissendine.     Boundary  line  commissioner  39 

Tory  or  cynic?   39 

Maule,  (Col.)  Wm.     Boundary  line  commissioner 19 

May,  1775.     "Free-lances,  fast  ripening  for"  19 

May,  Mark.     Sketch  of  175,  176 

Maynard  Brothers.     Early  settlers  of  Glade  Creek 197 

Mayo,  Mr.  Charged  with  grafting   20 

McAnally,   (Rev.)   David  R.     Home  in  Asheville  147 

Founded  first  newspaper  in  Asheville  449 

Sketch  of   449 

McCay,   (Judge)  Spence.     Stories  of  cruelty  about 374,  375 

McCloud,  (Captain)  C.  M.     Sketch  of 395 

McClure,  George  and  Wm.  H.     Sketches  of 207 

McConnell,  (Rev.)  Fred.  C.     Distinguished  preacher 208 

McConnell,  Wm.     First  register  deeds  of  Clay 205 

McCormick,  Cyrus  T.     Of  mountain  pioneer  stock 15 

McDowell,  Charles.     Once  owned  Old  Fields  108,  109 

McDowell,  (Gen.)  Charles.     Went  to  Watauga  Settlements 110 

Entered  land  at  Cherry  Fields 204 

Owned  Old  Fields   108 

McDowell  Family.     Sketch  of   70,  71 

McDowell,  "Hunting  John."     Sketch  of 70,  71 

McDowell,   (Gen.)   Joseph.     Boundary  line  commissioner   39 

McDowell,  Silas.     Early  settler  of  Macon 174 

Posthumous  account  of  duel  359  to  368 

Sketch  of   427 

McDunn,  Isaac.     Home  of,  in  Asheville 150 

McFalls,  "Neddy."     Stories  of 335,  336 

McGaha,  Samuel.     Killed  Indian  by  mistake 336 

McGhee,  James  and  James  L.     Mentioned  170 

McGhee,  Jordan.     Killed  snakes  100 

McGuire,  (Captain)  George.     Suspected  of  treachery  625 

McKendree,  Rev.  Mr.     Preached  at  Killian's   218 

McKinney's-on-Toxaway.     Boundary   line  commissioners   delib- 
erate at    29,  30 

McKune,  Frank.     Built  palatial  home   203 

McMillan,  F.  J.     Appointed  clerk 159 

Commissioner  of  Ashe  County  to  lay  off  lots 197 

McMinn,  Nathan.     Built  store  and  hotel 202 

McNair's  Grave.     Victim  of  Removal  cruelties  599 


688  INDEX 


pai;e 

McNamee,  Charles.    Declared  trust  held  by  him 444 

McQueen,  Samuel.    Helped  rescue  Cleveland 105 

Meabin,  James.    Organized  corps  of  surveyors 174 

Meadows,  The.    Large  springs  there 529 

Mears,  James  B.     Residence  and  store  of 147 

Mebane,  James.    Boundary  line  commissioner 48 

Memminger,  (Hon.)  C.  G.    Home  at  Flat  Rock 493 

Mecklenburg  Declaration.    First  for  American  Independence. . .  14 

Bancroft  quoted  on  the  "Resolves." 96 

Medicines.    Facts  about 257 

Meigs  &  Freeman's  Line.    Account  of 51  to  53 

Meigs,  J.     Scientist  for  State-line  survey 34 

Meigs  Post.     Location  of 49,  52 

Meigs,  Return  Jonathan.     Sketch  of 51  to  54 

Merchants  and  Miners  Bank.    A.  T.  Davidson  elected  president,  401 
Merrimon,   (Judge)   J.  H.     Expressed  his  opinion  of  board  of 

directors    463 

Merrimon,  (Hon.)  Augustus  S.     Held  court  in  Bakersville. . . .  201 

Dr.  Baird's  tribute  to   384 

Messer,  Christian  and  John.    Veterans  of  Revolution 112 

Meteor  of  1860.     Described  by  Gen.  Clingman 306 

Metheglen.     Facts  about 271 

Methodists.     Early  appearance  of 14 

Got  ahead  of  Presbyterians 215 

Sent  Ulrich  Keener  to  preach  to  Cherokees 574 

Mexico.    Expansion  of  U.  S.  at  expense  of  predicted 26 

Michaux,  Andre.    Visited  summit  of  Grandfather  mountain. . . .  513 

Sang  Marseillaise  there 513 

Sent  flower  seeds  and  shrubs  to  Paris 513 

Taught  settlers  how  to  prepare  for  market 523 

Michaux,  F.  A.     Sketch  of 513 

Middleton,  Henry.     Boundary  line  coipmissioner 29 

Milesian  Irish.    Settlers  of  1730 13 

Military  Roads.     Built  by  Gen.  Scott's  orders 238 

Milk  Sick.    Rhinehart  died  of 49 

Facts  and  fancies  about 523,  524 

Nancy  Hanks  died  of.  Note  11,  page 527 

Price  died  of 336 

Miller,  David.    Facts  about 528,  529 

Miller,  Thomas.     Had  iron  forge  built 559 

Mills,  "Father."    Asbury  preached  at  home  of 222 

Mills,  grist.     Facts  about    281,  282 

Mineralogy.    See  Chapter  XXIV.    Where  to  get  facts  about 542 

Minerals,     facts  about 543 

Mines  and  Mining.     See  Chapters  XXIV,  XXV. 

Evidences  of  early  mining 12 

Talc,  copper  and  nickel  in  Jackson 194 

Dates  of  working  old  Iron  mines 276,  277 

Pioneer  Thors  and  forges 277  to  279 


INDEX  689 


Mines  and  Mining.    De  Soto  heard  of  mines  in  Chisca olS 

Swift  &  Munday  mine  tradition 529 

Preliistoric  workings.     Facts  about 552 

The  "Specimen"  State.     Facts  about 553 

Ancient  Diggings.     Facts  about 553 

Sink  Hole  mines.     Facts  about 553 

Garrett-Ray  mines.     Facts  about   553 

Old  mining  in  Clay.    Facts  about 554 

Mica  Mines  in  Ash6.    Facts  about 553,  555 

Mica  Mines  elsewhere.     Facts  about 555 

Uses  for  mica.     Facts  about 555 

Corundum  and  Emery.     Facts  about 555 

Kaolin.     Facts  about 562 

Cranberry  mines.    Litigation  over 415  to  418 

Other  facts  about 547,  557,  558 

Other   iron   mines 547,   548,  559 

Copper  mines.     Facts  about 548,  560,  561 

Corundum  mines.     Facts  about 549  to  557 

Talc  mines.     Litigation  over 418 

Other   facts   about 562 

Marble  quarries.     Facts  about 563,  564 

Other  minerals.    Facts  about 561  to  565 

Adams-Westfelt  Copper  mine.     Litigation 413,  414 

Davidson  River  Iron  Works.    Built  by 559 

Lane's  Iron  Works 249 

Miro,  Minister.     Western  leaders  corresponded  with 120,  121 

Mission  Farm.    Facts  about 207 

Posey's  connection  with 224 

Established  by  Baptists 574 

Mitchell,  Anderson.     Presiding  justice 197 

Mitchell  County.     Early  history  of 200  to  202 

Mitchell,  (Prof.)  Elisha.     Highest  peak  named  for 178 

Monument  to  memory  of 299 

Measured  high  peaks,  controversy,  etc 298,  299 

Mitchell,  Mount.    Controversy  over  first  measurement  of ..  .297,  299 
Mitchell's  Peak.    See  Mount  Mitchell. 

Mitchell,  Wm.  L.     Justice  and  foreman  of  jury 197 

Mocha  Stone.     Found  near  Banner  Elk  10 

Molyneaux,  Consul.    Built  at  Flat  Rock 496 

Molyneaux  Home.     At  Flat  Rock 493 

Moody,  John  and  Reuben.    Good  citizens 170 

Moody,  James.    Quoted  as  to  Cherokees,  See  Chapter  XXVL 

Moody,  (Hon.)  James  M.     Sketch  of 649 

Moody,  Wm.     Early  settler  of  Madison 196 

Moonshine  and  Moonshiners.    At  Limestone  Cove  in  1799 43 

Miss  Morley's  defense  of 16 

Facts  about   257,  271,  273 

Monteith,  Wm.     Sketch  of 209 

Montgomery's  Line.     Facts  about 31 

w.  X.  C— 44 


690  INDEX 


PAGE 

Monuments.    None  at  Fort  Loudon 70 

On  site  of  Boone's  cabin 83 

Boone  Trail  markers 94 

None  to  Richard  Henderson 94 

On   Sevier's  trail 124 

To  Otway  Burns    179 

To  Junaluska 211 

War  Monument  at  Elizabethton 275 

To  Elisha  Mitchell 299 

To  Governor  Vance 508 

Pack  Memorial  Library  508 

To  soldiers  of  Confederacy 653 

To  General  Clingman 653 

Lines  to  Vance's,  Asheville 657 

Moore,  Andrew.    Early  resident  of  Cherokee 187 

Moore,  Charles.    Had  iron  forge  built 559 

Col.  Davidson's  recollections  of 99 

Moore,  Daniel  K.    Sketch  of 207 

Moore,   (Judge)   Fred.     Sketch  of 399 

Moore,  John.    Boundary  line  commissioner 34 

Moore,  John  C.    County  Commissioner,  sketch  of,  etc 205,  206 

Moore,  W.     Opened  first  hotel 202 

Moore,  (Capt.)  Wm.     Sketch  of 99 

Moore,  (Capt.)  Wm.  P.     Sketch  of.    "Every  Inch  a  Soldier" 206 

Moravians.     Described 61 

Laws  for  relief  of 632 

Moretz  Family.     Sketch  of 191 

Morganton.    Largely  Presbyterian 215 

Morley,  Miss  W.  W.    Quotations  from  her  Carolina  Mountains, 

14,  16,  17 

Morris,  Gideon.    Married  Yonaguska's  daughter  to  Welch 187 

Morris,  Robert.    Had  interests  in  North  Carolina,  etc 145 

Town  named  for  him 145 

Morrison,  Mrs.  Rose.     Residence  of 148,  149 

Morrison,  (Rev.)  Wm.     Facts  about 150 

Morristown.     First  name  of  Buncombe  court  house   145 

Moseley,  Edward.     Boundary  line  commissioner 19,  20 

Moss  Agate.     See  "Mocha  Stone." 

Moss,  Henry.    Man  of  integrity 187 

Mount,  G.  R.    Sketch  of 186 

Mountains.     General  facts  about 9 

Mountain  Meadows.    See  "Balds." 

Mountain  Island.    Evidences  of  prehistoric  lake  near 528 

Mount  Mitchell.     Controversy  over  measurement  of 297,  299 

Mud  Creek  Falls.    In  Georgia  or  North  Carolina .  37 

Mulatto  Mountain.    Why  so  named 164 

Mulberry  Fields.    Owen  lived  near  and  Bryant  owned 65 

Mulberry  Trees.     Seen  by  De  Soto 12 

Munday,  (Capt.)  A.  P.     Sketch  of 176 


INDEX  691 


I'AGE 

Munday,  (Capt.)  A.  P.    Hunted  bears  on  mountains 531 

Munday,  Stephen.     Sketch  of 176 

Murphy,  Town  of.     Early  history  of 185,  186 

Murphy,  Wm.     Wandering  musician 349,  350 

Musters.     Facts  about 270,  284,  346 

Nails.    Made  by  hand 71 

Natural  Bridge.     Described 535 

Nanakatahke.     Facts  about 572 

Nansemond.     Governors  met  at   21 

Nantahala.     Mentioned  in  treaty 48,  56 

Nashville.     Site  of  visited  in  1767 12 

Formerly  the  Cumberland  settlement  and  French  Lick. . . .  123 

Neal,  O.  F.  and  Benjamin.     Story  of 330 

Neely,  (Maj.)  James.    Commissary  of  Boundary  line  party 39 

Brought  in  a  "recruit  of  bacon" 46 

Negro  Mountain.     Falling  of  cliff  of 293 

Why  so  named 164 

Neilson.  Visited  by  Asbury 216,  219,  220 

Nelson,  David.    Sketch  of 169 

New  Echota.    Location  and  adoption  of  as  capital 573 

New  River.    Its  discovery  a  surprise.    Hence  name 22 

Newland.     History  of 213 

Newspapers.     See  Chapter  XVIIL 

Newton  Academy.    Facts  about 423,  424 

Newton,  (Rev.)  George.    Heard  Asbury  preach 217 

Almost  a  Methodist 222 

Sketch  of  423,  424 

Nick-a-Jack's  Cave.     Description  of 66 

Nick-a-Jack  Old  Town.    Its  distance  from  State  line  post 51 

Nicodemus,   (Private)   Wm.     Grave  of 336 

Norris  Family.     Sketch  of 100 

Norton,  Barak.     Sketch  of 498 

Norton,  Mrs.     Killed  bear 341 

Norton  Family.     Sketch  of 499 

Norton,  J.  E.     Sketch  of 451 

Norton,  Misses.    Own  Urqhart  house 493 

Norwood,  (Judge)  Wm.  L.     Sketch  of 397 

Oconostota.     Signed  treaty 86,  87 

Officers.    Few  given  to  the  West 642,  643 

Oil  and  Gas.    Facts  about 563 

Old  Fields.    Facts  about 62,  63,  101,  103,  108,  109 

Old  Fields  of  Toe.    History  and  legends  of 213 

Olds,  (Col.)  Fred  A.    Account  of  duel 358 

O'Neal  and  Sherman.    Frozen  in  Unakas 209 

Order  of  the  Holy  Cross.    Account  of 430 

Organdizer.     A  Cherokee  living  in  Graham 212 

Orphan  Strip.     Walton  War  over 33 


692  INDEX 


PAGE 

Orr,  David.    His  cabin 41 

Sketch   of 211 

Orr,  (Hon.)  James  L.  Knew  of  Calhoun-Hanks-Lincoln-tradition  318 

Osborne,  Jonathan.     Made  Captain  of  Home  Guard 626 

Owen,  Hunter.     On  head  of  Yadkin 65 

Pack,  G.  W.    Gave  library  and  other  gifts 434,  508 

Paddy  Mountain.     No  reason  why  so  named 164 

Paint  Rock.     Described 539 

"Painted  Rocks."    Boundary  line  party  reached 46 

No  animal  pictures  there  now,  if  ever 47 

Palisades.    Old  river  bed  cross  channel  at 528 

Palmer,  (Col.)  J.  B.    Commissioner  to  settle  dispute 200 

Mr.  Skyles  died  at  home  of  432 

Kirk's  men  burned  his  home 608 

Parker  &  Carter.    Opened  store  in  wilderness 67 

Parks,  (Mrs.)  Cynthia.    A  Civil  War  Joan  of  Arc 616 

Parks,  James  H.    Donated  land 197 

Commissioner  to  lay  off  lots 197 

Pass,  Richards.     Early  settler  of  Clay 207 

Patrician  Settlements.     Described 495 

Patterson,  John.    Elected  first  sheriff  of  Clay 205 

Patterson,  Lindsay.    Facts  about  him  and  his  farm 502 

Patterson,  (Mrs.)  Lindsay.    Chairman  of  Boone  Trail  committee  94 

Patton  Family.    Large  and  influential 204 

Patton,  (Miss)  Fanny  L.    Published  Woman's  Edition 146 

Patton,  George.     Early  settler  in  Macon 173 

Patton,  James.    Owned  Eagle  hotel 149 

Referred  to  by  Asbury 221 

Patton,  James  W.    Owned  part  of  Asheville,  etc 147,  149 

Had  iron  forge  built 559 

Patton,  (Col.)  John.     Boundary  line  commissioner 29 

Was  county  surveyor  of  Buncombe 77 

Was  father  of  Lorenzo  and  Montraville 77 

Patton,  John  E.    Owned  Warm  Springs 492 

Patton,  (Dr.)  John  W.    Sketch  of 186 

Patton,  Montraville.    Owned  land  in  Asheville 148 

Helped  form  Henderson  County 181 

Patton,  N.  M.    First  representative  of  Transylvania 202 

Patton,  (Captain)  Thomas  W.    OvfneA  Citizen 451 

Sketch  of   454 

Paxton  Family.    Lived  at  Cherryfield 203 

Peace.     Efforts  to  restore 639 

Pearl  Oysters.     Found  by  De  Soto's  party 12 

Pearson,  Isaac  A.    Built  courthouse 202 

Pearson,  (Hon.)  Richmond.    Forced  completion  of  railroad ... .  480 

Got  no-fence  law  passed 641 

Pease,  (Rev.)  L.  M.    Started  Five  Points  Mission 439 

Conveyed  property  to  Home  Mission 439 


INDEX  693 


I'Al.E 

Pease,  (Rev.)  L.  M.     Started  colored  Industrial  School 443 

Peavines,  Wild.    Mentioned  by  Spangenberg 63 

Facts   about 521 

Peggy's  Hole.     Account  of 334 

Peltries.    Facts  about 253,  254,  255,  264,  265 

Penland,  Harvey.     Commissioner  of  Clay 205 

Penland,  Robert  A.    Conveyed  land  for  county  seat 201 

Penland,  Wm.     Early  settler  of  Madison 196 

Pennell,  Joshua.     Freed  slaves 349 

Penniman,  W.  T.    Helped  build  street  railway 509 

Pensions.     To  officers  and  soldiers 134,  135 

Perkins  Family.     Sketch  of  102,  106,  107 

Perkins,  John.    Facts  about 65 

Perkins,  Timothy  and  Joseph.    Facts  about  rescue  of  Cleveland, 

102  to  106 

Perrot,  Jonathan.    Another  name  for  Weiss 62 

Perry,  John  K.    Explained  "Split  Bullet" 86 

Perry,  Simeon.     Boundary  line  commissioner 48 

Person,  J.  A.     Commissioner  to  lay  off  lots 200 

Pe\%ter  Platters.    Facts  about 257 

Phillips,  Arthur.    Got  share  of  Old  Fields 109 

Phillips,  (Prof.)  W.  B.    Superintended  erection  of  monument..  299 

Phoenix  Mountain.     No  reason  known  for  name 164 

Pickens,  (Gen.)  Andrew.    Facts  about  surveying  line 52,  53 

Denied  Cherokee  title  to  Henderson  purchase 85 

Pickens,  Israel.     Sketch  of 382,  644 

Piercy,  James  W.  C.    Sketch  of 187 

Pigeons.     Came  in  flocks,  etc 524,  525 

Pinchot,  (Hon.)  Gifford.    First  forester  of  Pisgah  Forest 506 

Pinckney,  Minister.     His  "masterly  diplomacy" 26 

Pioneer  Days.     Description  of 76,  77 

Pioneers.     Roosevelt's  eulogies  of 13,  14 

Who  they  were  and  whence  they  came 65  to  67,  248 

Allison  and  Bancroft  eulogizes  them 75 

Dress  habits,  homes,  etc 76,  77 

Their  spirit  still  persists 249 

Their  wanderlust  275 

Pisgah  Forest.    Facts  about 506 

Formerly  called  Davidson's  River 204 

Plant  Lice.     Facts  about 526,  527 

Piatt,  Henry  and   (Rev.)  J.  T.     Facts  about 207 

Plemmons  Family.     Early  settlers  of  Madison 196 

"Pleasant  Gardens."    Home  of  "Hunting  John"  McDowell 71 

Plott  Dogs.     Facts  about 254 

Pool,  John  P.     Stage-coach  contractor 242 

Pools,  The.     Described 538 

Population.    Of  mountain  counties 658 

Posey,  (Rev.)  Humphrey.    Established  Mission  School 187 

Sketch  of 224 


694  INDEX 


PAGE 

Posey,  (Rev.)  Humphrey.    Quarrel  with  Brownlow 226 

Mission  work  with  Cherokees 574 

Pottery.     Facts  about 257 

Powers,  Riley.    A  hero  of  the  Merrimac 603 

Presbyterians.     Roosevelt's  description  of 13,  14 

Why  Methodists  and  Baptists  got  ahead  of 215 

Priber,  Christian.    Became  influential  among  Cherokees 568 

Price,  Aaron.     Gun  named  for   336 

Price,  James.    Died  of  milk  sick 336 

Primogeniture.     Reversal  of 252 

Prisoners,  escaping  Union.     Aided  through  mountains 613,  614 

Prisons  and  Jails.     Laws  as  to  violated 631 

Pritchard,  (Judge)  J.  C.    Appointed  Judge,  etc 400 

Products.      Principal    staples 284 

Prohibition.    Adoption  of  amendment  making  it  State-wide 641 

Prophet,  David.    Commissioner  to  select  county  site 200 

Prophet,  James.     Prominent  in  Yancey 180 

Prout,  (Rev.)  Henry  H.    His  connection  with  Valle  Crucis 430 

Prudden,  (Miss)  Emily  C.    Established  Skyland  Institute 433 

Public  Schools.     Beginning  of 420 

Puritans.     What  early  settlers  were 13 

Quakers.    Early  settlers  had  no  kinship  with 13 

Met  fiercer  Indians  in  South  than  before 65,  66 

Took  charge  of  education  of  Cherokees 632 

Quaker  Meadows.    Described,  as  visited  by  Spangenberg 62 

Derivation  of  name  and  settlement  of 70 

Qually  Boundary.    Map  by  M.  S.  Temple  in  1876 52 

Qually  Town.     Facts   about 52,  598 

Quarry,  R.  S.  Howard  operated  one 486 

Quilting  parties.    Facts  about 270 

Rabun.     See  Rayburn,  and  Rayborne. 

Rabun  Gap.     Railroad  to  Franklin  passes  through 484 

Race-track    Was  one  In  West  Asheville 509 

Railroads.     The  great  need  of  the  mountains 489 

First  railroad  project  and  death  of  Hayne 469 

Crop  failure  started  western  railroad  building 469 

N.  C.  and  Western  name  of  first  railroad  chartered 469 

Asheville  Street  Railway.    Built  by 509 

Western  North  Carolina  Railroad  chartered 469 

Legislative  history  of  latter  road 469  to  472 

Change  from  original  route 472 

Contract  for  part  of  construction 472 

Change  of  location  on  Blue  Ridge 473 

Engineers  on  mountain  construction 473 

Col.  Wilson  rejected  bond  proposition   473 

Election  of  new  oflBcers 474 

John  Malone  &  Co.     Sketch  of 474 


INDEX  695 


Railroads.     Western  Division  abolislied 474 

Early  litigation   474,  475 

Western  N.  C.  Railroad  Co.,  No.  2,  takes  over  property.  .  .  .  475 

Organization  of  new  corporation 476 

W.  J.  Best  &  Co.  buy  railroad  from  State 476 

Clyde,  Logan  &  Buford  get  Best  &  Co.'s  interest 477 

Richmond  &  Uanville  got  control  of  railroad 477 

Richmond  Terminal  Company.     Sketch  of 477 

State  sells  railroad  to  Clyde,  Logan  &  Buford 477,  478 

Completion  of  railroad  to  Asheville 478 

Completion  of  railroad  to  various  points 478,  479 

The  Andrews  Geyser 478 

Spartanburg  &  Asheville  R.  R.  completed  to  Saluda 479 

Buncombe  County's  subscription  thereto 479 

Pearson's  bill  forces  completion  to  Asheville 480 

South  &  Western  Railroad  completed  to  Huntdale 480 

Southern  Railway  tries  to  stop  latter  road 480 

Carolina,  Clinchfield  &  Ohio 481 

South  and  Western 481 

Snowbird   Valley   Railroad 482 

East  Tennessee  and  Western  N.  C.  Railroad 482 

Linville  River  Railroad 482 

Hendersouville  &  Brevard  Railroad 483 

Transylvania  Railroad 483 

Elkin  &  Alleghany  Railroad 483 

Pigeon    River   Railroad 484 

Georgia  and  North  Carolina  Railroad 484 

Appalachian    Railroad    484 

Tallulah  Falls  and  Franklin  Railroad 484 

Damascus  Railroad   485 

Tennessee  and  North  Carolina 485 

Asheville  &  Craggy  Mountain  Railroad 485,  509 

Asheville  Loop  Line  Railroad 486 

Asheville  Rapid  Transit  Railroad 487 

East  Tennessee  and  North  Carolina  Railroad 488 

Sunset  Mountain  Railroad  Co 488 

Hiwassee  Valley  Railroad  488 

Other    railroads 489,  490 

Sunset  Mountain  Railway.     When  operated 509 

Virginia  &  Carolina 490 

Blatherskite  Railroad  490 

Regulating  passenger  rates 641 

Ramseur,  Daniel  F.     Among  first  citizens  of  Murphy 186 

Ransom,  (Miss)  Esther.     Quoted 79 

Rattlebugs.     Met  by  boundary  line  party 40 

Ravenel,  Messrs.    Helped  build  Linville  country 246 

Ravens.     Facts  about 522 

Rawls,  (Hon.)  Charles  T.    Services  as  mayor  of  Asheville 510 

Ray,  (Col.)  James  M.    His  Lyceum  articles  quoted  from 421 


696  INDEX 

PAGE 

Ray  and  Anderson.    Career  and  escape  of 305 

Ray,  Mont.    His  flight  arid  return  for  trial 335 

Rayburn,  Deputy  Sheriff.    Killed  by  White 335 

Rayborne,  Hodge.     Sketch  of 129 

"A  most  noted  man" 170 

Had  part  in  formation  of  Henderson  County 181 

Rayner,  Kenneth.    Gen.  Clingman's  second  in  duel 367 

Reaping  Hooks.    Facts  about 280 

Reconstruction.     Outrages  of  Holden's  administration 640 

"Red  Banks  of  Chucky."    Near  Greasy  Cove,  a  landmark 45 

Redmond,  Lewis.    His  career  as  an  outlaw 304 

Reeves  Family.    Lived  on  border  of  Ashe  County 198 

Reeves,  Jackson  and  John.    Early  settlers  of  Jackson 196 

Regiments  in  Civil  War.    Facts  about 636 

Register,  The  AsJieville  Saturday.    Dr  Baird's  sketches  in 146 

Regulators'  War.    New  matter  concerning  it  and  Henderson,  88,  91 

Regulators  were  not  cowed 97 

Removal  of  Cherokees.    Facts  about  treaties,  etc 576 

Why  Eastern  Band  remained 577  to  580 

Removal  Forts.     Names  and  location  of 576,  577 

Revolutionary  Soldiers.    Among  first  to  cross  Blue  Ridge 98 

Descendants  of   101 

Revolutionary  War.     Our  part  in 96,  97 

Haywood   County    in Ill,  112 

Mountain  heroes  of 101 

Beginning  and  progress  of 630 

Rhinehart,  W.  W.     Died  of  milk-sick 49,  209 

Rhodes,  Jesse.    Chain  bearer 182 

Rhodes,  John.     Hunted  for  Spangenberg 65 

Rhodes,  Standapher.    Lived  in  Asheville 149 

Riddle.    Used  in  threshing  grain 281 

Riddle,  (Capt.)  Wm.    Facts  about  capture  of  Cleveland,  101  to  106 

"Rifle  Guns."     Facts  about   280 

Riot.    Persons  indicted  for,  etc 299,  300 

Ripley,  (Col.)  Valentine.     Stage-coach  contractor,  etc 244,  497 

Rivers  and  Creeks.     Boone  Fork,  erroneously  stated  to  rise  in 

Linville  Gap  on  page 8 

Cheoah,  once  a  part  of  Nantahala 529 

Cumberland,  found  and  named  by  Dr.  Walker 11 

French  Broad.    Fifth  river  to  break  through  mountains. ...  9 

Origin  of  English  name  of 10,  11 

No  Indian  towns  in  valley  of 10 

Indian  names  of  several  portions  of 10 

Fines  Creek,  origin  of  name  of 197 

Hiwassee,  last  river  to  break  through  mountains 9 

New  Indian  territory  covering  valley  of 48 

Boundary  line  party  reached 50,  51 

Holston,  Boundary  line  of  1749  stopped  near 22 

Bledsoe  extended  line  from 23 


INDEX  697 


lAOE 

Rivers  and  Creeks.    Johns  River  named  for  John  Perkins 65 

Linville,  rises  east  of  Blue  Ridge 8 

Gorge  of  Linville  River  one  of  finest 536 

Little  Tennessee,  seventh  to  break  through  mountains 9 

Immense  water  power  on 211 

North  Carolina  and  Tennessee  line  crosses 48 

Crossed  by  boundary  line  party 50 

Matrimony  Creek,  crossed  by  boundary  line  party 20 

New.    Blowing  Rock  springs  flow  into 8 

Governor  Johnston  never  dreamed  of  it 22 

Nantahala.     Once  part  of   Cheoah    529 

Meaning  of  name  of 598 

Nollechucky,  crossed  by  boundary  line  party 44 

Pigeon.    First  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee  boundary  line 

survey   stopped   at 47,  48 

Pee  Dee,  latitude  of  taken  in  1835  24,  25 

Pacolet.    De  Soto  may  have  reached  head  of  in  1540 12 

Peters  Creek.    Virginia  boundary  line  stopped  there 20 

Paint  Creek.    Boundary  line  party  got  off  track  near 46 

Roans  Creek,  Boone's  trail  followed 82 

Santeetla,  large  spring  on  bank  of  Little 529 

Savannah,  to  be  boundary  line  of  a  third  Carolina  province,  23 

Scott's  Creek,  early  history  of 194 

St.  Johns.    Grant  to  Carolina  started  at  mouth  of 22 

Swannanoa.    No  Indian  towns  in  valley  of 10,  598 

Tallulah  Creek.     Indian  relics  at  head  of 211 

Rivers,  R.  C.     Editor  Watauga  Democrat  452 

Roads.     Rivers  disputes  right  of  way  with  9 

Salisbury,   Charleston   and   Pee  Dee  Roads.     First   across 

mountains 25 

Thomas's  road  across  Smoky  Mountains 49 

Crossed  by  Gen.  Vance's  troops  in  1864 49 

A  wagon  road  at  the  101st  mile  of  Tennessee  line 51 

Buffalo  trails  the  only  roads  in  1752 62,  229 

Solomon  Jones  known  as  "Builder  of" 184 

Old  military  road  to  Robbinsville 211 

Yonahlossee  turnpike.     Built  by  whom  and  when 214,  246 

Great  road  activity 241 

When  Buncombe  turnpike  was  fine 288 

How  roads  were  laid  off 274 

How  rocks  were  "blasted"  in  old  days 230,  231 

Watauga  River  road,  when  built,  etc 352 

Stages  used  to  run  over  part  of  this 348 

William  Patton  built  trail  to  Mitchell's  peak 297,  531 

Road  to  Mitchell's  peak  started  by  R.  S.  Howland 531 

Other  trails  and  roads  to  that  peak 531 

Trail  to  Craggj-  mountains  built  by  Dr.  Amber 531 

Crest  of  Blue  Ridge  highway 532 

To  Grandfather  Mountain 532 


698  INDEX 


PAGE 

Roads.     To  Roan  Mountain 532 

Road  Houses.     Facts  about  those  of  old  days 286 

Robbinsville.     Early  history  of  210  to  212 

Rocks.     Noted  ones  described 534  to  536 

Roberts,  Joshua.     Home  of 149 

Sketch  of  himself  and  family  391,  392 

Roberts,  Philetus  W.     Sketch  of 392 

Roberts,  R.  B.     Edited  newspaper  451 

Robertson,  James.     Removed  to  Watauga  River 69,  74 

Settled  French  Licks  on  Cumberland  93 

Planned  and  enforced  government  of  that  colony 93 

Richard  connection  with  his  career 93 

Had  no  part  in  defection  of  State  of  Franklin 115 

"The  greatest  of  pioneers"  and  notes  123 

Founded     Middle     Tennessee     and     educated     settlers     in 

elements  of  self-government  123 

Robinson,  F.  E.     Edited  The  Citizen 451 

Robinson,  (Hon.)  James  L.     Sketch  of  650 

Rogers,  (Dr.)  C.  T.     Leading  physician  of  Cherokee 186 

Rogers,  Hughey.     Veteran  of  the  Revolution  112 

Rolen,  John.     Lawyer  of  Murphy   186 

Rollins,  Pinckney.     Stage  coach  contractor 243 

Rollins,  (Major)  W.  W.     Defeated  for  senate  by  belated  returns  449 
Appointed  commissioner  to  settle  with  Swepson  &  Little- 
field    462 

Attached  railroad  iron  in  Detroit 465,  466 

Elected  president  W.  N.  C.  R.  R 467 

Lost  suit  started  in  Florida  to  reimburse  State  467 

Roots  and  Herbs.     See  "Herbs  and  Roots." 

Ropetwister,  John  A.    Cherokee  living  in  Graham 212 

Rose,     "Quil."     Innocent     moonshiner,     convicted     of     feeding 

"hawgs"    340 

"Roughs"  described  531 

"Roundheads    of    the    South."     First    settlers    to    declare    for 

American  Independence    13,  14 

Russeau,  Adolphus.     Had  share  in  Old  Fields 109 

Rumbough,  (Col.)  J.  H.     Sketch  of 242 

Rush,  (Dr.)   G.  N.     Sketch  of  175 

Saddle  Mountain  Baptist  Church.     Built  on  water  divide 9 

Sailing,  John.     Carried  prisoner  through  Tennessee 11,  12 

Saint  John-in-the-Wilderness.     Facts  about   494,  496 

Saint  John  the  Baptist.     Building  and  removal  of  432 

Saint  Matthew.     Gospel  by  translation  into  Cherokee 574 

Salali.     A  born  mechanic 583 

Sams  Edmund.     Sketch  of 154 

Sapphire  Country.     Facts  about  506 

Saturday,  The  Cold.     Account  of  295 

Savanookoo.     Signed    treaty    87 


UMDEX  699 

I'ACE 

Saw  Mills.     Facts  about 514,  515 

Sawyer,  Isaac  B.     Sketch  of   152 

Sawyer,  John.     Commissiouer  of  Graham   210 

Sawyer,  John  M.     Awarded  prize  for  corn   519 

Sawyer,  Wm.     Faithful  dog  tells  wife  of  his  death  339 

Sawyer,  Zachariah.     Disappearance  of   331 

Schools.     See  Chapter  XVII. 

Lack  of  great  drawback 283 

Hayesville  High  School.     Facts  about   208 

Cherokee  Indian  Schools   589,  590 

"School  Butter."     Penalty  for  "hollering" 271 

Sectionalism.     Seeds  of   630 

Rampant    634 

Schoolmasters.    Robert  Henry  first  in  Buncombe 421 

Rev.  Samuel  Doak  first  in  Tennessee 421 

Scotch-Irish.     Before  the  Revolution    75 

Scotch  Settlers.  Including  Celts,  Highlanders,  Irish,  Saxons,  etc.  13 

Eulogized  by  historians  75 

Scythes.     Facts   about    280 

Secession.     N.  C.  reluctant  to  leave  Union   636 

Sequoya.     Invented  syllabary,  description  of 574,  575 

Career  of  Sequoya  575 

Great  Trees  of  California  named  for  575 

Sevier,  (Gov.)  John. 

Followed  Robertson  to  Watauga  74 

The  Harry  Percy  of  Pioneers   110 

His  route  to  Kings  Mountain  110  to  123 

Placed  in  command  of  brigade,  and  governor,  etc 113 

His  clashes  with  Tipton 117 

Permitted  murder  of  friendly  Cherokees  117 

Arrested  for  treason   118 

Sent  prisoner  to  Morganton  119 

Escaped  secretly,  not  defiantly   120 

His  second  act  of  treason 120 

Pleaded  his  loyalty  to  friends  as  excuse 122 

Sent  to  N.  C.  legislature 122 

Member  first  U.  S.  congress  122 

Elected  first  governor  of  Tennessee  122 

Spring  at  Bakersville  called  for  him  123 

Camping  places  along  route  123 

Shad  Law's  Oak.     Here  called  "a  stately  oak"  106 

Shearer,  Robert.     Sketch  of  100 

Sheep.     Dogs  obstacle  to  raising  of 524 

Sherrill,  Bedford.     Stage  coach  contractor,  etc 243 

Kept  in   243 

Shipp,  Bartlett.     Residence  of 183 

Shipp's  "Fraud  Commission."     See  Chapter  XIX. 

Shirley,  John.     Helped  rescue  Cleveland  103 

Shook,  Vader.     Visited  by  Asbury   222 


700  INDEX 


PAGE 

Shotwell,  Randolph  A.     Established  newspaper 449 

Attacked  Lusk    450 

Convicted  and  pardoned  of  Kukluxing 450 

Shuford,  George.     Owned  Hume  place  and  mill  202 

Shuford,   (Hon.)   George  A.     Furnished  facts  for  Transylvania  202 

Shuford,  (Miss)  Mary  Ann.     Married  Rev.  Ben  King 203 

Shull  Family.     Sketches  of  191,  351,  352 

"Silent  Consideration,"  invented  by  Meigs 572 

Siler  Family.     Sketch  of 173 

Siler,  Wimer.     First  settler  of  Macon,  sons  of,  etc 173 

Silver,  Frankie.     Killed  husband  and  was  hanged 294 

Sinking  Spring  Field.     Described    529 

Simmons,  Joel.     Settled  on  Blue  Ridge  198 

Simonton,  (Judge)  C.  H.     Judge  U.  S.  Circuit  Court,  etc 400 

Six  Nations.     Relinquished  title  to  lands 89,  90 

Skyles,  (Rev.)  Wm.  West.     Career  at  Vale  Crucis 431,  432 

Slanders.     Facts  about 14,  15,  16,  249,  260,  261 

Slaves  and  Slave  Owners.     Few  in  mountains  636 

Smathers,   (Col.)  J.  C.     Sketch  of  256 

Smith,  Alexander.     Boundary  line  commissioner 48 

Smith,  Bacchus  J.     In  ginseng  business 170 

Smith's  Bridge.     Account  of   240 

Smith,  (Rev.)  C.  D.     Wrote  history  of  Macon  county 174 

Sketch  of   227 

Smith,  (Rev.)   David.     Pioneer  preacher  224 

Smith,   James.     Explored   Tennessee    12 

Smith,  James  M.     Many  facts  about 147,  148 

Smith,  Phillip.     Jack  of  all  trades   217 

Smith,  Samuel.     Daring  envoy  to  Cherokees,  sketch  of 173,  174 

Smith,  Wm.  Bailey.     Boundary  line  commissioner 22 

Smithsonian  Institution.     Explained  making  of  Indian  arrow- 
heads,  etc 597 

"Smoking  Mountain."     Facts  about  539 

Smoky  Mountain  Roads.     First  built  across 237 

Sneed  and  Henry.     "Judicial  murder"  of 147,  388 

Snethin,  (Rev.)  N.     Sermon  by 218 

Snow,  "The  Big."     Account  of   295 

A  modern  big  snow  296 

Recent  cold  snaps   297 

Sojith  Carolina  Gazette.     Contained  Mecklenburg  "Resolves"..  97 
Sondley,    (Dr.)    Foster   A.     Author   of   Asheville's    Centenary, 

10,  11,  146 
Southern    Gazette,    Timothy's.     Contained    Burrington's    proc- 
lamation      24 

South  Sea.     Western  limits  of  North  Carolina  in  1729 23 

Spain.     Ally  of  France    26 

Tried  to  entangle  settlers   120,  121 

Spangenburg,  (Bishop)  A.  G.     First  to  cross  Blue  Ridge 61 

Wrote  of  many  matters  in  this  section 62  to  65 


INDEX  701 


l'A(iE 

Sparta.     Early  history  of 197  to  199 

Spear,  James.     Sold  into  slavery,  "escaped"  and  was  killed. . . .  319 

Spirituous  Liquors.     Influence  of  on  State  boundaries  18 

Obtained  at  Limestone  in  1799   43 

Gentlemen  smell  it  thirty  miles  73 

A  "fricassee  of  rum"   74 

Spottswood,  Governor.     Agreement  with  Gov.  Eden 21 

Stages.     See  Chapter  X. 

Stamper,  S.  S.     Commissioner  to  lay  off  lots 197 

Standing  Indian.     Why  so  called 598 

Stanley,  Jane  and  Nancy.     Killed  bear   334 

Stanwix,  Fort.     Treaty  made  at 89,  90 

Stars,  "Falling  of."     Facts  about  293 

State  Boundary  Lines.     See  Chapter  II, 

"State  Ridge."     Where  Hill  killed  Bryson  50 

Steam  Saw  Mill  Place.     Once  considered  for  county  seat 18 

Steele,  John.     Boundary  line  commissioner  in  1813 29 

Boundary  line  commissioner  in  1807   34 

Stephenson,   (Miss)   Florence.     Teacher  in  mountain  schools..  440 

Sternbergh,  Daniel.     Murder  of   345 

Stewart  Family.     Came  from  Georgia  212 

Stewart,  (Rev.)  E.  L.     Publisher  of  "Sword  of  the  Lord" 437 

Stewart,  John.     Visited  Mississippi  before  1769 81 

Still  House.     On  White  Top  22 

Stock-Raising.     Facts  about   285,  286,  519,  520 

Pamphlet  on   519 

Stock  Stands.     Facts  about 285,  286 

Stockton  Brothers.     Stage  coach  contractors  244 

Stokes,  (Gen.)  Montfort.     Boundary  line  commissioner  in  1813  29 

Boundary  line  commissioner  in  1819   48 

His  son's  quarrel  with  Carson  363 

Stone,  Governor.     Refused  to  have  second  boundary  line  survey  36 

Stone,  Jordan.     Edited  The  Citizen  451 

Stradley,  (Rev.)  Peter.     Lived  at  Flat  Rock 184 

Strange,  Thomas  W.     Trial  and  acquittal  of 303 

Strange,  Wm.     Owned  farm  at  Brasstown  Creek   187 

Stratton,  John  and  Robert.    Settled  on  "balds,"  sketch  of 212 

Strother,  John.     Diary  as  boundary  line  surveyor  quoted.  .38  to  48 

Bought  Blount  lands  for  taxes 137 

Devised  unsold  lands  to  Blount 138 

His  will  stood  test  of  courts 138 

Sudderth,  Abraham.     Mentioned  187 

Suffrage.     Under  Constitution  of  1835 633 

Sullivan,  E.  E.     Came  to  start  a  graveyard  and  did 191 

Summey,  Albert  T.     Contributed  to  Asheville's  Centenary 146 

Story  about  holding  many  offices  345 

Summey,  Dan.  F.     Built  road  in  Graham 211 

Sun  Dials.     The  only  clocks  in  old  days 282 

Superstitions.     Facts  about  257,  270,  335,  336 


702  INDEX 


PAGE 

Supreme  Court.     Decision  in  R.  R.  v.  Holden  criticised 458,  460 

Surveys  and  Surveyors. 

Anthony  Bledsoe  surveys  Virginia  line 23 

Timothy  Terrell  was  surveyor  for  Georgia 31 

Robert  Love  was  surveyor  for  North  Carolina 31 

Robert  Henry  and  John  Strother  in  1799 38,  39 

W.   Davenport  for  second  North  Carolina  and   Tennessee 

survey    48 

Thomas  Freeman,  surveyor  of  Meigs  &  Freeman  line 52 

Hawkins  and  Pickens  surveys  of  1791 52 

Two  surveyors  for  line    53 

W.  W.  Stringfield  follows  M.  &  F.  line  53 

Mr.  Churton,  surveyor  with  Moravian  party,  1752 61 

He  never  ran  fourth  line;  was  stopped  by  Indians 62 

Surveyors  required  to  classify  Cherokee  lands 132 

Also  to  note  springs,  minerals;  to  make  maps 132 

Swain  County.     Early  history  of    208 

Swain,  Gov.  D.  L.     Sketch  of  382,  383 

Swain,  George.     Sketch  of  150 

Visited  by  Asbury   218 

Swannanoa  Gap  Road.     Where  it  used  to  cross  Blue  Ridge. . . .  235 

Swan  Ponds.     Entered  by  McDowell;  houses  at,  etc 71 

Swedes.     Settlers  of  1730  13 

Swepson  and  Littlefield  Frauds. 

Sold  bonds  endorsed  Jay  State 457 

Division  of  Western  North  Carolina  R.  R 457 

Littlefield's  subscription    457 

Swepson  elected  president   457 

Election  of  directors  at  Morganton 457 

Nominal  contract  executed  for  work 457 

Littlefield  and  Deweese  levy  toll  on  legislation   458 

Supposed  decision  declaring  bonds  unconstitutional 458 

Rehearing  and  final  decision  of  question 458,  459,  460 

Methods  then  in  vogue  with  courts  and  legislature 460 

Col.  Woofin's  view  as  to  intent  of  Swepson  and  Littlefield  460 

Hopkins  &  Co.  outwit  commissioners  465,  466 

Sweeping  resolution  of  directors  as  to  sale  of  bonds 461 

Swepson's  high  position  in  State 461 

Littlefield's  election  as  president  462 

Commissioners  appointed  to  make  final  settlement 462 

Flight  of  Swepson  and  Littlefield 462 

Indictment  of  Swepson  and  Littlefield  in  Buncombe 462 

Commissioners  settle  with  Swepson  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

462,  463,  464 

Commissioners  settle  with  Littlefield  in  London 465 

Florida  railroads  securities  purchased,  etc 464 

Florida  securities  pledged  with  brokers 464,  465 

London  settlement  with  Littlefield   465 

Railroad  iron   frauds    465,  466 


INDEX  703 


PACE 

Swepson  and  Littlefield.    Swepson  caused  bonds  of  Florida  rail- 
road to  be  issued  fraudulently 466 

Governor  of  Florida  impeached  and  removed 467 

Rollins  elected  president  of  Western  North  Carolina  R.  R. .  .  467 

Litigation  in  Florida  to  recover  State's  money 467 

Decision  adverse  to  State 467,  468 

Sword-Tilt.     Between  Herndon  and  Beverly  109 

Syllabary.     Invented  by  Sequoya,  facts  about  574,  575 

Sylva,  Town  of.     Moving  court  house  to;  tannic  acid  plant.  .193,  194 

Talbott,  Thomas.     Elected  clerk  Franklin  senate 113 

Tallassee  Ford.     Boundary  line  party  reached 50 

Tallassee  Old  Town.     Now  the  Hardin  farm 50 

Once  owned  by  Crusoe  Jack   239 

Tanning  Hides.     Facts  about   264,  265 

Tate,  Robert  and  William.     Conveyed  land  to  Morris 145 

Tate's  Place.     Passed  by  Sevier Ill 

Tatham,  James.     Sketch  of   187 

Tatham,  John  G.     Clerk  of  Graham  County   210 

Tatham,  Thomas.     Sketch  of  177 

Taverns.     See  Chapter  X. 

Taxes.     Of  Franklin  government  paid  in  commodities 113 

Taylor  Family.     Sketch  of  352 

Taylor,  Wm.     Lived  on  border  of  Ashe  198 

Telegraph  Line.     Built  by  S.  G.  Weldon  508 

Terrell,  (Captain)  James  W.     Sketch  of 581 

Telephone  Line.     The  Asheville  line  incorporated 508 

Thermal  Belts.     Facts  about 519,  525 

Thomas,  Micajah.     Owned  Buck  Forest  204 

Thomas,  Robert.     Sketch  of 184 

Thomas,    Stephen.     Commissioner,   etc 197 

Sketch  of   165 

Thomas.  (Col.)  Wm.  Holland.     Action  in  road  matters 241 

Accompanied  Old  Charley's  party 577 

Made  terms  for  Eastern  Band  to  remain 578 

Doubts  as  to  authority  originally  given  579 

Did  much  for  the  mountain  section  635 

Related  to  Zachary  Taylor 580 

Clerk  for  Felix  Walker,  took  law  books  in  pay 580 

Adopted  by  Yonaguska   580 

Owned  five  trading  stores  581 

Drew  simple  form  of  government  for  Cherokees 581 

Enlisted  Cherokees  in  his  legion 581 

Captured  Col.  Bartlett  581 

Experience  with  Union  men  of  Tennessee 609 

Thompson,  Clark' W.     Appointed  superintendent  of  Indians.  .  .  .  311 

Thrash,  John.     Owned  mountain  land   202 

Bought  and  sold  Lowndes  Farm  203 

Three  Forks.     Described  by  Spangenberg 64,  65 


704  INDEX 


PAGE 

Three  Forks  Church.     First  Baptist  church  west  of  Blue  Ridge  223 

Threshers.     Early  ones   281 

Threshing  Floors  and  Flails.     Facts  about 281 

Thurston,  (Rev.)  Wm.     Head  of  Valle  Crucis 430 

Death  and  reburial  of  in  1846 351,  430 

Tidwell,   (Captain)  Wm.  B.     Elected  captain  from  the  ranks..  85 

Timber  Lands.     Advance  in  price  of 517 

Facts  about  distribution  of  254,  516 

Timber,  Standing.     Tables  showing  what  still  remains 516 

Timothy's  Southern  Gazette.     Contained  Burrington's  proclama- 
tion       24 

Tipton,  (Col.)  John.     Clashed  with  Sevier;  sketch  of 115,  116 

Todd,   (Col.)   Joseph  W.     Sketch  of   394 

Toll  Gates.     Facts  about  245 

Tolliver,  Wm.     Trial  and  acquittal  of  376 

Toney,  Berry.     Gave  notice  of  Cleveland's  capture 105 

Tools.     Facts  about  the  early  ones 280 

Tories,  Mountain.     Account  of  some 99,  100 

Track   Rock.      Described 535 

Trading  Paths.     From  Valley  towns  50 

Transylvania  Colony. 

Inception  of 85 

Inconsistent  action  by  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  as  to 

title  thereto    85,  92 

Boone  spies  out  land  for  86 

Henderson's  judgment  delays  scheme  of 86 

Concludes  treaty  for,  1775,  at  Sycamore  Shoals 86,  87 

Dragging  Canoe  dissatisfied  with  treaty  87 

Consideration  paid;  conveyance  unlawful  87 

Failure  of;   expropriation  of  land  by  Virginia  and  North 

Carolina    92 

Virginia  and  North  Carolina  grant  200,000  acres  each  in 

lieu  of  92 

Transylvania  County.     History  of;  first  settlers,  etc.  . . .     202  to  205 
Treaty  with  Great  Britain. 

As  to  northern  boundary  of  U.  S 25 

Secret  treaty  as  to  31st  parallel  26 

Land  acquired  from  by  Pinckney's  diplomacy   26 

Treaties  with  Indians. 

Our  western  boundary  fixed  at  head  of  Great  River,  1761.  .  54 

Of  1772,  with  Virginia,  ran  west  from  White  Top 54 

It  left  Watauga  Settlements  in  Indian  territory 54 

Watauga  settlers  secure  lease  for  eight  years 54 

Virginia  Purchase  of  1775  secured  land  at  head  of  Watauga, 

etc 54 

Boundaries  of  purchased  land 54,  55 

Of  Hopewell,  1785,  moved  boundary  west  of  Blue  Ridge.  .  55 

Boundaries  of  new  territory   55 

Its  exact  location  unnecessary  because  of  treaty  of  1791. ...  55 


INDEX  705 


r.vuE 
Treaties  with  Indians.    North  Carolina  Indian  Reservation  did 

not  rest  on  a  treaty ^5 

Of  1791  and  1792,  of  1795  and  1798,  call  for  Meigs  and  Free- 
man line   ^" 

Of  1819,  ceded  land  around  Hiwassee  River,  etc 56 

Of  New  Echota,  1835,  ceded  land  east  of  Mississippi 56 

Consideration  for.  and  agreement  to  remove  56 

Of  Sycamore  Shoals,  1775,  with  Henderson,  etc 86 

Of  Lochaber,  1770,  acknowledged  Cherokee  title  to  Ky 90 

Commissioners  at  Hopewell  deny  Cherokee  title  to  land 85 

Of  Fort  Stanwix,  1768,  cedes  title  of  six  nations,  etc 89,  90 

Recapitulation  of  Indian  treaties 634 

Convention  of  State  of  Franklin  made 113 

Triangle  Tree.    Described 535 

Triplett,  Elias.     Succeeded  Williamson  Warlick 150 

Truet,  Rev.  George.    Fine  preacher 208 

Tryon's  Boundary  Line.    West  of  white  settlements,  run  in  1767,  51 

Disregarded  by  hunters  and  Traders;  death  of  same 51 

Tuckaleechee  Cove.    View  of  from  Great  Smoky  Mountains 49 

Tugman,  Micajah.     Finds  Riddle's  knife 102 

Turnbill,  J.  J.    Man  of  unusual  sense 186 

Turnpike.     Unicoy,  in  Cherokee  County 48 

Cataloochee,  near  Big  Pigeon 48 

Boundary  line  from  Cataloochee,  to  Georgia  line 48 

From  65th  mile  to  Hiwassee  turnpike,  country  in  dispute. .  50 

End  of  turnpikes  and  toll  gates  on  Western  turnpike 245 

Tweed  Family.     Early  settlers  of  Madison 196 

Tyrrell,  Timothy.    Surveyor  of  Georgia  State  boundary  line 31 

Unaka  Mountains.    First  roads  built  over     238 

Danger  in  crossing  in  winter 209 

Disputed  boundary  line  marked  upon 50 

United  Daughters  of  Confederacy.    Facts  about 653 

Urqhardt,  (Miss)  Cora.    Home  of  at  Flat  Rock 493 

Valle  Crucis.    Early  history  of 430 

Order  of  Holy  Cross  founded  at 430,  432 

Rebuilding   of 432 

School  for  girls 432,  433 

"Valley  of  Cousins"  351 

Originally  owned  by  a  Hix,  and  sold  for  a  song 351 

Facts  about  old  times,  freshets,  etc 354 

Valentine,    (Prof.)    Frank.     Sketch  of 184 

Vance,   (Col.)   Carson.     Sold  free  negro,  etc 332 

Vance,  David,  Sr.    Boundary  line  commissioner 38 

Left  account  of  Kings  Mountain 38 

Sketch  of   98 

Secured  act  to  create  Buncombe  County 143 

Vance,  (Capt.)  David.    Father  of  R.  B.  and  Z.  B 98 

w.  X.  C.—ia 


706  INDEX 


PAGE 

Vance,  (Capt.)  David.    Soldier  of  two  wars 99 

Sketch  of   99 

Vance,  (Dr.)  R.  B.     Sketch  of 361 

Duel    with    Carson 359,  368 

Vance,  (Gen.)  R.  B.    Led  troops  across  Smokies 49 

Sketches    of    49,  646 

Account  of  his  raid  into  Tennessee  in  1864 609  to  611 

Divided  his  forces,  and  was  captured,  etc 610 

Vance,  (Hon.)  Z.  B.    Facts  about  his  career 99 

His  early  home 259 

Dr.  Baird's  tribute  to 384 

Edited  newspaper 449 

Sketch  of   645 

Vance-Carson  Duel.     Account  of 359  to  368 

Vanderbilt,  George  W.    Built  Young  Men's  Institute 444 

Contributed   to  kindergartens 434 

Believed  in  North  Carolina  mountain  men 447 

Established  Biltmore  Village  and  house 505 

Bought  and  improved  Pisgah  Forest 505,  506 

His   estate   sold   Pisgah   Forest   to   United   States;    Forest 

Reserve  leased  timber  to  Carr  506 

Death  of  506 

Velasco,  Don  Louis  de.     Sent  out  expedition  in  1559 12 

Vendettas.    Never  existed  in  North  Carolina  mountains 15 

Vest,  Calvin  C.    Lived  on  Notla 187 

Viaduct.      Facts    about 9,  44 

Vickers,  Jerry.    Made  locust  "tombstones" 172 

Volcanic  Action.    Described  by  General  Clingman 306 

Voyles,  "Old  Rock."    Man  of  originality  and  humor 188 

Wafford,  Rev.  James  D.     Helped  translate  New  Testament  into 

Cherokee  574 

Wages.    Low  rates  of  in  early  days 289 

Wagg,   (Rev.)  James.     Pioneer  preacher 224 

Walker,  (Hon.)  Felix.     Sketches  of 170,  643 

Helped  Nancy  Hanks  to  leave  Enloe's  home 322 

band    611,  612 

Her  struggles  with  poverty,  and  her  triumph 612 

Walker,  (Dr.)  Thomas.    Found  and  named  river  and  mountains,  11 

Walker,  Wm.     Capture  and  probable  murder  of 611,  612 

Walker,  (Col.)  Wm.  C.    Killed  at  close  of  Civil  War 187 

Walks,  The.     Described 539 

Wallen,  Hunter.    Hunted  at  head  of  Tennessee  River 12 

Walls,  Robert.    Boundary  line  party  assembled  at  his  home. ...  39 

Walters,  Abigail.    Used  as  shield  for  Cleveland 104 

Walters,  Welborn.     "Hermit  hunter  of  White  Top."     Note  18..  58 

Sketch  of 331 

Paid  to  kill  wolves 523 

Walton  War.    History  of 32,33  34 


INDEX  707 


I'AfiE 

War  of  1812.     David  Vance  a  captain  in 99 

Robert  Love,  Jr.     A  captain  in 174 

Ward,  Joshua  and  William.     Owned  Lowndes  Farm  and  built 

Rock  Hall  203 

Ward  Family.     Sketch  of 353 

Warlick,  Williamson.    Made  axes 149 

Warm  Springs.     Boundary  line  party  reached 47 

Visited  by  Asbury 216  to  220 

Owned  by  John  E.  Patton 492 

Washington  County — Washington  District. 

Extended  to  Mississippi  River 27 

First  county  named  for  Father  of  our  Country 68 

District  became  county 68 

Boundary  of  new  county 632 

Watauga  County.     Early  history  of 188,  189 

Its  need  of  railroads 489 

Its  Civil  War  experiences,  death  of  citizens 617,  618,  625 

Watauga  Settlements.     Bledsoe  showed  they  were  in  N.  C 23 

Treaty  left  them  in  Indian  boundary 54 

Land  leased  for  eight  years 54 

Purchase  of  1775  gave  title 54 

Southern  boundary  of 54 

Only  settlement  west  of  Blue  Ridge 60 

Model  for  first  American  Republic 60 

First  to  give  Washington's  name  to  district 68 

Act  of  cession  displeased  settlers 113 

They  secede  from  North  Carolina  at  Jonesboro  113 

Their  viewpoint 113,  114 

Repeal  of  act  of  cession 115 

Settlers  of  clash  with  Tipton 115 

Watcheesee  Road.     Building  of 237 

Wautenpaugh,  (Prof.)  F.  M.    Conducted  school  at  Ashland 437 

Waynesville.     Early  history  of 166  to  169 

Land  donated  for  public  square,  churches,  etc 127 

Water  Powers.    Immense  power  at  Rocky  Point 211 

Water  Falls.     Dry  Falls.     Described    537 

Dutch  Creek  Falls.    Described 537 

Hickory  Nut  Falls.     Described 537 

Linville  Falls.     Described 537 

Looking  Glass  Falls.     Described 541 

Watauga  Falls.     Described 537 

Water  Trompe.     Described 278 

Mentioned 547 

Water  Spouts.    Noted  by  General  Clingman 306 

Waugh,  Nathan.    Resides  at  Old  Fields 102 

Inherited  share  of  Old  Fields 109 

Wayah  Gap.     Battle  there.     What  it  means 599 

Weaver  Family.    Sketches  of  by  Capt.  W.  T.  Weaver 154  to  159 

Weaver,  Rev.  Hiram  and  Elihu.     Pioneer  preachers 224 


708  INDEX 


PAGE 

Weaver,  (Captain)   Isaac.     Entertained  boundary  line  commis- 
sioners in  1799 39 

Weaver,   (Col.)   James  thomas.     Sketch  of 622,  623 

Weaver,  (Capt.)  W.  T.    Wrote  sketches  of  Weaver  family,  154,  159 

Weaver  Power  Co.    Facts  about 485 

Weaving.     Facts  about 260,  283 

Weaverville.    Facts  about 154 

Webster.    Early  history  of;  removal  of  courthouse 193 

Weeks,  Drewry.     Entry  taker  for  Cherokee 337 

Sketch   of 186 

Weiss.    Jonathan.    Hunted  for  Moravians 62 

Weiss,  "Granny."     A  wise  witch 342 

Welch,  (Mr.  and  Mrs.)  Burton.    Their  story  of  Old  Charley,  etc,  578 

Welch,  John.    Pursued  by  "Blood  Avenger" 573,  574 

Welch,  Wm.     Sketch  of 151 

Resident  of  Cherokee 187 

Welch,  (Captain)  Wm.  Pinckney.    Sketch  of 172 

Welborne,  James.    Boundary  line  commissioner 34 

Weldon,  Daniel.    Boundary  line  commissioner 22 

Weldon,  S.  G.     Built  telegraph  line 508 

Wells,  Francis  Marion.    Saw  falling  of  stars 294 

Knew  facts  about  duel 370 

Wells  Family.    Early  settlers  in  Madison 196 

Wells,  Zachariah.     Helped  capture  Cleveland,  and  was  hanged 

104  to  106 

West  Asheville.     History  of 509 

West,    (Dr.)    J.   E.     Drowned   and  body  recovered   through   a 

dream 338 

West,  Irwin.    Early  settler  of  Madison 196 

Western  North  Carolina.    Location  and  description  of 7 

Western  Turnpike.     Building  and  ending  of 239,  245 

Wetmore,  (Rev.)  George.     Took  charge  of  Valle  Crucis  School.  431 

Whipping  Post.     Facts  about 386,  389 

Whiskey  Rebellion.    Contributed  immigrants  to  this  section 248 

Whitaker,  James  and  Stephen.     Sketches  of   177,  187 

James  established  churches 224 

Stephen  entered  land 337 

White,  Zach.    Killed  by  Rabun 335 

Whiteside  Cove.     Early  history  of 498 

Whiteside  Mountain.     Facts  about 498,  534 

Whittington,  Carter.     Cruelly  punished  by  the  court 375,  376 

Wiggins,  (Rev.)  Joseph  A.     Sketch  of 211 

Wilbar,  Mrs.  Russell.    Birth  of  when  great  rock  fell 293 

Wilcoxen,  Elizabeth.    Boone's  neice 80 

Wilder,  Gen.  John  H.     Built  forge,  roads  and  hotel 43 

Wilkesboro  Roads.     Some  account  of 239 

Willard,  (Judge)  A.  J.    Summer  home  of  in  Cashier's  Valley.  . .  498 

Williams,  Edward.    Publicly  whipped 386 

Williams,  Willoughby.    Entered  Cherryfield  lands 204 


INDEX  709 

PAGE 

Wilson,  "Big  Tom."    Found  Prof.  Mitchell's  body 297 

Wilson,  "Lucky  Joe."     Froze  himself  out  of  jail 346 

Windows.    Uuglazed  in  early  days 259 

Wing,  (Prof.)  Charles  H.     Sketch  of 446 

Wit.    Of  former  days 289 

Witherspoon,  David  and  John.    Captured  by  Riddle  and  escaped, 

105,  106 

Witherspoon,   (Captain)   Wm.  Harrison.     Sketch  of  106 

Witherspoon,  (Mrs.)  W.  H.    Sketch  of 106 

Wolf's  Den.    Knife  found  in 102 

Wolf  Hills.     Sent  settlers  to  mountains 67,  248 

Wolves.    Musical  ones  described  by  Spangenberg 62 

Woman's  Edition  of  Citizen.    Published  when  and  by  whom 146 

Women.    A  day's  work  for  many 256 

Hard  lives  of,  when  pioneers 257,  269 

Wood  Family.     Sketch  of 196 

Wood,  Thomas.    Improved  farm 202 

Woodfin,  (Miss)  Anna.     Sketch  of 445 

Woodfin,  Henry  G.     Sketch  of 146,  147 

Woodfin,  (Col.)  John  W.     Sketches  of 385,  392 

Woodfin,  (Col.)  N.  W.     Sketch  of 146,  147 

Commissioner  to  settle  dispute 200 

Family  of.  facts  about 392 

Commissioner  to  settled  with  Swepson,  etc 462 

His  settlements  with  Swepson  and  Littlefield 362,  365 

Tried  to  arrest  Hopkins 465 

Opposed  Littlefi eld's  election  as  president 462 

Woodruff,  Wm.    Settled  on  Blue  Ridge 198 

Woods,   Robert.     Early  schoolmaster    427 

Worchester  and  Boudinot.     Translated  St.  Matthew  into  Chero- 
kee   574 

Worley  Family.    Sketch  of 196 

Worth  Family.     Sketch  of 165 

Wragg,  Rev.  James.    Early  resident  of  Jefferson 163 

Yancey,  Bartlett.    Sketch  of I'^S 

Yancey  County.    Early  history  of 178  to  181 

Disaffection  to  Confederacy 604 

Yancey,  (Hon.)  Wm.     Fought  duel  with  General  Clingman 367 

Yonaguska.    Blood  Avenger,  chief,  adopted  Thomas 580 

Yonahlossee  Turnpike.     Facts  about 246 

Young,  Moses.    Commissioner  to  settle  dispute 200 

Zeigler  &  Grosscup.    Quotations  from  their  book 10,  33,  99,  335 

Zachary  Family.     Sketch  of 497,  498 


Errata 

[The  following  errors  are  due  to  the  author  and  not  to  the  proof- 
readers of  Edwards  &  Broughton  Printing  Company,  who  have  been 
most  careful  and  conscientious.  These  mistakes  should  be  corrected 
on  the  pages  indicated  at  once.  All  other  errors,  whether  of  form 
or  substance,  should  be  reported  to  the  author  as  soon  as  they  are 
discovered.  No  credit  has  been  given  to  Marshall  W.  Bell,  Esq.,  of 
Murphy,  for  much  of  the  information  relating  to  Cherokee  County 
and  its  county  seat.     It  should  have  been  done.] 

Change  "Boone"  to  "Main"  before  "fork"  in  line  5  from  top 
of  page  9. 

Transpose  "and"  before  "this"  in  line  13  to  line  12  from  top,  plac- 
ing it  before  "that"  on  page  11. 

Change  "Mack  Cook"  to  "S.  M.  Clark"  in  line  8  from  bottom  of 
page  84. 

Insert  "grand"  before  "father"  in  line  4  from  bottom  of  page  94. 

Change  "Mont."  to  "Martin"  before  "Hardin"  in  line  4  from  bot- 
tom of  page  162. 

Change  "Causus"  to  "Casus"  in  line  7  from  top  of  page  271. 

"Chapter  XH"  should  be  "Chapter  XIII"  on  page  327. 

Change  "1856"  to  1846"  in  line  5  from  bottom  of  page  351. 

Change  "Valle  Crucis"  to  "Banner  Elk"  at  end  of  line  9  and  be- 
ginning of  line  10  from  top  of  page  354. 

Change  "A"  to  "F"  before  "E"  in  line  11  from  top  of  page  451. 

Change  "Simpson"  to  "Swepson"  in  line  7  from  bottom  of  page  457. 

Change  "hovel"  to  "shanty"  in  line  2  of  Note  9,  page  511. 

Change  "Jr."  to  "Sr."  after  "Councill"  in  line  7  from  top  of 
page  522. 

,710 


